The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 375: what you’re looking at

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

864 THE MYSTERIES They advanced rapidly, and at firet showed by their looks that they were surprised at finding a European of his appearance in such a spot as that: then their eyes fell upon the corpse that lay upon the ground—and with shouts of mingled rage and horror they rushed towards the Burker. Two of them had huge clubs—the third had a long knife, which he drew from his girdle and brandished menacingly. The Burker made vehement signs to testify his innocence, and likewise to make the Goseoons aware that he had found the corpse in the cavern. They seemed to comprehend him: but two of them held him fast, while the third pro- ceeded to examine the corpse with the minutest scrutiny. We should observe that they were all three men of middle age—strong built, power- fal, and looking more like ferocious depredators than the votaries of a religious sect. All of a sudden the man who was examining the dead body, pointed ont the little punctures to the view of his comradea; and they at once let go their hold upon the Burker. They then all three began lamenting after their own rude fashion,— howling, beating their breasts, and making hor- rible contortions ; while the one who possessed the knife, took it and hacked himself in half-a-dozen places until he was covered with his own gushing blood. The other two took the knife in their turns, and did the same to themselves,—while the Burker looked on with horror lest they should ex- pect him to follow their example, or should else offer to perform the disagreeable service for him. But they wore evidently paying no attention to him: they seemed fully satisfied that he was not the murderer of their brother-gossoon ; and thus, as the Burker’s confidence revived, he began to reflect on what had taken place. That the Gos- soons regarded the punctures as the cause of their friend’s death, be felt convinced; and the idea stole into his mind that they were produced by the bite of a enake. If so, then even that cave iteelf was not proof against the fearful visitations of the stealthy reptiles!—and the man’s blood curdied with horror at the idea that he had pos- sibly passed the night in that cavern with the very serpent that had pierced the unfortunate dervish with ite envenomed fangs. The three Gossoons at length made an end of their lamentations; and they addressed the Barker in their own language: but he could not compre- hend a syllable they said—neither did they under- stand him when he spoke to them in his English vernacular. They now intimated by signs that he was to leave them: he joined his hands in en- treaty—but they shook their heads sternly, and motioned him to depart. Again he persevered in his endeavour to give them to understand that he besought permission to accompany them: but their signs only grew more peremptory—and the knife was brandished before his eyes:—he was therefore compelled to sling on his knapsack and haeten away. But as he moved off, the thought occurred to Lim that the Gossoons might probably only re- quire his temporary absence while they performed some rites or ceremonies in respect to the de- ceased. He therefore resolved to watch them from a distance, and to approach them again if he be- held a suitable occasion. They however seemed determined that he should leave their vicinity al- OF THE COURT. together; and they quickly disabused him in re- spect to his last hope: for the one who was armed with a knife, followed the Burker for a little while; and every time he looked round, the Gos- soon kept making impatient signs for him to hasten still farther away. The wretched man was thus debarred of the chance which for a little while had seemed to favour him, of being guided out of that dreadful jungle. He continued his way; and when the Gossoon was no longer in sight, he sat down by the side of a rock from which a crystal spring gushed forth. With that water he refreshed bim- self: but ho still remained sitting there, pondering most despondingly his forlorn and desolate condi- tion. Every now and then he awoke as it wero with a kind of start from bis reverie, and flung his anxious looks around, with the dread lest the Strangler were creeping stealthily towards him. He however beheld no one; and after a while he resolved to continue his way once more. He was pursuing his path along a rough uneven ground, -~—always taking care to avoid the vicinity of trees as much as possible, and likewise to avoid the long grass, when he was suddenly startled by a rustliog amongst some sbrubs at a little distance; and the next moment he beheld a black animal, consider. ably larger than a cat, rush forth in pursuit of some smaller prey. It was a panther of diminu- tive size: but the instant it caught sight of the Barker it bounded towards him. The man turned to fly; for the green eyes of the panther gleamed at him with a terrible fierceness: but all in a mo- ment a strange cry or yell of agony reached his ears; and glancing back, he observed that the panther had been seized upon by a cobra di capello of considerable sise—the largest indeed that the Burker had as yet seen since first he set foot upon the soil of India. He remained not however to witness the result of the conflict between the ani- mal and the reptile: bat he sped on with all the swiftness that he could command. Without at first perceiving it, he was retracing his way towards the cave: but he did not become aware of the fact until he reached the rock from whose side the crystal spring was gushing forth. Almost maddened by the sense of this last peril which he had escaped,—once again embracing the hope that by means of piteous entreaty he might induce the Gossoons to guide him out of the jungle—and too reckless of life not to seek their presence once more, even though he should perish by the sharp blade which they had used against their own persons,—the Barker resolved to go back to the cavern. It was now by no means dif- ficult for him to find his way thither: bat when he came in sight of the eminence in the bowels of which it was hollowed, he beheld nothing of the oons. Nor as he drew near its entrance did he behold the corpse of the deceased on the spot where he had last seen it. It strack him that the Gossoons had probably buried it, and that they might be reposing themeelves in the cave. As suming an aspect of the most piteous entreaty, he approached the cavern: but be beheld no one within. He however saw a waliet lying upon the ground ; and he recognised it as that which had belonged to the deceased, and from which he had taken the rice. Before he touched it he assured himself that no one was in the cavern,—the dead COUMIUC NOOK (CO