Rose Mortimer; Or, The Ballet-Girl's Revenge — page 77: what you’re looking at

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

a THE BALLET-GIRL’S REVENGE. ~ fom The screams of the agonised women were drowned by the roaring of the storm. Some men who had been sick below managed to crawl on to the deck, and lay about until the waves washed them overboard. It became evident now that the ship could not pos- sibly be saved. The pumps were still kept at work, but all was use- less. The passengers below were already suffocated. The shrieks and moans of the dying came up to those on deck, but they could do nothing to help them. No ship hove in sight. No help was within reach. The flames now spread with fearful rapidity. The boats were launched, though there was scarcely any hope of their living in such a sea. The first was immediately swamped. It contained, amongst others, the captain, who had lost all control over himself, and seemed mad with terror. The second was lowered, but, drifting under the vessel’s side, was struck by the screw, and went down almost instantly. A third boat was launched, but met with as terri- ble a fate. Many tied themselves to spars and jumped oyer- board. The mizenmast fell and the mainmast fol- lowed with a crash. As day broke the last charred remains of the doomed ship sank beneath the waves, Shortly after the body of a woman, securely fastened to one of the doors of the vessel, was driven among the rocks upon the coast of Ireland. A fisherman plying his trade was the first to find her. Round her neck, attached by a small chain, was a water-tight packet Taking his knife from his pocket, he cut it open, and uttered an exclamation of intense astonishment when his eyes fell on a mass of glittering gems. While he was looking at them another fisherman joined him. ‘* See here,” sa‘d the first. ce Ah 177 “ What do you make of them ?2’’ *‘They can’t possibly be real.” “‘ Tf half of them was real they would be enough to set us up for life,”’ ** Ah, and longer.’ ‘“* How came she by them, think you ?” ‘She must have stolen them. No one could possi- bly come by such a dollop of diamonds as that inany fair way.” ‘f She has been washed up from some vessel I sup- pose.” ‘‘From the vessel we saw burning last night I reckon.”’ ‘‘ Ts she a foreigner, do you think ?” *“ T fancy so, by the look of her.”’ ‘‘ They must be real, these stones, and if so they are worth thousands,”’ ‘“ Tf they’re real, Jack, I’ll tell you one thing.”’ ‘¢ What’s that ?” *« Tf they are, our fortun’s made.”’ *“ Yes, but—’’ ** But what ?” ‘* They’re not ours.” ‘“ Why not? No one’s here to say us nay. No one but her.” ** And she’s dead.” ““ Ah, dead enough. If they was hers by right, she’s out of the way now, and they belongs to us.” *¢ What shall we do with her ?” ‘Drop her down again into the sea. Lend a hand.”’ The ruffians stooped over the woman’s prostrate form, But as they did so she slowly opened her eyes and gazed upon them. ‘* Great Heavens !” exclaimed one of the men, and, loosing his hold, he turned to fly. CHAPTER XXX, ROSE’S PERIL—THE CONSULTATION — HER FATE DISCUSSED — DOOM — INCARNATE FIENDS — FATAL RESOLVE—THE RIVER—" MERCY !”’—THE SPLASH. WITH a startled shriek Rose Mortimer started: to her feet. But the hags surrounding her were so many that it was worse than madness to hope to oppose her feeble strength to their attack. “Mercy ! mercy !”’ shrieked the unhappy girl. ‘* Down with her !”’ ** Kill her !” «¢ Slay her!”’ ‘Tear her piecemeal !’’ ** Knock her brains out !”’ ‘* Stone her !”’ ‘¢ Burn her for a witch !”’ But neither of these suggestions met with any par- ticular notice from the mob. 7 Every one had a different mode of torture to sug- gest, and every one considered her own idea the best. The only good resulting from this diversity of opinion was the slight respite which it afforded Rose. The unhappy girl, upon her knees and in tears, be- sought them to have mercy, and declared her inno- cence of the crime imputed fo her. But still the horrible council went on. And still poor Rose Mortimer was forced to stay there, to listen while her own condemnation and punishment were discussed. At each suggestion, punishment the more horrible, cruelties the more refined, were met with the wildest shouts of approval. One wretch had the inhumanity to propose lopping off her limbs one by one, that her death might be the more awful and lingering. The reader can therefore readily imagine the horror with which the unhappy girl heard her death discus- sed by this gang of fiends and she-devils. Not her death alone, too. Tortures of the most horrible nature were projected, and as each was greeted by a shout, she had to suffer the menaces and even blows of the more enthusiastie in the bloody business now in contemplation. At length, after a long harangue of at least twenty minutes’ duration, they had come to something ap- proaching a determination, The poor gi:l was first to be thrown into the water, to see if she would really sink. If not, she was, as they had called her before, a witch. ‘““ Good, good!” cried one old hag considerably more hideous than the rest. ‘‘The water, the water !” ‘¢To be sure, my dears,’’? continued the former old harridan. ‘ If she floats, then we can grill her after- wards. If she sinks, why then she’ll have been finished off in a style which is much too easy for the likes of her!” ** Bravo, Madge !”’ And the infamous old hag was cheered asif she had been a second Boadicea or Queen Elizabeth at Tilbury, after the destruction of the Spanish Armada. ‘¢ The water, then!” ‘‘ May she swim !’? quoth Mistress Madge, in fervent _ SESSA PETES TT1EDOOKS TEC