The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 388: what you’re looking at

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

THE RUINED TEMPLE 309 Thus was the Burker rid of the gossoon, the man who had been his companion, in some sense his friend, but chiefly an enemy. Sole master of the treasure was the Burker now, but how could he render it available? He had no means of conveyance for such a quantity of jars, and if he were to load himself with the coin, he could bear but comparatively a small portion of it away with him. He must have time to reflect. But heremembered that if any of the inhabitants or authorities of the district, or any wayfarers, should happen to find him amongst those ruins with a corpse, it would be instantaneously supposed that he had committed a foul murder, without provocation, and without the faintest shadow of excuse for the crime. He therefore resolved to con- ceal the dead body; and having rifled it, he dragged it to the extremity of the ruins, where he covered it with frag- ments of the dilapidated masonry. When this was done, the Burker sat down upon a mass of granite to think of the course which he should now pursue. To remove the treasure without a vehicle was impossible; to obtain one, without exciting suspicion of some sort or another, seemed equally impracticable for a person situated as he was. True, he had a quantity of money about him, his own bag of rupees, and the gossoon’s likewise, for he had taken this from about the person of the corpse, but his wretched apparel, his ill looks, and his suspicious appearance would inevitably bring him into trouble if he were to proceed to any house and exhibit sufficient coin for the hire or purchase of a cart. Then, what was he to do? The only plan appeared to be the first which he had thought of, namely, that of securing about his person as much of the treasure as possible, and taking his departure from that spot. Having made up his mind to the pursuance of this course, the Burker proceeded to manufacture a couple of torches similar to those which he had just now seen the gossoon make; and inasmuch as from the rifled garments of the corpse he had procured the materials for striking a light, he prepared for another descent into the subterranean. The sliding trap-door of masonry was opened, and, having lighted one of his torches, the Burker descended the steps. But not many moments had he been in the cavern when he was startled by hearing a sort of subdued growl somewhere within the ruins. He thought that it must be fancy, or at GOMuIGdoG SS) (©)