The Mysteries of London; or, Lights and Shadows of London Life — page 59: what you’re looking at

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

oon eo oe —_— —— ee rm ee OS ee | belongs to me, and you may get an answer,” returned Randall with aggravating calmness. Irritated by the disappointment he had sustained, and stung into frenzy by the sight of the money thus unceremoniously appropriated, the old man paused until Randall had again assumed a stooping position, end then drawing a keen clasp-knife from his pocket, he sprang upon him with the ferocity of a tiger, and, driving the blade furiously down, he would have stabbed him in the neck, had not the other, rising at the moment, diverted the aim, and caused his assail- ant to thrust the weapon harmlessly into the stout neckerchief that was fortunately worn by the bird- fancier. The force with which the blow had been delivered, and the ap ce of the knife, still clutched vindic tively in his hand, at once betrayed the miser’s action and its intention. Paralysed by: the failure of his attempt, the old man, rooted to the spot, hardly moved under the powerful grasp by which Randall now held his throat; but the fierce hatred which his face ex - hibited when he struck the blow still remained its dominant expression. By degrees Randall tightened his hold, and, as he grew more exasperated in the terrible revenge he was taking, the fearful oaths uttered in his passion came faster and more numerous. At last, with one tremendous asseveration, he cast the miser from him, and then, with a hollow sound, he saw the form he had released fall heavily back upon the floor, and he found that the muscular grip with which he had seized him had proved the grasp of death. _ As the reflections arising from the crime he had committed in the excess of his angry retribution, and the thought of the necessary concealment that must follow, presented themselves to his mind, a cold shudder passed like an icy thrill through his frame, and with an anxious movement he bent down beside the inanimate form that, wth its lineaments fixed and rigid, seemed to stare fiercely and reproachfully upon him. The violent paroxysm of fury into which he had worked himself, and the involuntary strangulation produced by the firm hold of his exasperated anta- gonist, had alike contributed to cause the violent death of the miser; Lut Randall regarded himself as alone being guilty, and like the sudden withdrawal of a curtain behind which the most appalling spectres have been concealed, the bird-fancier now felt himself a murderer, and became haunted by the most fearful images of horror, associated with the presence of the frightful corpse that lay stretched before him. All his exertions to bring back the spark of life to the form of helpless clay that was extended at his feet had been bestowed in vain ; and as he listened for the breathing that might indicate some sign of lin- gering existence yet perceptible, he heard the pulsa- tions of his own heart become distinctly audible, whilst no token of animation was to be perceived in the cold stark figure that, crouched in the same position | where it fell, had already revealed, in the lurid black- ness that overspread the face, unerring symptoms of certain dissolution. With a conviction that the body must be imme- diately removed, lest a chance straggler in that lo- cality should become aware of the cecurrence, and should challenge him as the murderer, Randall rapidly glanced at the premises to see the best means they afforded of disposing of the dead; the discovery of a | loose plank in the flooring suggested that beneath the } hovel he might obtain the convenience he sought. we eee oes oe tee eee em em LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF LONDON LIFE. Ripping open the boards, he found to his surprise and gratification that a deep excavation had been before wrought underneath the building in a way which proved it had manifestly formed a portion of the | miser’s cunning scheme to hide the wealth he had | amassed from the eye of his fellow creatures. Further examination brought to light a small box, completely filled with gold; and now satisfied that he had lighted on the secret hoard where Hawkins had buried the riches he had so nefariously acquired, he distributed the money he took from this source carefully about his person, and dragged the form of the miser to the same spot. About half an hour’s labour enabled him to effec- tually conceal the body of Hawkins, and efface every sign of the boards having been so recently dis- turbed. Having thus deposited the body in the same place where the miser had secreted the gold that formed the object of his constant worship, he quitted the barn, and turned towards the creek by which his boat was moored. Away from the scene in which this sudden and unexpected event had taken place, his confidence re- turned. For Hawkins he felt no regret. His own life had been attempted; and with the sophistry which is always at hand to blunt the keen reproaches of conscience, he began to regard what he had done as almost a justifiable act of self-defence. The money he had obtained he resolved to keep for the real in- heritor, when heshould have the opportunity of effect- ing the restoration. He would only employ, in the meantime, sufficient to satisfy his immediate wants, and aid him in procuring restitution for the lost heir. But despite these whisperings of a better monitor, he could not help reckoning the chances that the money would ever be applied for; and having satisfactorily arranged in his own mind that the chances were very small indeed, he turned aside from the stairs at Lime- house, and began to drink deeply at the first tavern he encountered, to drown the recurrence of more un- pleasant reflections that were fast forcing themselves upon him, Too deeply intoxicated by the time he reaehed home to be surprised at the appearance of his daughter at liberty, and with his thoughts too much engrossed by other matters to heed the inquiries which Mary addressed to him, he sent out fer more brandy, and then sank into a state of stupor that was only relieved by the sleep which it induced. Shunning all questions as to the manner in which he had obtained the money he had in his possession, he would rally frem one es | LL re cr cr ec ie ee en drunken fit only to drink himself to lethargy again; — and the remonstrances of his daughter were met by a torrent of abuse that was the more wounding to her feelings since she felt it to be wholly unmerited. Thus passed several days, during which Randall scarcely knew a moment’s sobriety. Under the mad- dening influence of the ardent. spirits that were now consumed by him in enormous quantities, he would boast of having made a lucky hit that would make him a rich man for life; but all the subtle contrivances employed by his companions to draw from him the source whence he had derived the funds for these ex- | cesses failed of attaining their object. A lookor word | that savoured of curiosity upon this point would seal his lips, and he would become moody and taciturn. So long as his comrades shared in the pot-house revels he provided, they cared not indeed to seek much further. Whether he came by it honestly or not was no business that troubled them, and his presence at the tavern was too profitable to the landlord not to ewe - eee eee — ee - mM ELOOO (CO) | S (E©) m on OO ee ES