Ivan the Terrible; or, Dark Deeds of Night — page 175: what you’re looking at

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

IVAN THE The furious Forger relaxed his hold and a slight tremor passed over his stalwart frame. te vat devil’s own scheme have you got to talk about now ?” * Nothing bad, but there’s danger abroad for both of us.” “Danger, from whom ?” “ [—[—think——” That infernal meddlesome magistrate, Sir Charles Cayen- dish, Pll warrant,” continued Andy, grinding his teeth” in anger, not observing his companion’s hesitation. * Yes, yes; it was. He is hatching some mischief against us both ; so after I had carefully placed my written confession where none but you could find it, I——” “Listen to me,” roared Andy, “if you say another word about confessing I’ll kick your brains out.” “I—I—only wished you to understand matters; I only wrote it in order that you might see I had not proved traitor to you or Ivan.” . “There, that’ll do; come along inside and say no more,” said Andy, with a malicious grin ; “you look hungry.” The Jew’s eyes glistened. He hesitated a moment, and his sturdy companion frowned as he continued, “You'll be safe in the ‘Raven’ with me ;-safe as anywhere else. Take my word for it, you and the ‘ Raven’ tap-room are not strangers. You know I could strangle you in a minute if I wished. And I would do it for two pins,” said Andy to himself, “‘ but I must find out if any one knows about the murder first.” “Tm sure I can depend on my old friend,” muttered the Jew, very humbly. Andy led the way as he spoke through the bar and then up a staircase to a sleeping room on the second floor. “Wait here a few minutes while I get rid of my comrades in the tap-room,” he said; ‘‘if the knew you were here they’d tear you in pieces.” “Don’t be long, Andy.” nh , won’t be five minutes,” he replied, as he left the apart- ment, _ To the great horror and surprise of his visitor Andy locked the door after him ! “So here I am at length,” muttered the wretched Jew, sinking on a chair, “hunted all through the town by Ivan’s men, and at length compelled to take shelter beneath the same roof that hides one of my greatest enemies, the man who threatens to take my life. But surely I can escape this danger, for I have been in worse positions ere now, and he dare not kill me, for fear I have given information about old Michael’s murder. Yet who knows what such a man may not do under the influence of liquor? Ah, little does Andy know what I came here for to-night ! He may forget his own safety in his rage against me.”’ ; Leaning his head upon his hands Aaron groaned aloud in his wretchedness of spirit. : Then he determined to escape if he could ere his brutal friend returned, 2 For that purpose he examined the door carefully, hoping to discover some means of opening it. He might have forced it open by main strength, but such an operation would have been attended with too much noise, and would probably have hastened the fate he wished to avert, “T am a prisoner here,” he muttered, “and I should like to know what keeps him so long away; something that means no good to me, Iam afraid. I shall be taken ; he means to kill me, and there is no weapon here to protect myself with.’ Suddenly a thought seemed to strike him. “T wonder if he keeps here that bundle of bank notes we stole from the clothworker? Ifso it would be worth all the risk I now run. £10,000 is worth the trouble ; I could sell them for a good sum, there’s no doubt of that, to Dutch and Jew merchants on the continent. He dare not circulate them in London, he knows that.” With stealthy steps and drops of cold perspiration standing on his brow, he crept about the room, which, as before said, was at the top of the house, peering into every hole and corner in search of the stolen bank-notes he would haye given so much to obtain, TERRIBLE, 171 But all his trouble and his search proved ineffectual. _Not ascrap of paper of any kind could he discover, and sitting down, he once more resigned himself to despair. “It is in vain,” he muttered, wringing his hands over his forehead. ‘ Andy has some trick to destroy me in his mind, or he would have returned ere now.” The wretched Jew wept like a child, as he thought that perhaps his last hour had come. Suddenly a ray of hope darted through his brain. He ceased wailing to listen for the footsteps of his friend. All was silent as the grave in the lower parts of the house, and in the street which the window of the room over-looked. A faint gleam of light penetrated that window, and he hastily stepped towards it, ejaculating, *‘T have heard that Andy has a hiding-place on the roof © for things of value. Let me see if thereis one or not. If I could only find the bundle of bank-notes, my fortune would be made ; for since the night of that old man’s murder, I have scarcely slept a single hour, or eaten a morsel of food. The image of that murdered man haunts me both day and night everywhere, Oh, curse the hour that I ever had anything to do with Ivan or Andy, and the bloodthirsty crew of Forgers. ~If I can only find this money I will leave England for evet ; for this I now came, for this prospect have I braved almost certain death. Yet Andy little thinks what an important secret I have to tell him,” While he thus thought, he endeavoured to geton the window sill in order to get on the roof. Directly he placed his full weight on the window seat, it suddenly flew up like the top of a box, and struck him so violently on the nose that he fell from the effects of the un- expected blow. His annoyance was great indeed ; but when he looked into the cavity of the hollow window seat, his joy was great, His delighted eyes sparkled with intense joy. There lay the bundle of notes ! With a hasty and greedy grasp, he seized them and thrust them in his breast! ~~ Footsteps were now heard approaching ! It was Andy returning | The Jew quickly thrust down the window seat again, and the secret spring snapped loudly. At that moment Andy unlocked the door, and the noise he made drowned the sudden loud snapping of the spring. ‘* Who would ever dream of such a hiding-place as that?” mused the Jew, in high glee. “’Tiswell, they are mine, Now I am made for ever !” When Andy entered, the Jew resumed his meek and mild expression again, Andy was now more drunk than before. As he sat down before the Jew he looked at him with a wild vacant stare, as he said, ‘‘ We have never clapped eyes on yousince the night of the murder, when you stole the bag of gold you were carrying away from the clothworker’s.”’ Tt’s all true,’ sighed the Jew. “You know the penalty is death for deserting the Forgers ?”’ “ T know it.” - “ You have made a written confession ofall you know about the murder ?” ““T have.” “ You have given it away in order to ruin us?” “ No ; [have it still in my lodgings. I wrote it out in order that I might clear up my character with Ivan, and to seek his pardon for doing what I haye done and am going to do for him,” ““ What did you do with the gold you stole ?”’ “ T was robbed of it that same night.” “« Robbed ?” « Aye, robbed ; and by some of Blue-Jacket’s gang, who followed me to a wine shop and then drugged me, I have been starving since.” ‘“‘ Serves you right, Aaron ; and now you come here to diet I suppose,” said Andy, with a grim laugh, “for you don’, suppose you'll get out of the Forge alive, do you ?” Yes,” A Cconniclooolks COT!