CHAPTER XXIII
_Showing how Sydney was tortured in the Chamber of Death, and how hemade his escape through the City Sewers._
Groping his way to the extremity of the dungeon, Frank sat down upon thestone steps, his mind a prey to feelings of keenest horror and despair.His soul recoiled from the idea of suicide, as a heinous crime in thesight of Heaven, or he would have dashed his brains out against thewalls of his prison, and thus put an end to his misery. Vainly he triedto forget his sorrows in sleep; no sooner would he close his eye-lids,than the band of skeletons would seem to rush towards him, and withfleshless arms beckon him to join their awful company.
Slowly, slowly passed the hours away. Numbed with cold, and paralyzedwith the terrors of his situation, Sydney was at last sinking into astate of insensibility, when he was aroused by the loud noise caused bythe opening of the dungeon door, and the gleam of a lantern flashed uponhim. He staggered to his feet, and saw that his visitors were the twovillains, Maggot and Bloodhound. One of them came down the steps anddeposited upon the floor a small basket and a lamp.
'Here,' said he--'is some _grub_ for you, and a light to scare away theghosts. Eat your fill--you will need it; for in an hour from this time,our captain will visit you to commence his tortures, in which I and mycomrade will be obliged to help him.'
'Why will you aid that wretch in his cruelties?' asked Sydney--'I neverinjured you; pray act like a man of heart and feeling, and release mefrom this dreadful place.'
'_Release you!_' cried the man--'I dare not. True, I have no animosityagainst you, young man; but our Captain has, and were I to let you go,life would not be worth a minute's purchase. I'd not incur that man'swrath for a million of money. No, no, make up your mind to theworst--you can never go out of this dungeon.'
With this consoling assurance, the man and his comrade took theirdeparture. On examining the contents of the basket, our hero found anample supply of good, wholesome food, and a jug of water; and whileheartily partaking of these necessities, (of which he stood in greatneed,) he could not help comparing his situation with that of an animalbeing fattened for slaughter!
An hour elapsed; the dungeon was again opened, and the Dead Man entered,followed by Maggot and Bloodhound. The two latter worthies carriedbetween them an apparatus of singular appearance and construction.
'Well, dog,' cried the Dead Man, 'how do you like your new kennel? Notso comfortable, I'll swear, as your fine house on Broadway! Faith, afine prayer you made last night, after we left you; you called on God tohelp you--ha, ha! Fool--_he_ cannot help you!--_I_ alone can do it.Down, then, on your marrow bones and worship me!'
And saying this, he raised his right arm, and with it struck his victimheavily on his head; the extremity of the arm, where the hand had beencut off, had been furnished with a piece of iron like a sledge-hammer,to enable the ruffian to possess the means of attack and defence.Fortunate it was that the blow did not fracture Sydney's skull.
Meanwhile Maggot and Bloodhound had placed the machine which they hadbrought with them upon the floor and began to prepare it for use. Thevaults of the Spanish Inquisition never contained a more horribleinstrument of torture. It was a box made of iron and shaped like acoffin; the sides and bottom were covered with sharp nails, firmly fixedwith their points outwards; beneath the box was a sort of furnace,filled with shavings and charcoal. This apparatus was called by theruffians--_The Bed of Ease_.
Sydney was made to strip himself entirely naked, and lie down in thebox; then the cover was fastened on. The points of the nails penetratedhis flesh, causing him the most excruciating torture; blood startedprofusely from all parts of his body, and he could scarce repress groansof the most heart-felt anguish. But this was nothing to what he wasdoomed to endure; for the demons in human shape kindled a fire beneathhim, and when nature could hold out no longer, and he screamed withagony, his tormentors roared with laughter.
They released him when a cessation of his cries warned them that hecould hold out no longer without endangering his life--for they wishedhim to live to endure future torments. He was truly a pitiable objectwhen taken from the box--his flesh torn and bleeding, and horriblyburnt. They rubbed him with oil, assisted him to dress and laid him upona heap of straw which one of them brought. They then left him, afterassuring him that, as soon as he was healed, they had tortures in storefor him much more severe than the one just inflicted. The iron box theyleft behind them in the dungeon, probably intending to use it again onsome future occasion.
In what a deplorable situation did poor Sydney now find himself placed!Nearly dead with the torments which he had just undergone, his mind washarassed by the dread of other and more severe tortures yet in store forhim. How gladly would he have bared his bosom to the deadly stroke ofthe knife, or the fatal discharge of the pistol!
But exhausted nature could hold out no longer, and he fell into a deepsleep, from which he was awakened by the entrance of some person intothe dungeon. Starting up, he was confronted by the dark and menacingvisage of the Dead Man. The villain was alone and held in his left handa large knife; Sydney perceived, by his unsteady gait, his wildlyrolling eyes, and his thick, indistinct utterance, that he was muchintoxicated.
'I am come, dog,' said he, with a look that a demon might haveenvied--'to feast upon your heart, and drink your blood. My soul ishungry. I wish you had a thousand lives for me to take. Sit up, and letme dig out your eyes, and cut off your nose, ears and fingers--for youmust die by inches! Get up, I say!'
'The monster is drunk,' thought Sydney; 'had I a weapon and sufficientstrength, I might perhaps overcome him; but alas! I am weak and sore--'
'Get up!' again roared the ruffian,'that I may sacrifice ye upon theflaming altar of Satan, my deity. My heart is a coal of fire; it burnsme, and blood alone can quench it!'
With the howl of a wild beast, he threw himself upon his victim.
But ere he could strike the deadly blow, he was writhing and strugglingin the powerful grasp of a tall, stout man, who at that crisis rushedinto the dungeon.
'Now, reptile, I have thee!' muttered the Doctor, (for it was he) aswith mighty and resistless strength he dashed the miscreant to the floorand deprived him of his knife.
But the Dead Man struggled with all the fury of desperation; with his_iron hand_ he made rapid and savage passes at the head of hisassailant, knowing that a single well-directed blow would stun him. Butthe Doctor's science in pugilism enabled him to keep off the blows withease, while he punished his antagonist in the most thorough andsatisfactory manner. Finding himself likely to be overcome, the villainyelled at the top of his voice--'Treason! murder! help!'
'Your handkerchief, Mr. Sydney--quick!' cried the Doctor. Frank, who hadalready arisen from his bed of straw, handed his gallant protector thearticle he had called for--and, though very weak, assisted in gaggingthe vanquished ruffian, who, breathless and exhausted, could now offerbut a slight resistance.
'Into the box with him!' exclaimed the Doctor, and the next minute theDead Man was stretched upon the points of the sharp nails; the lid wasclosed upon him, the fire was lighted beneath, and he writhed in all thetorture he had inflicted upon poor Sydney.
Suddenly, the Doctor assumed a listening attitude, and whispered to hiscompanion--
'By heavens, the band is aroused, and the Knights are coming to therescue. If they capture us, we are lost! There is but one way for us toescape--and that is _through the sewers_, a dreadful avenue! Will youdare it?'
'I will dare anything, to escape from this earthly hell!' cried ourhero, vigor returning to his frame as he thought of liberty.
'Follow me, then,' said the Doctor, taking up the lamp, and hurrying upthe dungeon steps; he led the way, at a rapid pace, up another highflight of steps, to a point which overlooked the city sewers. By the dimlight of the lamp, Frank saw, twenty feet below, the dark, sluggish andnauseous stream of the filthy drainings of the vast city overhead,which, running thro' holes under the edges of the sidewalk, collect inthese immense subterr
anean reservoirs, and are slowly discharged intothe river.
'Leap boldly after me--you will land in the mud, and break no bones,'said the Doctor--'our enemies are at our heels!' A fact that wasdemonstrated by the sound of many footsteps hurrying rapidly towardsthem.
The Doctor leaped into the dark and terrible abyss. Sydney heard thesplash of his fall into the muddy water, and nerving himself for thedeed, jumped in after him; he sank up to his chin in the loathsome pool.His friend grasped his hand, and whispered--'We are now safe from ourpursuers, unless they follow us, which is hardly probable; for I confessthese sewers are so full of horrors, that even those villains wouldhesitate to pass through them, unless under circumstances as desperateas ours.' Frank shuddered. 'Will they not fire upon us?' he asked. TheDoctor answered:--
'No, they dare not; for the noise of fire-arms would be heard in thestreets above, and people might be led to inquire into the cause of sucha phenomena. Fortunately my lamp is not extinguished, and as the mud isnot over our heads, we may make our way out of this infernal trap,provided we are not devoured by rats and reptiles, which swarm here. Ah,by Jupiter, there are our pursuers!'
And as he spoke, some fifteen or twenty men appeared above them, on thepoint from which they had jumped. On seeing the fugitives, they setup ashout of surprise and anger.
'A pretty trick you've served us, Doctor,' called out the fellow knownas Bloodhound--'you've nearly roasted the Dead Man, and carried off hisprisoner; however, we rescued our Captain just in time to save his life.You had better come back, or we'll blow your brains out!'--and helevelled a pistol.
'Blow and be d----d,' coolly remarked the Doctor, who knew very wellthat he dare not fire--'come, Mr. Sydney, follow me, and leave thesefellows to talk to the empty air.'
With much difficulty the two fugitives began to move off through the mudand water.
'What, cowards, will you let them escape before your eyes?' roared theDead Man, as he rushed up to the brink of the chasm, and glared afterSydney and his friend with flaming eyes. 'Plunge in after them, andbring them back, or by G----every man of you shall die the death of adog!'
Not a man stirred to obey the order; and the miscreant would have leapedinto the sewers himself, had they not forcibly held him back.
'No, no, Captain,' cried Maggot--'the Doctor's too much for you; you'veonly got one hand now, and you'd be no match for him, for he's thedevil's pup at a tussle. Let them both slide this time; you may catchthem napping before long. As it is, they've got but a devilish smallchance of escape, for it rains terribly overhead, which will fill up thesewers, and drown them like kittens.'
Meanwhile, Frank and his brave deliverer struggled manfully through thefoul waters which encompassed them. Soon an angle in the wall concealedthem from their enemies; and they entered a passage of vast extent,arched overhead with immense blocks of stone. This section of the sewerswas directly under Canal street, and pursued a course parallel with thatgreat avenue, until its contents were emptied into the North river. Oursubterranean travellers could distinctly hear the rumbling of the cartsand carriages in the street above them, like the rolling of thunder.
It was an awful journey, through that dark and loathsome place. At everyfew steps they encountered the putrid carcase of some animal, floatingon the surface of the sickening stream. As they advanced, hundreds ofgigantic rats leaped from crevices in the wall, and plunged into thewater. Their lamp cast its dim rays upon the green, slimy stone-work oneither side of them; and their blood curdled with horror as they saw,clinging there, hideous reptiles, of prodigious size, engendered andnourished there. They imagined that at every step they took, they couldfeel those monsters crawl and squirm beneath their feet--and theytrembled lest the reptiles should twine around their limbs, and strikedeadly venom to their blood. But a new terror came to increase theirfears; the water was growing deeper every instant, and threatened tooverwhelm them. Sydney overcome by the awful effluvia, grew too sick andfaint to proceed further; he requested the Doctor to leave him to hisfate--but the gallant man raised his sinking form in his powerful arms,and struggled bravely on. 'Courage, my friend,' cried the Doctor--'weare near the river, for I see a light ahead, glimmering like a star ofhope!' In ten minutes more they emerged from the sewers, and plungedinto the clear waters of the North river.
Without much difficulty they got on board of a sloop which lay moored atthe wharf; and as Sydney had money, he easily procured a change ofraiment for himself and friend, from the skipper, who was too lazy toask any questions, and who was very well satisfied to sell them twosuits of clothes at five times their value. Frank took the Doctor to hishome, resolved never to part with so faithful and gallant a friend,whose faults had been the faults of unfortunate circumstances, but whoseheart, he felt assured, was 'in the right place.'
Poor Clinton, the dumb boy, welcomed his master and his old acquaintancethe Doctor, with mute eloquence. Dennis, the Irish footman, was almostcrazy with delight at Mr. Sydney's safe return, swearing that he thoughthim 'murthered and kilt intirely.'
That awful night was so indelibly stamped upon the memory of our hero,that often, in after times, it haunted him in his dreams.