"Stay, friend; you are the very man I want to a.s.sist me in a dangerous enterprise--one that requires courage, and strength, and skill; if you engage to aid me, your reward shall be liberal--what say you?"
"You must first tell me what it is you want done," replied the robber.
"I want to break open a tomb in St. Paul"s churchyard, and examine a dead body; and to do this I shall require an a.s.sistant," said the Doctor, in a low tone.
"That is all well enough," rejoined the robber; "but how do I know that you are not laying a plan to entrap me into the clutches of the law, for having robbed you?"
"Pshaw!" exclaimed the Doctor, disdainfully, "why should I seek to entrap you? You have only relieved me of a few dollars, and what care I for that! Draw near, and examine me closely; do I look like a man who would tell a base lie, even to bring a robber to justice?--have I not the appearance of a gentleman? I pledge you my sacred word of honor, that I meditate no treachery against you."
"Enough--I am satisfied," said the robber, after having scrutinized the Doctor as closely as the darkness would admit of--"when is this thing to be done?"
"To-morrow night will probably be stormy, and suitable for the purpose,"
replied Dr. Sinclair. "Meet me precisely as the clock strikes the hour of midnight, at the great gate on the lower extremity of the Park; you must come provided with such tools as will be necessary to effect an entrance into the tomb, which is probably secured by a strong padlock; also bring with you a lantern, and the means of lighting it. My object in thus disturbing the repose of the dead, is of no consequence to you; it will be sufficient for you to understand that you are hired to perform a service, which is to be well paid for when completed--you comprehend me?"
"I do," said the robber, "and shall not fail to meet you at the time and place appointed; if you have no more to say to me, I will now bid you good night."
"Good night," said the Doctor; "and pray, my good friend, do not menace any other belated traveller with that ugly knife of yours."
The robber laughed, and turning on his heel, strode away in the darkness, while the rector continued on his way towards his residence.
When he reached his house, and had entered the door, a person emerged from the darkness, and by the light of a street lamp which was near, read the name upon the door-plate.--The Doctor had been followed home by the robber.
"All right," muttered the latter worthy, as he walked away--"he lives in that house, and his name is Dr. Sinclair. Men of his cla.s.s don"t generally play the spy or traitor; so I can safely keep the appointment.
He is not a physician or surgeon; therefore what in the devil"s name should he want to break into a tomb for? No matter; to-morrow night will explain the mystery." And the robber"s form was lost in the darkness.
As the Doctor had predicted, the night which followed the adventure just related, was stormy; the snow fell thick and fast, and the darkness was intense. As the clock struck the hour of midnight, a figure m.u.f.fled in a cloak slowly emerged from the lower extremity of the Park, and paused at the great gate which forms the Southern angle of that vast enclosure. He had waited there but a few minutes, when he was joined by another person, who asked him--
"Well, Sir Robber, is it you?"
"All right, sir; you see I am punctual," replied the robber. The other person was of course the rector.
Without any further conversation, the two proceeded down Broadway, until they stood before the magnificent church of St. Paul"s. This splendid edifice, of Grecian architecture, was situated on the border of an extensive burying ground, which with the church itself, was surrounded by an iron railing of great height. Finding the front gate secured by a ma.s.sive lock, the robber applied himself to the task of picking it, with an instrument designed for that purpose. This was soon accomplished, and entering the enclosure, the two pa.s.sed around the rear of the church, and stood among the many tomb-stones which marked the last resting place of the quiet dead.
The rector, being well acquainted with the arrangements of the ground, had no difficulty in finding the tomb he wished to enter. A plain marble slab, upon which was sculptured the words "Franklin Family," denoted the spot. It required the united strength of both the men to raise this slab from the masonry on which it rested. This being done, they stepped into the aperture, descended a short flight of stone steps, and found their further progress arrested by an iron door, secured by an immense padlock.
"It will now be necessary to light my lantern; I can do so with safety,"
said the robber. And igniting a match, he lighted a dark lantern which he had brought with him. Dr. Sinclair then, for the first time, distinctly beheld the features of his midnight companion; and he started with horror--for the most diabolically hideous countenance he had ever seen or dreamed of in his life, met his gaze. The robber observed the impression he had made upon his employer, and grinned horribly a ghastly smile.
"You don"t like my looks, master," said he, gruffly.
"I certainly cannot call you handsome," replied the Doctor, trying to smile--"but no matter--you will answer my purpose as well as a comelier person. Let us proceed with our work; can you break or pick this padlock?"
The robber made no reply, but drew from his pocket a bunch of skeleton keys, with which he soon removed the padlock; and the heavy iron door swung upon its rusty hinges with a loud creaking noise.
"D----n and blast that noise!" growled the robber.
"Silence, fellow!" cried the rector, authoritatively; "you are standing in the chamber of the dead, and such profanity is out of place here--no more of it."
This reproof was received with a very ill grace by the robber, who glared savagely upon his reprover, and seemed almost inclined to spring upon him and strangle him on the spot--no difficult thing for him to do, for the Doctor was of slender build, while he himself possessed a frame unusually muscular and powerful.
They entered the vault, and the feeble rays of the lantern shone dimly on the damp green walls, and on the few coffins which were placed upon shelves.
An awful odor pervaded the place, so loathsome, so laden with the effluvia of death and corruption, that the rector hesitated, and was more than half inclined to abandon the undertaking; but after a moment"s reflection--
"No," he said, mentally--"having gone thus far, it would ill become me to retreat when just on the point of solving the terrible mystery; I will proceed."
He advanced and examined the coffins, some of which were so much decayed, that their ghastly inmates were visible through the large holes in the crumbling wood. At length he found one, in a tolerable state of preservation, upon which was a gold plate bearing the name of Edgar Franklin. Satisfied that this was the one he was in search of, he desired the robber to come forward and a.s.sist in removing the lid, which being done, a fleshless skeleton was revealed to their view.
"Now, fellow," said the Doctor, "I am about to make a certain investigation, of which you must not be a witness; therefore, you will retire to the outer entrance of the tomb, and wait there until I call you. Your reward shall be in proportion to your faithful obedience of my orders."
Casting a look of malignant hate at the young gentleman, the robber withdrew from the vault, shutting the iron door behind him; and as he did so, he muttered a deep and terrible curse.
"Now may Heaven nerve me to the performance of this terrible task!"
exclaimed the rector, solemnly; and bending over the coffin, he held the lantern in such a position as enabled him to gaze into the interior of the skull, through the eyeless sockets.
But oh, horrible--within that skull was a ma.s.s of live corruption--a myriad of grave worms banquetting upon the brains of the dead!
The Doctor reeled to the iron door of the vault, threw it open, and eagerly breathed the fresh air from above. This somewhat revived him, and he called on his a.s.sistant to come down. The robber obeyed, and was thus addressed by his employer--
"Friend, I have overrated my own powers--perhaps your nerves are stronger, your heart bolder than mine. Go to that coffin which we opened, search the interior of the skull, and if you find anything in it singular, or in the least degree unusual, bring it to me.--Here is a pocket-book containing money to a large amount; take it and keep it, but do as I have requested."
The robber took the pocket-book and went into the vault. Horror could not sicken _him_; the terrors of death itself had no terror for him.
After the lapse of a few moments, he exclaimed--"I have found something!" and advancing to the door, he handed to the doctor a small object, having first wiped it with an old handkerchief.
Overcoming his repugnance by a powerful effort, the doctor walked back into the vaults towards the lantern, which still remained upon the coffin-lid.
Upon examining the article which had been taken from the skull, he found it to be _a piece of lead_, of an irregular shape and weighing nearly two ounces.
"My belief in the guilt of Josephine and her mother is confirmed,"
thought he. "Shall I deliver them into the hands of justice? that must be decided hereafter; at all events, I will accuse them of the crime, and discontinue all connection with the wretched Josephine forever."
Having carefully placed the piece of lead in his pocket, he advanced to the door, with the intent of leaving the robber to fasten on the lid of the coffin. To his surprise and horror he discovered that the door was locked! He knocked frantically against it, but was only answered by a low laugh from the outside.
"Wretch--villain!" he exclaimed. "What mean you by this trick? Open the door instantly, I command you!"
"Fool!" cried the robber, contemptuously. "I obey your commands no longer. You shall be left in this tomb to rot and die. You spoke to me with scorn, and shall now feel my vengeance. Think not, that I am ignorant of your true object in entering this tomb;--there has been a _murder_ committed, and you sought for evidence of the crime. That evidence is now in your possession; but the secret is known to me, and I shall not fail to use it to my advantage. I shall seek out the Franklins, and inform them of the discovery which places them completely in my power. Farewell, parson--; I leave you to your agreeable meditations, and to the enjoyment of a long, sound sleep!"
The miserable rector heard the sound of the ruffian"s departing footsteps; with a wild cry of anguish and despair he threw himself against the iron door, which yielded not to his feeble efforts, and he sank exhausted upon the floor, in the awful conviction that he was buried alive!
Soon the horrors of his situation increased to a ten-fold degree--for he found himself a.s.sailed by a legion of rats. These creatures attacked him in such numbers that he was obliged to act on the defensive; and all his exertions were scarce sufficient to keep them from springing upon him, and tearing his flesh with their sharp teeth.
To his dismay he observed that the light of the lantern was growing dim and came near to being exhausted; darkness was about to add to the terrors of the place. Nerved to desperation, though faint and sick with the awful stench of that death vault, he searched about for some weapon with which to end his miserable existence. While thus engaged, he stumbled over a heavy iron crowbar which lay in one corner and seizing it with a cry of joy, applied it with all his force to the door of his loathsome prison.
It yielded--he was free! for the slab had not been replaced over the tomb, owing to the robber"s inability to raise it. Falling on his knees, the rector thanked G.o.d for his deliverance; and ascending the steps, stood in the burial-ground, just as the lamps in the tomb below had become extinguished.
He was about to make his way out of the grave-yard, when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps, and low voices; and just as he had concealed himself behind a tall tomb-stone, he saw, through the thick darkness, two men approach the uncovered tomb from which he emerged only a few minutes before.
""Twas fortunate I met you, Ragged Pete," said one; "for without your aid I never could have lifted this stone into its place; and if it were left in its present position, it would attract attention in the morning, and that cursed parson might be rescued from the tomb. Take hold, and let"s raise it on."