He came hastily down the ladder and sat down on the dirty ground, with the infernal engine beside him.
By-and-by he got up and tried to warm his hands and feet by motion, and at last he recovered his fort.i.tude, and went softly and cat-like up the steps again, in spite of the various dangers he incurred.
Of what was this man"s mind composed, whom neither a mere bribe could buy to do this deed, nor pure fanaticism without a bribe; but, where both inducements met, neither the risk of immediate death, nor of imprisonment for life, nor both dangers united, could divert him from his deadly purpose, though his limbs shook, and his body was bedewed with a cold perspiration?
He reached the top of the ladder, he put his hand inside the grate; there was an aperture, but he could not find the bottom. He hesitated.
Here was a fresh danger: if he let the box fall it might explode at once and send him to eternity.
Once more he came softly down, and collected all the tow and wool he could find. He went up the ladder and put these things through the grating; they formed a bed.
Then he went back for the fatal box, took it up the ladder with beating heart, laid it softly in its bed, uncoiled the fuse and let it hang down.
So now these two fiendish things were placed, and their devilish tails hanging out behind them. The fuses had been cut with the utmost nicety to burn the same length of time--twelve minutes.
But Cole was too thoughtful and wary to light the fuses until everything was prepared for his escape. He put the ladder on board the boat, disposed the oars so that he could use them at once; then crept to the engine-chimney, kneeled down beside the fuse, looked up at the faint light glimmering above, and took off his hat.
With singular cunning and forethought he had pasted a piece of sandpaper into his hat. By this means he lighted a lucifer at once, and kept it out of sight from the windows, and also safe from the weather; he drew the end of the fuse into the hat, applied the match to it out of sight, then blew the match out and darted to his other infernal machine. In less than ten seconds he lighted that fuse too; then stepped into the boat, and left those two devilish sparks creeping each on its fatal errand. He pulled away with exulting bosom, beating heart, and creeping flesh. He pulled swiftly up stream, landed at the bridge, staggered up the steps, and found Coventry at his post, but almost frozen, and sick of waiting.
He staggered up to him and gasped out, "I"ve done the trick, give me the bra.s.s, and let me go. I see a halter in the air." His teeth chattered.
But Coventry, after hoping and fearing for two hours and a half, had lost all confidence in his a.s.sociate, and he said, "How am I to know you"ve done anything?"
"You"ll see and you"ll hear," said Cole. "Give me the bra.s.s."
"Wait till I see and hear," was the reply.
"What, wait to be nabbed? Another minute, and all the town will be out after me. Give it me, or I"ll take it."
"Will you?" And Coventry took out a pistol and c.o.c.ked it. Cole recoiled.
"Look here," said Coventry; "there are one hundred and fifty sovereigns in this bag. The moment I receive proof you have not deceived me, I give you the bag."
"Here, where we stand?"
"Here, on this spot."
"Hush! not so loud. Didn"t I hear a step?"
They both listened keenly. The fog was thick by this time.
Cole whispered, "Look down the river. I wonder which will go off first?
It is very cold; very." And he shook like a man in an ague.
Both men listened, numbed with cold, and quivering with the expectation of crime.
A clock struck twelve.
At the first stroke the confederates started and uttered a cry. They were in that state when everything sudden shakes men like thunder.
All still again, and they listened and shook again with fog and grime.
Sudden a lurid flash, and a report, dull and heavy, and something tall seemed to lean toward them from the sky, and there was a mighty rushing sound, and a cold wind in their faces, and an awful fall of masonry on the water, and the water spurted under the stroke. The great chimney had fallen in the river. At this very moment came a sharp, tremendous report like a clap of thunder close at hand. It was so awful, that both bag and pistol fell out of Coventry"s hand and rung upon the pavement, and he fled, terror-stricken.
Cole, though frightened, went down on his knees, and got the bag, and started to run the other way.
But almost at the first step he ran against a man, who was running toward him.
Both were staggered by the shock, and almost knocked down.
But the man recovered himself first, and seized Cole with a grip of iron.
When Coventry had run a few steps he recovered his judgment so far as to recollect that this would lay him open to suspicion. He left off running, and walked briskly instead.
Presently the great door of the works was opened, and the porter appeared crying wildly for help, and that the place was on fire.
The few people that were about made a rush, and Coventry, driven by an awful curiosity, went in with them; for why should he be suspected any more than they?
He had not gone in half a minute when Mr. Ransome arrived with several policemen, and closed the doors at once against all comers.
Strange to say, the last explosion had rung the bell in the police-office; hence this prompt appearance of the police.
The five or six persons who got in with Coventry knew nothing, and ran hither and thither. Coventry, better informed, darted at once to Little"s quarters, and there beheld an awful sight; the roof presented the appearance of a sieve: of the second floor little remained but a few of the joists, and these were most of them broken and stood on and across each other, like a hedgehog"s bristles.
In Little"s room, a single beam in the center, with a fragment of board, kept its place, but the joists were all dislocated or broken in two, and sticking up here and there in all directions: huge holes had been blown in the walls of both rooms and much of the contents of the rooms blown out by them; so vast were these apertures, that it seemed wonderful how the structure hung together; the fog was as thick in the dismembered and torn building as outside, but a large gas-pipe in Little"s room was wrenched into the form of a snake and broken, and the gas set on fire and flaring, so that the devastation was visible; the fireplace also hung on, heaven knows how.
Coventry cast his eyes round, and recoiled with horror at what he had done: his foot struck something; it was the letter-box, full of letters, still attached to the broken door. By some instinct of curiosity he stooped and peered. There was one letter addressed "Grace Carden."
He tried to open the box: he could not: he gave it a wrench, it was a latticed box, and came to pieces. He went down the stairs with the fragments and the letters in his hand; feet approached, and he heard a voice close to him say, "This way, Mr. Ransome, for G.o.d"s sake!" A sort of panic seized him; he ran back, and in his desperation jumped on to the one beam that was standing, and from that through the open wall, and fell on the soft mud by the river bank. Though the ground was soft, the descent shook him and imbedded him so deeply he could not extricate himself for some time. But terror lends energy, and he was now thoroughly terrified: he thrust the letters in his pocket, and, being an excellent swimmer, dashed at once into the river; but he soon found it choked up with masonry and debris of every kind: he coasted this, got into the stream, and swam across to the other side. Then taking the lowest and darkest streets, contrived at last to get home, wet and filthy, and quaking.
Ransome and his men examined the shattered building within and without; but no trace could be found of any human being, alive or dead.
Then they got to the river-side with lights, and here they found foot-marks. Ransome set men to guard these from being walked over.
Attention was soon diverted from these. Several yards from the torn building, a woman was found lying all huddled together on a heap of broken masonry. She was in her night-dress, and a counterpane half over her. Her forehead and head were bleeding, and she was quite insensible.
The police recognized her directly. It was Jael Dence.
She was alive, though insensible, and Ransome had her conveyed at once to the infirmary.
"Bring more lights to the water-side," said he: "the explosion has acted in that direction."
Many torches were brought. Keen eyes scanned the water. One or two policemen got out upon the ruins of the chimney, and went ankle-deep in water. But what they sought could not be found. Ransome said he was glad of it. Everybody knew what he meant.
He went back to Little"s room, and examined it minutely. In the pa.s.sage he found a card-case. It was lying on the door. Ransome took it up mechanically, and put it in his pocket. He did not examine it at this time: he took for granted it was Little"s. He asked one of his men whether a man had not been seen in that room. The officer said, "Yes."
"Did he come down?"