The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 365: what you’re looking at

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854 ing at the cords which were tight round their throats. At length their mortal sufferings were put an end to; and there they lay, still and dead— those who had so lately been in the enjoyment of vigorous life, exchanging convivial words, and with emiles upon their lips! The Burker felt ds if a noose were round his own neck; and he dared ecarcely even breathe, for fear leet he should be- tray his presence there and become the third victim ! The two assassins now emerged from their am- bush. They were tall, athletic, well-made indivi- duals—nearly naked—each with but « scanty gar- ment of dark cloth fastened round the middle of the body. Their eyes had a ferocious glare, like those of wild beasts; and when they grinned at each other, with fierce bloodthirsty satisfaction at the confemplation of the work they had performed, the Burker perceived that their teeth had been filed into points, eo that they resembled thoee of a sherk, or the sharp jagged edge of a saw. Altoge- ther there was something unnatural and flend-like in the appearance of those miscreants: for though they had the human shape, it was scarcely possi- ble to fancy that they were veritable human be- ings. The Barker trembled for hie life: his breath was held with horrible suspense ; his blood seemed to turn into ice in his veins. Most of our readers will have comprehended that the two assassins belonged to the horrible sect of Thugs, or Stranglers, which has not alto- gether disappeared from the peninsula of Hindo- stan. The Burker did not however know who they were; nor had he the slightest idea that their murderous pursuits constituted a éort of diabolic creed as well as a regular avocation. He took them to be mero banditti, who on this occasion had availed themselves of the readiest means of taking the lives of their victims whom they did not dare provoke to an open combat on account of the fire- arms they possessed. ae The Stranglers—having gratified their horrible propensity for murderous deeds by gazing for a few minutes upon their victims—proceeded to take possession of their weapons; and then unfastening the cords froth around the necks of the murdered men, the Thugs plunged again into the recesses of the grove. They did not tarry to rifle the ns of their victims: they did not even eo much as open the knapeack which was slung over the shoulder of one of them: nor did they touch the liquor which the gourd contained, nor the re- maincer of the food: which had been left upon the grass. They vanished from the Burker’s vieq, bearing with them their fatal taesos, and all the weapons that had belonged to the victims of this hideous assassination. For néarly balf-an-hour, however, did the Barker remain in his hiding-place after the departure of the Stranglers. He was afraid tu move. He now thought much less of snakes, reptiles, and tigers, than of those horrible miscreants whose victimes lay stretched motionless before his eyes. At length the Burker began to take courage somewhat; and thinking that the coast must now be eompletely olear, he stole forth from his hiding-place. It was still however with fear and trembling that he approached the corpses: for by to doing he ap- proached -likewise that very part of the grove where the lassos had been thrown forth. The murderers might still be there; and one of those fatal cords might be thrown out for its deadly noose to encircle his own neck as he had seen both circle the necks of the dead towards whom he was now cautiously and timidly advancing! But all was still; and the Burker, gaining more and more courage, proceeded to possess himself of the gourd, the knapeack, and the remnant of provisions. He longed to tarry and rifle the persons of the dead ; for if he found money upon them it might be ser- viceable to him if ever he should succeed in getting oat of that jangle: buat a sudden rustling amongst the trees made him flee away for his very life. Hoe was at a considerable distauce before be dared to look back ; and then he beheld not the forms of the miscreants whom he so mueh dreaded that his would encounter. He succeetied in gaining his cavern: but thete was another source of surprise and mystification for him. A fire had evidentiy been lighted in front of the cave during the day ;. another mass of boiled rice and a quantity of fruite were left in the niche underneath the loophole. Bat no human being was to be seen’ on that spot except the Barker himeelf. Th. man waa seised with a sort of apd awful terror, as if with the sense. that he was the object of some design on the part of preternatural powers. Perhape the Enemy of Mankind himeelf was placing that food in bis way, more effectually to seal his doom than hia own antecedent crimes could have done? But this was an impression that could not be permanently made oo such a mind as the Burker's; and he bean to bave an inkling of the real truth. Doubtless that cavern served as a temporary halting.place for wa through the dreadful jungle? — and doubtless likewise the food was left by some well- provided person for the use of any lees fortanate individual who migi® be compelled to trust entirely to such thoughtful charity? These were the ideas that now arose in the Burker’s mind; and the reader is already aware how consstent they hap- pened to be with the actual truth. * He was now well supplied with provisions for the next two or three days; and he found that the gourd contained some exceedingly potent spirit. He ate and drank heartily; bat this soul was the prey to a continuous trouble~—for he dreaded leet chance or previous koowledge should bring the shark-teethed murderers to his cave. On examin- ing the knapeack, he found that it corftained a quantity of despatches, written in a manner which he could not possibly comprehend ; and he there- fore concluded that the victims of the Stranglers must have been messengers bearing some docu- ments from one Indian authority to another. When the darkness set in, the Burker berri- caded the place with even greater precautions than those he had previously adopted. He slept buat little that night; and when slamber did fall upon his eyes, it was more than ever feverish and an- easy ; for not merely were his dreams now haunted by wild beasts and reptiles, bat likewise by the images of human berags as terrible. as the tiger and as stealthy as the serpent. <= ae aC ae a en, COUMIUC NOOK (CO