Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 39: what you’re looking at

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

— = oe om Manon: « 9 Og i, « sees | a The diamonds are dappled in fresh blood. The setting itself is bruised and battered, and clinging to it is a quantity of dark brown hair. ‘6 Good heavens!’ said Wild, his voice for the norst time breaking the silence of that gloomy place. “Are horrors to revcz cease? I see all now as plainly as though I had been witness to the whole. Would that I had never been tempted to come npon this errand, for this 1s a sight which, when I am alone and in darkness, I shall never be able to banish from myimagination. It is horrible in the extreme.” A fascination which he could not resist drew Wild’s eyes to the loathsome sight upon the floor of the vault. “Yes, yes,” hesaid; “poorthing! Buried alive! I can easily understand how her morbid mind, for such it must have been, clung to the idea that her dream would be fulfilled, and so, at the moment, nature gave way, and she swooned. A swoon which her friends took for death. ‘‘She must have revived, and found herself in her coffin. Jmprisoned—in darkness—alone. I can fancy how she shrieked for aid when she realized her situation. How she called upon her husband—father—mother— brother—al! without result. I can imagine, too, her trantic and futile efforts to free herself. How, as she writhed about, she struck the walls of the strong, leaden- bound coffin till her bleeding limbs were first bruised then broken. It must have been her head, as she struck it against the top and ends and sides which [ heard, and hich produced the sound for which I was at a loss to account. How terrible must have been her struggle to actually move so great a weight from its position! It must have taken along time, and who can picture the extent of her agony the while? Then, at last, the coffin must have got so placed that but a shght thing would destroy its equilibrium. That was when I heard gen give ber death-shriek, as the coffin fell upon the floor. Well, well, after all, I ought to feel glad that I have arrived at 1 solution of the horrible affair. If I had not, 1t would buve haunted me to the last day of my existence—as it will now—as it will now.” It was half to himself that Wild spoke these words. The reader will perceive they were simply the ideas which passed through his mind. That he was correct in his conclusions there was every reason to believe. It can easily be accounted for, if we imagine her of an exceedingly sensitive organization. The idea of the so close prospect of marriage would of itself produce a great amount of mental excitation. Then a dream of so extraordinary a character as that which she was reported to have had, would, in such a subject, have a morbific tendency, and, in the end, cause a suspension of nature complete cnough to deceive the best medical man in the universe, .vho did not happen to take precedent cir- cumstances into consideration, and so be on the watch for such an event. And go, unquestionably, the poor young thing, who one would have thought could scarcely have been worthy of so terrible a fate, was consigned to the grave alive. Even Jonathan Wild, bruta] as he was by disposition, grew almost pathetic in his words when the suffering she must have enawred were forced upon him. It was pro- bably the first time be had ever felt the sentiment of pity towards any one in his lifc. Life now, however, was beyond all doubt extinct. Well, indeed, was it so, and that the vital spark did not cling to that once fa!” casket, but now bleeding, mutilated mass of flesh. Jonathan Wild slowly ict the tiara, which ne had under- “one so much horror t> ¢:,tain, drop from his hand. He felt to t2ke is sway, covered with blood and mstted with hair as it was, .-o.” be impossible. It fell upon La: for whom it had been intended. Cowed and subdued by what had taken place, Jonathan proceeded to quit the place in which he had suffered more agony of mind than he ever had, or most likely ever would in any other. As, however, be moved away, he suddenly remembered an occurrence which had yet to be explained. o—_— a a a a, rewro—mr fas 37 a CHAPTER XX¥. JONATHAN WILD AFTER ALL CARRIES OFF THE BRIDE'S NPIAMOND TIARA, ‘“T wav forgotten,” said Wild, in a strange, hushed voice, as he held aloft the lantern above his head, and glanced iu a scared fashion about him, “1 had forgotten that— —some one—a—caught hold of my arm. ho was it? Who was it, I say P’ All was still. The fears which Jonathan bad with so much difficulty kept in check now came throrging back with tenfold in- tensity. And who could wonder at it. Surely he must have been something either much more or much Jess than a man who would, under such circum- stances, have evinced no signs of trepidation. That it was not she who now lay so still in death that had sezed upon him with such a convulsive grip was tolerably evident. Who then could it have been ? Fain would Wild have received an immediate answer to that question. But none came. Suddenly, however, he gave a start; the light of the lamp had fallen upon some dark object that looked like, and, yes, surely, must be a human being lying in another part of the vault. ; A second glance showed Wild that he was not mistaken. It was a human body, and, by the attire, a male. Who could it be that, at that ghostly hour, bad followed Wild down the staircase ? Was it the busband ? Jonathan thought so. He drew nearer, and then he recognized the clothing and the individual. Tt was Quilt Arnold. His presence there is easily accounted for. From the moment that Wild entered the church a fierce and ungovernable curiosity arose in his breast to know what it was the thief-taker wanted in the vaults. Dread of the consequences that would ensue if Wild found he had left his post for a long time kept him back, but even this failed presently. Let the risk be what it might he determined to satisfy himself. Now it by no means followed that because he had come to this determination he should take no measure to conceal this dereliction from duty from his master. On the con- trary, he removed his shoes, and with only his stockings as a covering for his feet crept along the aisle of the church in the direction of the stone slab which he had assisted in removing. He cautionsly peeped into tho abyss. He could neither see nor hear anything. But having come so far he determined not. to turn back without doing what he wished, so he lowered himself through the aperture even as Wild his master had done, only Quilt, not being near so bulky, accomplished the feat with so much the greater ease. He immediately discovered that the steps were thickly covered with sawdust. This was most favourable to him, since it amounted to almost an impossibility for hrs footsteps to be heard. He gained the door opening into fhe vault. He peeped in. Wild was standing with his back turned towards him, and holding the lantern close to the floor. That was when Jonathan was looking for something upon which to stand. Then Quilt heard the stifled cry. The drumming noise. His eyes turned in the direction whence it came. He saw the coffin move, and fall off the shelf. a .~— He heard the frightful shriek as it descended. His | brain was pierced. Overcome with the intense horror of the scene, he sprang forward at the moment when the lantern tell from Wild’s hand. Upon the impulse of the moment, npon thus suddenly | finding himself in darkness, he grasped Jonathan’s arm in the manner we have related, who, as we are also aNares fell backwards like one suddenly struck down by eath, | Nem MICLOOKS EO 5}