The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 389: what you’re looking at

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

360 REYNOLDS’ WORKS least endeavoured to persuade himself that it was, but the sound was repeated, and it was accompanied by a slight rustling of the long grass where it was not cleared away. For a few instants the Englishman was so paralyzed by mortal terror as to be unable to take any decisive step, until suspense grew horrible beyond all endurance, and then, with a torch still burning in his hand, he began to ascend the steps. With exceeding caution, shuddering from head to foot, and horribly alarmed lest some wild animal should spring at him, the Burker thus raised himself up until his eyes could just look over the _ level of the aperture. Then a fierce growl saluted his ears, in- stantaneously followed by a second sound which may be described as a savage howl of affright, and he beheld a huge tiger retreating slowly, evidently in alarm at the light of the torch. The Burker was so smitten with consternation that he nearly fell down the steps; but, suddenly recovering his presence of mind, he closed the trap-door, all except about an inch, and he left it thus far open for two reasons. The first was that the spring might not be so acted upon as to prevent him from opening the trap-door again from within the cavern, and the other was that he might not altogether shut out the air necessary for life. So horribly bewildered, however, were the wretched man’s thoughts, that it struck him not at the instant that the first reason was alone sufh- cient as a motive for leaving the trap-door partially unclosed without the adjunctive of the second. Yet both ideas had flashed to his mind at the same instant, and even in the hid- eous turmoil of his thoughts they had suggested that pre- cautionary measure. He now lost no time in lighting the second torch, for the first was nearly extinct, and he shrank from the idea of being left in the dark in that subterranean. He heard the stealthy catlike paces of the tiger returning to the trap-door which covered the aperture of the cavern, and his blood congealed with horror lest the monster should be by any means enabled to get at him. Next he heard the tiger sniffing about above the trap-door, and then, through the slight opening which he had left, he could perceive a dark substance intercepting the light. A low, savage growl made him aware that the tiger had scented his presence in the cavern, and returning up the steps, he suddenly thrust the torch upward in such CORNIELYOOLKKS (E()