A Rogue by Compulsion

by Victor Bridges

[...]on to the grass almost as swiftly and silently as he had arisen. I doubt if a more perfectly timed blow has ever been delivered, but unfortunately I had no chance of studying its effects. Through the fog I could hear the sound of footsteps-quick heavy footsteps hurrying towards me from either direction. For one second I thought of scrambling back over the railings and taking to the wood again. Then suddenly a kind of mischievous exhilaration at the danger gripped hold of me, and jumping over the prostrate figure on the ground I bolted forwards into the mist. The warders, who must have been quite close, evidently heard me, for from both sides came hoarse shouts of "There he goes!" "Look out there!" and other well-meant pieces of advice. It was a funny sort of sensation dodging through the fog, feeling that at any moment one might blunder up against the muzzle of a loaded carbine. The only guide I had as to my direction was the slope of the ground. I knew that as long as I kept on going uphill I was more or less on the right track, for the big granite-strewn bulk of North Hessary lay right in front of me, and I had to cross it to get to the Walkham Valley.[...].

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1915

About the author

Victor Bridges (real name Victor George de Freyne, 1878–1972) was a prolific English author of detective and fantasy fiction, and also a playwright and occasional poet.

Born on 14 March 1878 at Clifton, Bristol, Victor George de Freyne may have been connected with a propertied family in County Sligo, Ireland. He was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College. He worked as a bank employee and as an actor in repertory theatre before becoming a full-time writer.

Bridges began to publish crime and mystery stories and novels regularly in 1909. He was an early signing by the new London publishing firm of Mills & Boon, which was initially a light fiction publisher in a wide range of genres.Many of his stories were set in Essex and East Anglia. He also had two volumes of poetry published.

He married in 1920 Margaret Lindsay Mackay, who died in 1957. He himself died on 29 November 1972.

~Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_B...

Reviews

[Aditya / · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad, some very good writing, but some lulls. Could be tightened up with some editing to become a four. not very long. Reminds me a bit of Twain, Lewis, and Smollett.

[Philip Reiter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, but this is a very goobered book. Made little sense to me so I decided to stop reading. Did not finish reading formally, but finished reading for my reading soul's needs of survival.