The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 376: what you’re looking at

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

TORTURES 347 situated. The gossoon comprehended the geography of the place better than the Burker, and he proceeded slowly and cautiously to open a door on the left hand side of the pas- sage. There also the light streamed in from the starlit heavens, and the gossoon, having first looked carefully into the chamber, beckoned the Burker to follow him. The hospitable ryot was sleeping there. The gossoon crept toward the couch, and just as he reached it, the ryot started up. But the gossoon flew at him as if he had for the nonce borrowed a tiger’s power and agility, and his hands clutched the unfortunate man’s throat. No cry escaped the ryot’s lips, no sound but a suffocating, gasping gurgle, but for an instant there was a violent struggle between the two, until the Burker threw himself upon the ryot’s form and held him down. The horrible process of murder lasted not then many minutes. The deed was accomplished; the individual who had afforded such generous hospitality to the two mis- creants lay a corpse in his bed. The gossoon had proved himself as ruthless and merciless an assassin as even the Burker was in his own native clime. When the tragedy was accomplished, the two men listened for a few moments, but all was silent. They then began ransacking the furniture and boxes in the room, and after some little difficulty they discovered the place where their victim had concealed his hoarded rupees. These were contained in two bags, which seemed to be of tolerably equal weight and dimensions; the gossoon accordingly took one, the Burker the other. They then issued from the chamber of death by means of that window through which they had first become acquainted with the fact that the ryot possessed the coin that proved the temptation to commit this heinous crime. But it seemed as if the gossoon were not contented with what he had done, or, at all events, he thought that another crime must be perpetrated to conceal the first one. There was an immense quantity of rice-straw in the immediate vicinity of the dwelling, and by the means of ignition which the gossoon always carried about with him, he set fire to the stack. The flame blazed up, almost immediately seizing upon the house itself, which was built of combustible mate- rials, and away sped the incendiary, closely followed by the Burker. The latter could not help thinking that the crime COnnICLOOkKS (S©@)