Roanoke of Roanoke Hall: A Romance — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

96 Roanoke of Roanoke Hall. in the midst of my extreme consternation I was able to understand that it was not proba- ble that such a hazardous method of entering the room where I lay would be chosen, when the door was open to all comers. A minute afterwards the faint light was obscured by a dark body without, and in a paroxysm of terror I fell back and buried my head beneath the clothes. A short pause ‘was succeeded by the sound of rapid blows delivered by a heavy hammer, and preferring to perish open-eyed I looked out. ‘‘Bang, bang, bang.” The strokes fol- lowed in quick succession. One pane split, and the fragments fell jingling to the floor. Still the man made no attempt to come in ; and still the noise went on. At last it ceased; first the figure, then the ladder disappeared ; and I concluded that the deed, whatever it was, was finished. Slipping from the bed I pattered across the cold floor, and in an instant understood the meaning of this mid- night disturbance. The window had been fastened up, and I knew that what I had seen the night before had been no fleeting vision. Comicbooks.com |