Ivan the Terrible; or, Dark Deeds of Night — page 121: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

IVAN THE -ante-chamber ; a flight of stairs in one corner ascended toa room above. _ Immediately on entering the room Laura fastened the door, it being fortunately supplied with bolts. They ascended to the floor above, which was in all respects like the one they had just quitted. The door of this apartment she also fastened, and again ascended to the third floor. She flung the door to after her; it closed with a loud snap, and on attempting to bolt it, she found it possessed no fastenings. She passed her hand rapidly down the panel and around it,, but no means of securing it displayed themselves, Yet the door was immovably fast. Her heart died within her as it flashed across her mind that a spring lock held the door in its embrace, which, if it kept intruders out, would also keep them imprisoned unless she could discover the spring, an almost hopeless anticipation, as these springs were here so cunningly contrived that the mode of opening was rarely discovered by any one not in the secret. Still, it formed a refuge, and if only for that, for the respite it gave them, Laura was more than thankful. She now strove in some degree to calm the apprehension of Lizzie Ashton, and then to listen for what was to follow. Soon they heard the rough voices of men elevated in tones of mirth, Sounds as of excited movements quickly followed. Then were heard the rapid heavy feet of men rushing to and fro in wild disorder, the throwing of heavy bodies violently to the ground, as if furniture was being tossed about. Then again shouts of boisterous mirth, yells, and bacchanalian songs, giving evident tokens of wine being | plentiful among the rude and ruthless intruders, startled the quiet night; then there was acontinuance of the uproar oc- casioned by an universal pillage. Gradually the boisterous sounds of mirth and ribaldry ceased. The ruffians, below in the house, had evidently mastered all the servants, and now the work of robbery and destruction was going on in a more business-like manner under the guidance of Master Andy. E The sound of footsteps were occasionally heard, and oaths of men, carrying away heavy burdens. Laura began to think that they had departed, or that timely aid had driven off the villains ere they had utterly destroyed the mansion. But no ; again and again were they affrighted by the sounds of hurried and heavy footsteps moving hither and thither in the apartments below. An hour or more of intense excitement thus passed, and still the ruffians were masters of the house. As yet Laura had not heard a single footstep approach the room in which she and Lizzie Ashton were concealed ; and this, if forno other reason, gave them hope that the heartless ruffians would never dream of searching, particularly as the - rooms below were almost devoid of all furniture, and gave no token as being the fitting hiding-place for any one. Without athought of all the ravages and horrors that had taken place in and around Percy House, therefore, she sat quietly in the tecret tower, possessed of an innate confidence that her bold fither, the brave old Earl, with her gallant brother Harry, md the numerous retinue of servants, would be all sufficient to lisperse the desperate gang of thieves and ruffianly outlaws vho had boldly assailed the place. She sat upon the floor, therefore, full of patient hope, with Lizzie Ashton’s he:d upon her lap, and parted her long, fair hair from her thrdsbing brow, and which in confusion had strayed over her fac; and neck, whiter than alabaster from the moon’s pale rays, which streamed upon them from a small open window of the ttrret. : She chafed Lizzie’s tanples, and kissed her often and often, nor did she cease until jhe heard the doors of the apartment below give way with a sidden and violent crash |! , She now heard angry wices and shuffling feet. : They ransacked everywiere, in the hope of discovering her hiding-place, MP Her heart almost ceased ts beating as she distinctly heard TERRIBLE. 117 them ascend the stairs and endeavour to find the fastenings of the turret chamber door. She shuddered as she heard the gruff tones of a man say, with an horrid oath, “She must be found ! they are somewhere concealed !” “Tt is he!” gasped Laura ; “it is the ruffian who found us in the dining room !” She clasped Lizzie Ashton more tightly in her arms, and awaited her fate. Each moment seemed like an age of agony and dreadful suspense. me CHAPTER LX. ANDY'S UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR LADY LAURA AND LIZZIE ASHTON—THE MANSION ON FIRE, “THERE is no door, I say,” said one. “There must be a door,” said Andy, with an oath, “ What do they want with stairs, then? Get out of the way, let me try ; you are drunk |” “‘ Sober enough to fling you down the stairs, drunk as I am, if you are Andy and Ivan’s favourite man.” , “Ont of the way, fool,” said Andy, “or I'll break your neck. Speak another word, and it shall be your last. This is no time for quarrelling ; you have stolen quite enough to- night, I think, to keep you in good humour for a month to come, Break open the door, one of you, I say, if you can't find out the lock.” Laura felt her heart beat violently as she heard the man's hand feeling all round the outside of the door panels, and then upon some portion of that which formed the staircase. “TI think all sides are alike,” one exclaimed, after pursuing his search without success. A roar of loud, brutal laughter followed this remark, and one of them said, “Tet us go down again; it’s of no use wasting our time here ; we are forgetting the wine.”’ ‘What could they want with stairs, I tell you, if there is neither room nor door beyond?” said Andy again, angrily. “Try the roof, it is not far above your head.” He did so himself with a long sword with which he was armed, and, then, in a chuckling voice, laughed, “T told you so, there is a trap here on the roof. Do you see the use of the stairs now, idiot ?” The fellow, with a grunt, descended. “ Down with you, lads; I hear Ivan’s signal. Look sharp, for his torch is upon the woodwork by this time, I'll swear,”’ said Andy, “for he has not found Laura after all; he made a mistake and ran off with her maid, and is as mad as fury ; he is determined to destroy the whole place.” «“ Does he mean to fire the house?” asked one of them, with a loud gruff laugh. « Of course he does,” returned Andy, with a sneer. A house burnt to the ground, like dead men, tells no tales. Houses are burnt by accident, and whatever is burnt with them nobody knows nothing about. We can make a good price of our booty when they are only wood and ashes here ; don’t you understand 2” “ Ah, Ivan is a cunning dog!” exclaimed another of the party. “ What's to be done with the famous Blue-Jacket down in the garden, now tied to the tree, waiting his fate?” “Why, he’ll be flung into the flames. He won't come to life there, and no tales can be heard from his mouth about us,” said Andy. “That's the way to serve him! Heand Red-Jacket and the rest have given us plenty of trouble ere now. Hark! There goes the signal! I smell fire ! We shall have our clothes singed. Away with you, boys! Vanish is the word !” There was now a general and sudden scramble among the ruffians downstairs into the room beneath, and thence to the apartments below. ; - Their footsteps grew fainter and fainter, and died away as they reached the end of the corridor over the ground floor. Lady Laura was now horrified at beholding pale, blue wreaths of smoke gliding through the interstices of the door, although so closely fitting that they were hardly perceptible th touch, to the eye or touc GomiGcsdoo SECO