Black Bess; or, the Knight of the Road — page 208: what you’re looking at

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

£6380 BLACK BESS; OR, ee , The lautern was raised high in the air, but as it was furnished with a bull’s-eye, the light fell in one direction only, leaving ail around in a darkness that seemed doubly great by contrast. Dick found that the stranger was speaking in @ low, murmuring tone, wnd at first fancied he was addressing sore oLe. Ere long, bavrever, be found this to be an error. Either from some strange habit, or else, perhays, Se- cause he fancied the sound of his own voice took «f{ in some dezree the loneliness of the place he was ic, the giranger spoke his thoughts aloud. “It is a foolish fear,” he said, as though endeavoring; to persuade himself into something he could not believe } —*a vain and foolish fear, and to satisfy mysclf that it is so I will take another hasty glance, even though the siglit should drive me mad; it would repay me for all—to make certain that my apprehensions were groundless, to Le able, in fact, to laugh at my own fears !” ‘There was, so to speak, a ghastly kind of cheerfulness in the manner in which the stranger spoke, and Dick wondered yreatly what it was that he so longed yet feared to look upon. Venturing to creep even closer still, hc watched with a kecn eye the stranger's further movements. The lantern was placed down upon the ground in such a manner as to throw its light in the direction required. Then the stranger, advancing to the wall of the cavern, stooped down, and seized hold of a huge piece of | This will never do! I have only to preserve my coolness, rock. / (and then in a little while all will be well.” Grasping it with both hands, he pulled and tugged with Although he said this, Dick could scarcely bring him- = stinctively he drew back, and at the same moment be uttered & warning ery. “ Quick- -quick!” he cried. ‘ Escape—escape while yon have yertime! This sujiport of the cavern is falling in {” A dead silence followed his words. Then came a wild shrick and an awful, mocking laugb that raised many strange echocs in that gloomy place. The lantern fell from the terrified stranger’s trem Wing grasp, and it was extinguished instautly. Almost at the same moment, with a bideous rush, the carth descended, and the opening in the wall of the cavern was choked completely up. So suddenly did all this take place, and so singular Was the whole affair, that Dick Turpin remained for seme time motionless in the dark cavern, for the siinple reason thet ne was unable te collect his faculties sufticiently to stir. Then ail at once there broke in upon nim a perfect understevdirg of his own great danger. He was in a huge cavern, from which, for aught he knew, there might be several modes of egress. In the intense darkness that prevailed, how woulc. it be possible for him to discover the right way out ? His heart beat rapidly, each throb seeming te send the blood with greater force into his brain. IIe grew faint and dizzy. “Courage, Dick,” he muttered, at last— courage ' all his might, striving to dislodge it from its position. self to believe it; but as soon as he had finished speak- As le did so, small masses of earth and stones fell con- | ing, he began to grope his way forwards, as he believed tinually upon him from the wall of the cavern, which, | as nearly as possible in the direction of the exit from the oddly enough, seemed to be composed of some soft] cavern, through which he had so lately passed. material, But the darkness altogether confused and _ bafflid Heedless of all this, the stranger continued his frantic | him. efforts. Onwards—onwards he crawled, and it seemed to him as theugh he should never be able to reach the opposite side. Couid he but once place his hand on the rock-work he would then have better hopes. At last he succeeded. The walls were damp, slippery, and smooth. He passed his hand rapidly over them as_ he advanced, and having taken many steps, he stopped to think, for no trace of the wished-for opening could he find. Dick marvelled greatly at his strength, for the huge picce of rock was, inch by inch, drawn further out into the cavern. At last, after incredible exertion, it was quite removed, and then a small opening was disclosed not much larger than would allow a man to crawl through it. This the stranger, having picked up the lantern, pre- pared to do He cast one hasty, timorous glance around, then, evi- dently nerving himself for a great effort, and sumnening up all his courage, he crept through the opening. As he disappeared, Dick drew closer, and envisavored to ascertain where ths stranger had gone, and what it was ke was looking for. The opening in tho side of the cavern was not of any great extent, aud Dick caught sight of him o1.3y a few feet distant. “Yes, yes,” the stranger said, and his voice sounded odd and mutiled, owing to the strange place he was in, ‘‘T know I have beea needlessly terrifying myself! The evidences of my awful crime are safely hidden where they will never be found. I feel it—I know it! But yet, if I could only summon up my courage for one glance, I should then be sure—gquite sure! And if I go eeny Withvuut, all my old tortures may return. I will do ubt” Vhe last words were pronounced with great determina- tion, and the stranger crept a little way further in. Then he raised the jantern for a méement, turning “ts beams full before him. Then Dick saw something which, when he afterwards caine to consider upon it, he fully believed was tha ro- mains of some human being. The glimpse he had was a most transient one~—the stranger turned his lantern away almost instantly. But then Dick's attention was distracted by a circum- sisnce which was well ealeulated to do so. He had noticed, on first approaching this opening in tre cavern, that the soft sarth fell down continually, and all at once he became caaseious tuat the fall was greater overy moment. Then, beyond all doubt, ba felt that this opening through vyhich tho stranger had passed was gradually closing up. The earth above, unable to sustain its own weight, was rushing down. CHAPTER: CMLIX. A PEELING of intense ana Lorrible despair overspread Dick Turpin’s heart. y Ie thought how fearful a thing it wortd be to remain pent up in the darkness of that cavern, unabit to grope his way back again to daylight. Ile raised his voice and cried aloud, but no response whatever, save the dull, mocking echo of his own voice, reached his ears. ‘Then, all at once, he recollected something, which it is wouderful indeed he could have forgotten for so long. That was, that he bad about his person the means of precuring a light, by the aid of which what would be more easy than to escape ? lis anger with himself upon making this discovery knew av bounds—he was unable to account for such strange forgetfulness, lt is net at all wonderful, however, when it is con- sidered how well calculated such an adventure as he had just met with was to throw the inind of anyone off its balance—in faci, whila secxing tu escape in the darkness he had, so te speak, confounded himself with the miserable denizen of that inner and smaller cavern. For him there was no hope, and all the time while eroping forward, Dick had fancied that the darkness took strange shapes, and in imagination he could see the Stranger vainly endeavoring to effect his own release. Having the prospect of the fate of tlis unneppy wretch so prominently before his mind deprived him of all his usual coolness and self-dependence. Now, however, quite a reaction came over him, and he began hastily to feel in his pockets forthe objects he required. They were ready to his hand, and in a few momenté _ ~ comilebooks.com * 7 ne Ae : : “4s Sy Whe