Ivan the Terrible; or, Dark Deeds of Night — page 194: what you’re looking at

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

190 IVAN THE The landlord dropped the glittering knife, and seemed to tremble in eyery limb, as did also his vile accomplices, They rushed from the vault with eries of horror at the fearful sight which caught their eyes! + CHAPTER XCI. »NAL ~..THOM WARNS LEONORA OF HER GREAT DANGER— SHH RESOLVES ON INSTANT FLIGHT — ONE MISFORTUNE QUICKLY FOLLOWS ANOTHER— OLD DREADNOUGHT ON UWE WATCH — THE ABDUCTION—THE LONE COTTAGE BY THE RIVER—THE SCENE OF MORE THAN ONE MURDER— THE SORCERER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE IS ALARMED—THE APPARITION, THE first thing which Nat Fathom did when he had escaped from the ‘“‘ Green Man” was to hurry along the streets as fast as possible towards the hotel in which he had placed Leonora Tempest for safety. : He knew full well that it would have been madness to expose himself near the doors of the hotel, now that all the constables of the town were fully alarmed and on the look out for him. Determined not to be foiled, and haying made up his mind that Leonora should never again, if possible, fall into the hands of her enemies, he sent a short note to her which con- tained these three words, - “Fly at once.”’ Leonora was in bed at the time, but when she read Nat Fathom’s note she knew the true meaning cf those three words, and acted accordingly. q She dressed herself on the instant, and, putting in her pocket a purse of money which Nat had given to her, she left her apartment and called for a hackney coach. ‘‘ Where shall I drive to, miss?” said the coachman. “To the ‘White Bear,’ in Cheapside,” she said. ‘I havea relation there who is dying; be quick, and I will pay jou well.” With these instructions the coachman cracked his whip and started off, . He had not worked his horse into a trot ere the coachman was surprised if not alarmed at seeing an old, grey-haired man clamber up into the coach from behind. He did not say a word, however, for the look of the stranger was wild and determined. It was old Dreadnought ! He had been on the watch for Leonora and saw her leave the hotel. ‘Do you want toearn a hundred gold pieces ?” he said to the driver, with a grim, savage look, as he sat beside the astonished Jehu. | “‘ No,” answered the coachman, in a whisper of terror. ‘“Do you want to die, then?” old Dreadnought asked, with a devilish leer. ‘‘ You must do as I tell you or die.” “* What do you want me to do, then?” asked the frightened coachman., ‘“‘ Do as I tell you, and you shall be well paid.”’ ‘* What is it.” ‘Do you know the lone cottage beside the river, near Chelsea? The one, I mean, that stands alone far from all other houses ; the one painted all white,” **'T do”? “Then drive there; speak not a word on your life,. The girl inside is my daughter and has left my home this two days.” “Oh, that makes all the difference,’ said the driver, and without a word of complaint he drove thither, feeling certain. that should he disobey the old man would driye a dagger to his heart, So much troubled in mind was Leonora with her many strange and alarming adventures of late that she did not notice in what direction the coach was going. It was not until they were near the cottage that old Dread- nought spoke again, and that was when he put his hand into his pocket and paid the driver the amount of money which he had promised, When, therefore, the coach stopped and the door was TERRIBLE. opened by old Dreadnought, Leonora rightly, guessed that she had fallen into the hands of her old enemy, again. She fainted. In an instant the Sorcerer carried her into the cottage, which*was only tenanted by a half-witted old woman, and bade the coachman begone, who, firmly believing that the old man was her father, went his way, merely muttering a few words of delight at receiving such a large reward as one hundred gold pieces for his trouble. It was a long time ere Leonora recovered from her fainting © fit, and when she did she perceived .old Dreadnought sitting close to her, his wild eyes sparkling with fiendish delight. “I thought you had been dead long ago,’’ he chuckled ; ‘but fortune has thrown you in my way again.” Leonora closed her eyes and sobbed aloud, for she could “not utter a single word, so full was her heart of sorrows and misery. vs You are safe here,” he added, “and no harm shall befall you if you promise one thing ; if you do not, you will repent it.” ; « What is that promise?” Leonora faintly sighed. “That you will not attempt to escape. If you promise, you can go wherever you please about the house; if you attempt to escape, you die on the instant, Promise !” “‘T do,” Leonora faintly answered. “Then you shall live. Come, rise, go to one of the chambers ready prepared, and sleep.” od The girl rose to her feet and almost staggered as she made her way to one of the sleeping apartments and threw herself on a bed, Old Dreadnought still sat in an arm-chair, musing. ‘Tis long since I used this cottage for any purpose. It has been in my possession for many years, but since the murder of the Guardian of .the Red-Room in the palace I have never visited it but once, and that night I shall never forget,” he said, with a death-like shudder. ‘‘ Oh, that apparition of the murdered guardian was enough to freeze my soul! And now she is here—she, the daughter of the very man that Ivan slew on the threshold of the Red-Room! But she knows it not—but stay, I must not think of these things now. Judge Jefferies wants the girl, and will pay any price for her re-capture. Sofarso good. She is in my custody, and cannot escape. Let me see, I will write to Jefferies at once, and arrange matters comfortably for myself. But what is that sound I hear?” he said, starting, as a sudden, low, wailing sound reached his quick ears. He went up to Leonora’s chamber door, and cautiously peeped in, She was apparently fast asleep on a snow-white bed, her raven ringlets flowing in graceful masses all over the pillow. “Tis nothing,” he said ; “she might have spoken in her sleep, nothing more.” So saying, he closed her door again, and entered a room on the ground floor in order to watch her should she make any attempts at escape, for if she did so she must either get out of window or pass his room door below. He closed his own door with great caution, and then un- locking a cupboard proceeded to deposit in a recess at the back of it the sum of money, in gold and notes, he had received from Judge Jefferies, together with other valuables he always carried with hin. In the-same cuvboard he placed a short written account of Leonora’s capture addressed to Jefferies, but the document was concealed and placed in such a position that any one opening the door could not see it. : A smile of satisfaction crossed his features as he gazed upon his gold, and he thought how easily he could revenge himself upon all the objects of his hate if need be, and upon Ivan also should he disobey his commands. “Ha! ha! Iam too cunning for dull wits,” he muttered ; ‘‘and when I have enough money, Judge Jefferies, I will prove it.” He suddenly dropped the bag of gold to the ground and shook with fear as a slight noise outside the door fell upon his ear, (To be continued.) (EONAMICE % 0)(0 (0) Sco in