Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 390: what you’re looking at

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

858 for arepetition of the sound which had filled his soul e2 full of horror It came. And, though he was waiting for it—expecting it—DBlue- skin started with surprise. This last time the cry seemed much louder than before. Still it seemed to float upon the air and to fillthe whole of the passage, making it impossible to say from whence it proceeded. ; Had not the cry come this third and last time, Blueskin might have succeeded in deluding himself into the belief that what he heard was fancy only. Now he felt that to be utterly impossible. ‘The sound was too palpable for him to be mistaken. But, feeling ashamed of the sensations which had heid him so long in bondage, he, with one great effort, forsook the support which the wall afforded him. He held the wax taper in the air, and looked defiantly around him. He made an effort to recover himself. Then spoke. He addressed himself. His voice had a peculiar hollow sound. “What was that?” he asked. “What was that? Surely it was a groan. Such a groan as sonie one would give who was suffering the direst pain. Who can it be? Let me throw off from my soul all superstitious feelings. It must be some one human like myself. Yet what an awful one. It seemed to fill the air, and to reach my cars from every side alike. What can it mean ?” These words seomed to have some influence upon Blue- skin’s feelings. His voice, perhaps, altered in tone as it was, served to reassure him. Certain it is that, with a firm step and an erect gesture, he walked still further along the passage. On either side of him were low strong doors. He was reminded of Newgate. It looked just like one of the corridors of that gloomy building, with the cells opening from it on either side. He could have little doubt about where those doors led | ere to. Not to cells but to family vaults—the receptacles of the wealthy dead. Did the cry he had heard emauate from some one of those vaulted chambers. He could seareely think so. The doors were small, and cowposed of iron. They fitted closely in their fraines. What groan, then, could penetrate through such a ‘patrier ? It was while these thoughts occupied his mind that, for the fourth time, he heard the cry. But this time he was more composed than he had nitherto been. He was able to decide upon the spot from which it wame. “Further along the passage,” he said. along the passage. Perhaps after all I have deceived myself. * Further Tam sure that was where it sounded. It may be the - wind coming through some constructed aperture which causes the sound. I must sec. If that is so, who can say that that same aperture might not be the means of leading me to freedom.” Having taken this view of the case, Blueskin might be said to have almost entirely shaken off the superstitious notions which oppresscd hii. To be sure, he glanced uneasily from side to sido as he pursued his way along the passage, but there was nothing more to denote his trepidation. ~ Five minutes afterwards his progress was arrested bv a stone wall. The passage extended no further in that direetion. He made a narrow examination of this wall in the hope ot being able to detect the crevice which he had made up his mind must exist, and which had produced the awful ery. But nothing of the kind met his ear. The wall presented one uniform level surface, and nowhere in it could be detected what he had imagined inust exist. This bronght back with full force all his old ideas to his mind. He turned round quickly and placed his back against the wall. SPREE D_ ees. ae en ii ok pe ee BLUESHIN ¢ — = sn, A KOMANUE, No sound of his pursuers reached his ears, nor had any for a long space of time. In fact, Jonathan Wild had withdrawn from the Abbey - after his unsuccessful search, and was on his way home to Newgate-street. But of this comfortable piece of news Blueskin was, of course, in ignorance. “This is foolish of me,” he said. “Let me discard from my brain all the ideas which gather there. Let me discard all the superstitious fancies. It may be that in one of these vaults, the doors of which are on either side of ma, there may be some unhappy wretch suffering the aronies of premature interment, and it may be from his lips that these awful sounds have come which have so terrified and alarmed me. This was a very plausible view of the case indeed, and Blueskin felt strengthened and revived by it. It might, however, turn out to be just as fallacious as kis former hypothesis. ‘Twill ascertain,” continued Blueskin, still speaking his thoughts aloud, for he found it a great convenience to do so, ‘*I will ascertain whether Iam right. But how amItodothis? Perhaps the cry will not come again.” He listened, as if in the expectation that his words would meet with some kind of response. But all was still. “YT will walk down the passage,” he said, “and knock at all the doors in succession. ‘Then, if thereis any in- mate in one of them who wishes to emerge, he will do something to attract my attention.” By these words it would seem that Blueskin had re- gained something like his ordinary composure. Reason and retlection had dispelled the delusions of his brain. In pursuance of the determination which he had formed, he took a pistol from his pocket, and grasped it by the barrel, so that he was able to use the butt-end of itasa hammer. Holding the candle in the other hand, he stepped for- ward. Then, upon reaching the first door, he struck three heavy blows upon it. A sharp metallic sound was produced. Ere the reverberations had died away, Blueskin applied his ear to the door and listened, so as to be quite sure, should any sound arise, whether or not it came from within. The necessity of this precaution was soon apparent. The same cry arose. It still seemed to float upon the air, and to come from all directi¢ns at the same moment. But having his ears upon the door in the manner we have described, Blueskin was prepared to say with certainty that the sound did not proceed from the interior of that vault, at least. Being satisfied of this, he proceeded to the next, and went through precisely the same operation with the next And so on with the next and the next, until he had gone all down the passage on one side, and reached the door again which led into the rectangular-shaped chamber. He was baflled yet, but still he was not disposed to give up the search. He felt if he did that the recollection of what he had heard would be continually present to his mind, and that in daylight he would be uttcrly ashamed of himself. lie resolved to go up the other side of the passage, knocking at every door. He did so, and weut half-way without meeting witb any better success. Then he paused in doub, He had struck three blows. He fancied he heard a response. But so faint a one as to make it quite reasonable for him to dovbr. We struck again at the same door, and this time with greater vehemence than on the previous occasion. A faint voice replied to him. There could be no doubt about it. ‘‘Some one has been immured alive,” he thought. Holding the light close to the door, he looked down for the fastenings. His eyes fell upon two bolts. These he withdrew with nervous haste. Then he attempted to pull the door open. > ane” eee ~<a ay? GOMIGIOO S (SO) >