Rose Mortimer; Or, The Ballet-Girl's Revenge — page 82: what you’re looking at

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

o 76 ROSE MORTIMER ; OR, until they were ready to start from her head, she gave way to a flood of bitter tears. _ Bravely, right boldly, had she kept up throughout her trials and struggles with poverty—with the brutal father who had rendered her earliest life a misery to her—with the startling and terrible dangers she had undergone throughout the strange drama in her life, in which Count Lerno and the Whartons, father and son, had figured so conspicuously—and yet now that she deemed h erself alone and unheeded she gave way to fears anq grief. The solit ude and silence of that black black night were infinitely more terrible to her than aught else could have possibly been. After her tears had had full vent for some few minutes she grew calmer. Brain and heart were both overcharged with the terrible events which had made up her late existence. Tears had relieved and solaced the poor girl. Presently, with renewed hope, she recommenced her wild perambulations. It was the same as before. No end—no wall—nothing but space, black and unfathomable. ‘This is too terrible !” cried Rose, wringing her hands once more, “ too strangely terrible !” Then she looked around. Suddenly she gave a wild shriek, A fearful thought had occurred to her. “Great mercy !”’ she cried, “Iam blind! Oh! why, why am I thus persecuted ? Why am I thus tortured through a lite of penury and want? Mercy, mercy, I beseech !’’ And the unhappy girl sank upon her knees in prayer. With her beauteous face uplifted in the sombre gloom, her outstretched hands raised above her head, she sued for mercy. Comforted at length, she arose and gazed around. ** Ah !”’ she cried, of a sudden, with a wild shriek— acry which hada thousand answering echoes in the gloom. . But this was a shout of joy. It would almost seem that Providence had relieved the poor suffering Rose Mortimer immediately after her earnest supplication. The cause of her extravagant joy was simply that at some considerable distance she perceived what ap- peared a break in the gloom. A light, faint and flickering, glistened through the darkness. Now it moved to the right, now to the left. Now it bent to the ground, now waved high aloft. “Thank Heaven!” cried Rose, ‘Help, help! help!” Unhappy girl! Unfortunate chance! was doing. She only thought of succour in her inexplicable prison of night. She thought also of the glorious eyesight of which she had in her terror imagined herself deprived. She repeated her cries louder than before. And now the light appeared to be moving towards ler. ; Yes. There was no mistaking that now. It certainly approached, Larger and more definite it grew every instant. And now, when it had reached some little distance off, she could see that it proceeded from a dark lantern —such as those known among miners as safety-lamps. A little later she perceived the hand which grasped it. “This way—this way !” she cried. “Oh! there you are, eh?” said the answering voice of a man, She little thought what she ‘ Rose could not understand the meaning of his fami: liar address. : ‘Here !” she cried. “I’m coming fast,” returned the voice. ‘“ Dcen’t be in a hurry. There’s a hole down here some- where.”” “A hole!” “ Yes—a pit.” Rose’s heart beat quickly at these words. What a chance it was that she had not fallen down it in her wild perambulations ! Yes,’’ continued the voice, growing louder at each word. ‘‘ Jerry Treewoof went down it last December twelvemonth—and there he lies now !”’ This was not exactly a pleasant thing for Rose Mortimer to hear. It was not in vain, then, she had compared it men- tally toa tomb! And now the man stood beside her, He held out his hand in the dark, and placed hers in it. The next instant she repented this. He clutched her delicate palm with such unnecése- sary eagerness that the girl was quite startled. ‘* Why, where did you get to?'’ he asked. **T don’t understand you.”’ ‘“*T mean, where did you go. I only put you out of my arms for a minute and went to get a light. When I came back, blessed if you hadn’t sheered off.” Rose was bewildered. She could not at all catch the meaning of these words. She pressed him to explain. ‘Oh! I see,” said the man. “ You are quite lost, of course. I didn’t think of that awhile, do yousee ?” ** Where am I now?” ‘Down the Danger Mine.”’ “¢ A mine?” ‘* Yes, my dear ; but, lor bless your pretty face, it’s as safe and as snug as any house we could wish for,” ‘** But how came I here 2”? ‘IT brought you.” ce You ? ) **Yes. They chucked you into the river.” 66 Yes.” ‘¢ And Penryth the miner fished you out of the water half dead.” “He? Oh! how fearful!” “¢ What’s fearful ?”’ **That man.” ‘* Why, my dear?” “ How fearful to have had a murderer’s arm around me !” ‘‘Murderer ? Penryth ?” ‘Yes. He slew the man.” ** Miles Trunnion ?”’ : *“* Yes—that was the name that she called him by,” replied Rose Mortimer. “Oh, Master Penryth !”’ cried the man. “ But how prove you that ?”’ “TI saw the deed.”’ ** Pheugh !” ** But let us not stay here, I beseech you. The dark- ness frightens me.” “‘ Lor, my dear, I like the darkness myself.” Ashe spoke he threw his disengaged arm around her shrinking form. Rose struggled to free herself from his rude em- brace, but in vain. ‘ Her feeble strength was as nought. He drew her to him and enfolded her in both his arms imprinting a loathful kiss upon her face. ‘‘ Release me!’’ replied the indignant girl. “Lor, my love.” As he spoke the lamp fell from his grasp and was extinguished, . (COMMICLOXOOLS COM