Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 94: what you’re looking at

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

a gaa a aaa a 92 flis left hand he used to feel the way. : All at onee he found the ground give way beneath his and. A rushing noise as of earth falling down a well fol- lowed. Then the match went out. oo I¥e could not restrain a groan, and the perspiration of intense fear broke out over him. His left hand grasped nothing but vacancy. . The hovrible truth flashed in a moment through his rain. “ What is the matter, Blake?” asked Jack. ‘‘ Speak. Are you hur{ ?” ‘Mo, thank God! world.” “What is it?” “Stop, and FE will get a hght.” Trembling in every limb, Blueskin assumed a sitting posture. He drew forth from his pocket the box of matches. But his hand shook to such an excess that he could hardly light one. At last he did so. The tiny flame fell full upon his face. Jack was astounded at its ashy paleness. “Speak, Blake,’ he said. “ What has happened ? You look frightened to death.” “And well FE might. Iold the match a moment for me. & have im imy pocket some pieces of candle which are used to burn in the lantern. them, and then we shall be better able to see what we are about.” This was quickly done. Of conrse the hght it gave now was nothing near so bright as it was when in the lantern, but still they were able to see tolerably well with it. Blueskin rose to his feet, and grasped the smooth wall of the passage for support. He could not control his agitation. ‘You are not so frightened at a skeleton, are you?” asked Jack. “No,” he replied in a hollow voice. Do not stir hand or foot for thie “It was the narrow and miraculous escape I have just had from a_ fni¢htfnl death.” “A frightful death P ” repeated Jack. “Yes. Come forward carefully, and I will show you.” The piece of wax-candle had now fairly caught light, and burned freely. Blueskin held out his hand as far as he could before him, and took two steps forward. Jack followed. “Stop!” he cried. “ Look there.” Jack strained his eyes, but saw nothing. *“ Look where?” he asked. “On the ground before you.” Jack Sheppard glanced down near his feet, and then, to his horror, found he was standing upon the verge of an abyss. The first shock over, he proceeded to look more carefully about him. The disappearance of the lantern was at once accounted or. The floor of the passage abruptly terminated at the brink of a pit. Of its extent forwards he could form no idea, but it | reached from oue wall to the other. It was now Jack’s turn to feel sick at heart, as the im- | mensity of the peril from which he had escaped became palpable to him. Ife turned to his comrade. “What does this mean ?” he asked. “You may well ask that, and he thankful for the acei- dental circumstance which was tlie means of preventing our talhng down that frightful place.” ** fam thankful.” “But for the presence of that skeleton, and my acci- dental fall over it, our doom would have been sealed. Nothing could have saved us.” ** Notning, I fear.”’ “Tbe perils of this place are even greater than I thought they were. 1 have heard before now of such places contrived by the subtle spirits of the monks. This pit has evidently been contrived as a trap to destroy those who wandered 1n this place unpossessed cf its secrets.” J will light one of, — | & BLUESKIN: A ROMANCE. ** itis awful.” “Who this poor wretch is we shall, I suppose, never kuow, nor how it was he perished where he did. Little did he think that his crumhling remains would, perhaps a hundred years after his decease, be the means of pre- serving two human lives.” “Let us retrace our steps,” said Jack, ‘ with all the caution possible. We will no longer tempt our fate. Come!” ‘“Ina moment. Where we are we have nothing to fear. The danger of this place consisted in the fact of the existence of the pit beiug unknown. Once aware of it, the peril ecases.”’ CHAPTER LXII. HOW THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY WAS SPENT AMONG THE OLD ABBEY RUINS. ‘* | DON’T pretend to gainsay that,” replied Jack, “‘ but the sooner we get back again i think the better.” “So do I. Your nerves, like mime, are unstrung. I confess I never in my life experienced so terrible a sensa- tion as I did when J found the earth give way, and my hand shp into the pit.” “ f don’t wonder at it.” ‘“* Tam vexed the lantern has gone, we should then have been able to make a better examination of the place. f should be loath to leave it now until 1 have satisfied my cuniosity. Lie down and crawl forward, and | will hold us light. We then shall be able to see a httle more, | ope.” Curiosity wasa strong feeling in Jack’s breast, and now, as he reeovered trom his shvoek, he was quite willing to examine the place. By adopting the means proposed there was little fear cf falling over. They crawled forward until their heads and necks hung fairly over the edge of the pit, if such it were. But, although Blueskin held the little piece of wax SHOWS candle down to the full extent of his arm, they could see nothing more than the side upon which they were. This was composed of dark, shiny rock, and went down perpendicularly. They could not, however, see anything hke the bottom. Jack felt about him for a stone, which would cnable him tqtorm some estimate of its depth, by the time it took to all. He soon found one. It was a piece of rock, about two pounds in weight. Glueskin saw what be was about, and said— ‘Throw it forwards, and we shall have an idea of its chameter.”’ “That is what | was going to do,” replied Jack, as he let go the piece of rock. It disappeared ins‘~atly in the gloom, and then directly afterwards they heard it strike against the rock on the opposite side. (faving struck, it glanced off, and then continued to rebound trom side to side until the motion grew so rapid that they were unable to count the strokes. A famt splash followed. Then all was still. ‘A frightfnl depth,’ said Jack, with a shudder. “Come away. We can know no more, now.” ““We cannot. Jack, my friend, our death would have beeu certain if we had fallen down that place.” * 1 shudder when If think of our narrow escape. Let it be a lesson to us to be careful. Ob! if we had fallen, what would have become of Bess ?”’ ; “Do not unman yourself by speculating upon that. We are saved, but by little short of a miracle.” They both rose as Blake thus spoke. “ flave you another piece of candle?” asked Jack. ‘If you have, light it, and let me carry it. We shall then see better where we are going.” “Yes, I have geveral pieces. I always take care to supply myself well with them, in case of accidents or circumstances oceurring to make it impossible to get them just at the moment they are required.” “It is a wise precaution,’ said Jack. ‘‘In future | shall take care always to adopt it.” ** You should never, under any circumstauces, be without having the means about you of readily procuring a light. Think what our position would have been if 1 had only — =e i ET spre RE Se =. gS SE PAS «53 ene a aL ET Fs al GOnlGaIoOokSreo # g an