The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 341: what you’re looking at

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

THE SECRET CHAMBER 315 the housekeeper. The old woman was quite dead, and the fearful marks upon her neck, as well as the hideous distortion of her countenance, showed at once by what means her murder had been accomplished. The discovery of old Jeremy’s body in the bedchamber followed next, and the open door of the safe proved that robbery had accompanied murder. That all these crimes were the horrible work of the Hang- man there could not be the slightest doubt, and that he had saved himself by flight was naturally conceived. Never- theless, Larry Sampson instituted the strictest search throughout the establishment; every apartment was en- tered, save and excepting that secret room which served as the laboratory for the murdered fence. Without entertaining the slightest suspicion that there was such a place within those walls, Larry Sampson and his two men issued forth again from the house, but in so doing they perceived that the street door was bolted and chained inside. It was therefore clear enough that the Hangman had not quitted the premises by this means of egress, and inasmuch as throughout the search just concluded no open window nor other indication of flight had met the officer’s notice, Larry resolved to go over the entire estab- lishment once more. This he did without discovering the slightest clue which to his experienced eye could afford an indication of the course taken by the murderer when he quitted the house. Was it possible that the Hangman had still remained concealed somewhere upon the premises? Sampson scarcely thought it likely, and yet he did not feel justified in abandoning the search as yet. Leaving the two men who were with him to keep watch inside the house, Larry Sampson proceeded around.to that dwelling where two others of his men had obtained admission in order to watch from the back windows, and from that point where they were already posted did Larry Sampson now survey all the back part of Humpage’s establishment. His keen eye very soon observed that there was one window on the second story which was boarded up, and painted in such a manner as to have the appearance of being uniform with the dingy brickwork itself, so as to conceal the existence of a window there altogether. Sampson’s attention was first drawn to this contrivance by the appearance of two small dark spots which struck him to be intended as air-holes, (C(O) nn) GDOo So! nin