Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 33: what you’re looking at

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

CL, RRR SS CSA SSSR, _ WOLSPO—upNUSSUs>ihphdsr Wau snr unrunnrereaehisrehransssvereru~cems~wen necarrtrng ee, BLUESKIN: A ROMANCE, | a aeeeeeneeeenenaeentenieanennnnimne iene Sawdust. a That was it. The stairs were thickly covered with it. Then Jonathan got fairly beneath the flooring of the ehurch. To say that a clammy sensation of fear did not seize hira would be untrue. Jonathan Wild was human, and susceptible of human influences. } The silence awed him. The dampness chilled his blood. He coula feel it cold even about his heart. The intense darkness seemed like some mass of black velvety material, which was pressing upon him in every direction. But, mastering these sensations with a tremendous effort, and summoning up all his fortitude and courage, Wild drew back the shde of the lantern lens to its fullest extent, and allowed the whole of the light to pass freely through the lens. It revealed with great distinctness the dark, black walls, which presented a vivid contrast to the white saw- dust, with which the steps were plentifully covered. Slowly, step by step, Wild descended the rude steps leading into the vaults. At their termination was a strong iron door. Upon perceiving this unexpected obstacle, Wild felt half inclined to turn back, making that serve for an excuse. The fact is, he was terrified, and was becoming morc so every minute. But still in histerror one thought was uppermost in his mind. And tha’ yas, should he so far be the slave of his own apprehensions as to leave bis object unachieved, he would, when he reflected upon the circumstance by the light of day, be mortified beyond measure at his own pusil- lanimity. And so he would not turn back. And yet he felt an equal disinclination to proceed further. He could not avoid feeling conscious that a strange, heavy sensation was pressing upon his brain. He put out his hand to steady himself. By an accident it was against the door of the vault that he leant instead of the wall. Slowly, and with a dismal sound, it gave way before the pressure. Finding that the door was unsecured seemed to have a re-invigorating effect upon Wild, and he shook off toa very great extent the “ thick coming fancies”? which op- pressed him. He made a step forward into the vault. As he did so he fancied he heard a sound coming appa- rently from a great distance. It was like a muffled groan or shriek. **Pho, pho!’ said Wild, and he waived his bludgeon about him in a defiant manner as he spoke. ‘‘ Pho, pho! I will be fooled by my fancy no longer, or else I shall end by going mad.” He rapidly flashed the ight of the lantern about him, and thus obtained a transient glimpse of every part of the place he was in. The vault was spacious. But there was no one in it save himself and dead. The atmosphere, however, appeared to have a sickly, clammy feel, and which as he suspired it seemed to com- municate itself to his whole frame. Then Wild found that by speaking he lessened the gloomy horror of the place. _ His voice, he thought, never sonnded so pleasantly nefore. **T wonder now,” he said, as he opened the door of the lantern, and so allowed the light to diffuse itself equally all round, “ I wonder, now, whereabouts the coftm 1s that contains the tiara of diamonds? It wall be well earned when I get it.” This was true. That he should be in doubt and perpiexed to know which was the coffin he wanted was natural enough, for all round tha vault were niches, in which, upon shelves, tho coftius were ranged one above the other. wld did not see room for above three more, without £2120 trezh place was provided for them. . butou looking more attentively ho perceived that some ‘Game en, 0 a. — aay i “ ein en fn SS Gu Pg SP 7s SOT A RR RR I RR A SP SS Sh SS, SE TO at OY | eee eee. ere oe mee ee ee i re re er ee ee es ee “ie “* ae 3 of the coffins, which were all uniformly painted black and cased with lead, bore every appearance of extreme age. Then the thought struck him that most likely they had been placed there in, so to speak, chronological order. If this should be, much trouble would be saved. And sure enough such proved to be the case. In brief, he found at last one niche in which the coffins were quite new, or rather appeared to be, for Jonathan could detect no difference between them. The two top shelves were unoccupied. If, then, his theory was ccrrect, the topmost one must be the one he sought. He turned round to seek some object upon which to stand, for he found he was not high enough to reach this one. As he did so, ho heard, with the utmost plainness, a dull, rustling, bumping noise. He turned round with the rapidity of hghtning. His eyes fixed themselves upon the coffin, which he made up his mind contained the object of his desires. Was he dreaming ? Did his eyesight play him false ? No; he felt neither of these was the case, and yet he saw that which would be by everyone deemed an im- possibility. The cothin moved. Not once, but twice, thrice, while the thumping, strug- gling sound increased. Wild tried to move. But it was as though he was possessed by some fright- ful incubus, which held all his corporal faculties euthralled. He could not move. He could not speak. His jaw fell in the effort, but he could not raise it, while his eyes seem starting from his head. His attitude and his countenance were expressive of the most intense, unutterable horror. And then arose a shriek so wild, so unearthly, so brain- piercing in its tones, that it was sufficient to drive anyone who heard it into madness. And to enhance the frightful nature of the scene, ere yet the awful scream was fully articulated, the coffiu turned over on its side, and fell with a terrific crash on the floor at the thief-taker’s feet. He felt his senses were leaving him. The lantern dropped from his nerveless fingers. At the same moment he felt himself clutched with vice- like power by the arm. That seemed to break the spell, and his pent-up feelings gave vent in one heart-bursting groan. J onathan Wild sunk down on the floor of the vault in a swoon! a) CHAPTER XXI. RETURNS TO BLUESKIN AND JACK SHEPPARD, AND R2&- LATES HOW THEY EFFECTED AN ENTRANCE INTO “THE GRANGE,” * Now, JAcK! Up with you! It will be better to ride than to walk, I can tell you. Jump up!” Such were the words addressed by Blueskin to Jack Sheppard, when, in answer to the signal given by tho former, a horse and cart appeared in the yard belonging to the livery stables in Long-acre. Jack obeyed. . Blueskin was by his side in a moment, and then, taking hold of the reins, he touched the horse with the whip and drove out into the street. The horse was one that possessed every essential requi- site for such a job as he was now upon, and without any coercion he drew the light vehicle along at a rapid pace. The Oxford-road was the point to which Blueskin shaped his course. As yet Jack knew nothing of their destination, and so he took this opportunity to inquire. ** Kilburn,” said Blake. “And what sort of a place is it ?”’ “ A very pretty old-fashioned building, known simply as ‘The Grange.’ Keep your eyes open, and then you wil be able to manage a little job of the kind yourself.” “ But Blueskin, my friend, do as a favour tell me all you know about the young girl at the ‘Black Lion.’ If you had any idea how anxious and interested I amaheat 268 you would do so at once.” — Se eo & BS Dea TE GU WR AT FETE tect a ANT PORES YANNI aE Bi Es WR, SO aR EL AES IE ER RG Des a RRS SESE BCE Sa a a AY PT WS ST —If -SP e TP PTO ERP I GS IPE ETS COmiIcboooks (C (SO) 5}