No one came.
She rang again—no one came: she rang again, and again, more and more violently; still no one came.
She then looked out of the parlour, and beheld the whole house still lighted up. She ventured out a little, and still a little farther, until she summoned sufficient courage, traversed the court yard, and entered the servant’s apartments.
In the principal room nothing was to be seen. Mrs. Willmington raised the light high up, while she stood at the entrance, and looked into every corner and hole. She could see nothing.
“Good God! can I be abandoned here with my children,” she said in a low tone, fearful to hear even her own voice, in such a silent and deserted situation.
She entered the room, and proceeded towards a door, which opened into another apartment. She turned the handle, and went into that room also; nothing was to be seen. She was turning to leave, when a low groan was heard. Mrs. Willmington started two paces backwards, but raised the light and looked back intently towards the part from which the groan came. In a dark recess, that lay in a remote corner of a room, two white shining balls seemed to glare upon her. She started still farther back: another groan was heard; she raised the light still higher; it fell upon a part of the recess, and discovered the shining face of the individual to whom the eyes belonged and from whom the groans proceeded.
“It is Jack, it is Jack!” cried Mrs. Willmington, and walked up towards the recess.
It was, indeed, Jack, who had his mouth as well filled with grass and cloths as it could possibly hold, and whose arms were as tightly tied behind his back, as mortal arms could be: and whose short legs were stretched straighter than they had ever been stretched before in Jack’s life. He was lying on his side, and his eyes were playing in their sockets like those fierce-looking things which German ingenuity has designed to represent the visual apparatus of man, and which are to be seen every day in some of the back streets of London in full play, to the infinite excitement and gratification of the awe-struck and wondering urchins.
“Jack, cook!” cried Mrs. Willmington, “what state is this you are in?”
“Jack, cook,” groaned, and his eyes played still more rapidly.