Roving Jack, The Pirate Hunter — page 183: what you’re looking at

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

— —— —— ~~ ROVING JACK, THE. PIRATE HUNTER. 203 Peveril was listening to his narration with breathless anxiety. At the very first words Edgeworth Bess was over- whelmed, | "54 | They were words of love! Unrequited affection caused a deadly rancour to settle in her bosom, and uader its baneful influence she fainted. mee In her delirium she could not distinctly hear all. Jack Sheppard spoke with vehemence andrapidity, Ellen low and pensively. Though her rival had failed to learn the close of the discourse, not a syllable. was lost upon Ellen Peveril, who, at its conclusion, threw her arms around her companion’s neck and bathed his breast with tears, : Edgeworth Bess retained sufficient consciousness not to make known her presence, At the climax she breathed; hard, and watched with the deepest anxiety the. fond embrace of her lover and the maiden. i Bes There was a brief pause; and the indignant :para- | mour of Jack Seppard felt as if she,.had been | stretched upon the rack, ot 8 She was a woman of great nerve,and did not underrate the danger with which she was about to surround herself. She confronted it boldly, and by so doing its appalling proportions seemed to diminish, * Woe upon both of us!” she-eried., At the same moment she stole secretly from her hiding-place, and hurried to «accomplish a ven- geance for her slighted love, * * aa-. * Ellen Peveril had retired early to rest. Sleep is was not, for she lay awake long after her usual hour for slumber, Ay : She could not dismiss the tidings she had learned from Jack Sheppard. ‘Nor the impression it had made upon her,brain. Atjlast she fell asleep. ) But it was only to wake soon from a wild and troubled dream, . c She thonght.that she, saw.a female by. the -fitful glimmering of the dying fire in the grate! That her-eyes wore, a livid hue and fixed them- selves. on her own. .- FOr aol Fascinated, she could not move. the hideous glance, Her face kept growing paler and paler. Her gaze grew brighter and brighter, and more and more terrible. 7 Sick at heart, Elen Peveril then felt a reeling in her brain and choaking in her throat. | Still she could not turn from the phantom, ‘The long black ringlets of hair that hung about this shadowy figure’s neck and shoulders seemed of a sudden, and yet slowly, to become instinct with life. r One by one they uncurled -themselves, \some moving their heads to and fro, others »writhing as in agony up and down. In a word, their contortions resembled those of leeches inia vase, seeking to fix their bodies, but failing inevery attempt. glider olde Anon, these hideous creatures, arching and stretching themselves out, twisted round the neck of the sleeper. O09 hol dsdd J So tightly, that they appeared ready to strangle er, | In alarm and ‘agony she woke, and found the counterpart of the spectre standing by her bed- side. : A [ It was Edgeworth Bess! .« She had heard of this womah, of witches, and ‘stairs and fly from the house, their cunning, and now began to hold that she who looked upon her so strangely was one in real © earnest, Ellen Peveril slept no more that night. Suspecting that her attendant, from some cause | that she could not divine, had taken a dislike to her, she conceived a design to try her sincerity, and _ determined upon carrying it into, immediate exe- cution. eet ; ant £9 ) Although the dreamer had started into thorough wakefulness, she pretended to be still asleep, in order to watch the actions of her suspected com- panion. ; = She first advanced to the bed} ‘and finding that | Ellen Peyeril lay still, commenced her fearful The demeanour of Edgeworth Bess caused her intended yictim to thrill with horror, and her heart | to beat-thick, Her hair was loose, and hang. straggling about | her neck, As she passéd the foot of the couch the light from | a lamp that was burning ona table fell through | figure pictured in her vision. prs cor 2 5 She say, too, that the terrible woman held in one hand a small knife. —— ee Slowly and stilly, like..a sepulchral ,spirit, she glided on. her locks upon her face, and Hllei’ saw tle very But away from the spot upon which the supposed | sleeper reposed, Going to the place where she had hung her dress | up, she took the same down and ripped open one of | > E its sleeves, : She took something out, and: went to thethearth, | where she fanned the nearly extinguished fire to a flame, | | Having laid the knife, and whatever else she-held in her hand, beside the lamp. upon, the table, she | appeared searching for something abont the hearth. — At last she was heard to mutter— “Not here !. How foolish—heedless,.of me, 1 must.go and fetch it from below.” .. ..... Edgeworth Bess moved towards the door. The heart of Ellen Peveril beat high within her. ‘The moment her enemy should be gone she. could leap from the bed and rush past her down the For, strangely, she felt to be in it would be more dreadful than to be in her most.dreaded presence. Edgeworth Bess suddenly stopped as she came to the door, wy a Laid hold of the latch, but did not. raise it. She continued then.to speak, in.a low,and almost | inaudible murmur— “Not here! Perhaps it was for.some.good end that 1 forgot.it.. Shall Lgive them one trial more!” — The words seemed to stifle the afflicted woman, . She sighed.and sobbed. Not loudly, indeed, :but.as if-her heart, .were — cracking. “One trial more,’ she continued, in a-paroxysm of despair, ‘‘d)dare not) give it. thee, dear Jack. Dear still, though lost to me for ever.” Edgeworth Bess still-lingered in,the.room, and, as if. suddenly, calling;to,mind something .that:had slipped her, memory,,exclaimed, -* Yes, 1 had forgotten; ‘tis, here, L,hid it for | security,’ wo dedt.dssod se | With these words she hurried, still without noise, to.a stool near the fire, She raised the cushion, and, from under it took a small ladle, of iron, Poising the leaden weight she had taken from ClOOOKS eS _ CO