THE EXPLOSION.
There came a burst of thunder sound!--HEMANS.
Lyon Berners, chilled to the heart with the coldness of the night, half
famished for want of food, and wearied with his late violent exertions,
and wishing to recruit his strength for the next day's hard work,
kindled a fire, and made some coffee, and forced himself to eat and
drink a little, before he drew his mattress to the door of the vault,
and stretched himself down as near as he could possibly get to the place
where he believed the dead body of his beloved wife lay.
Poor little Nelly, abandoning her efforts either from exhaustion or in
despair, crept up and tried to squeeze herself between her master and
the door of the vault that she too thought held her mistress. Lyon made
room for her to curl herself up by his side, and he caressed her soft
fur, while he waked and watched.
It was now utterly dark in the chapel but for the dull red glow of the
fire, which was dying out. An hour passed by, and the last spark
expired, and the chapel was left in total darkness.
The agonies of that night who shall tell? They were extreme--they seemed
interminable.
At length the slow morning dawned. Lyon arose with the sun, and walked
about the chapel in the restlessness of mental anguish. The little dog
followed at his heels, whining. Presently Lyon took up the crowbar and
tried again to force the iron door. He might as well have tried to move
a mountain. He threw away the crowbar in desperation, and then he
stooped and peered through the iron bars: all dark! all still in those
dismal depths! He turned away and rekindled the fire, and prepared a
little breakfast for himself and his dumb companion. He must cherish
his strength for the work that was before him.
After having eaten a morsel, and given his dog food, he signalled to her
to lie down at the door of the vault and watch, while he went out
towards the thicket to look for Joe, who might now soon be expected.
He went through the church-yard, and on to the entrance of the thicket
path; he even pursued that path until it led him out upon the river
road. He looked down the road for miles, but saw no sign of Joe!
Then, not wishing longer to leave the spot where the body of his
murdered wife was supposed to lie unburied, he went back through thicket
and graveyard to the chapel, where at the door of the vault the faithful
little Skye terrier still watched.
He entered and threw himself down beside her, there to wait for the
return of his messenger.
But ah! this was destined to be a day of weary, weary waiting! The
morning advanced towards noon, and still Joe did not appear. Lyon arose
and walked restlessly about the chapel, stopping sometimes to peer down
into the vault, where nothing could be seen, or to call down where
nothing could be heard, or he took up the crowbar again, and renewed his
frantic efforts to force the iron door that nothing could move.
Noon passed; afternoon advanced.
"Something has happened to Joe," said the desperate man to himself, as
once more he started out in the forlorn hope of meeting his messenger.
Again the weary way was traversed; again he went through the church-yard
and thicket, and came out upon the long river road, and strained his
gaze far along its length, but without seeing signs of the negro's
approach.
"Yes; some accident has befallen Joe. All goes wrong, all is fatal, all
is doomed!" He groaned in despair as he turned and retraced his steps
towards the old "Haunted Chapel." As he drew near the building, he was
startled by the furious barking of his little dog.
"Poor little Nelly has worked herself up into hysterics again at the
door of that vault," he said to himself, as he quickened his pace and
entered the building.
He found it in the possession of the constables, with the sheriff at
their head. Mr. Benthwick, with an expression on his face oddly made up
of triumph and compassion, advanced to meet him, saying:
"We are not at fault now, Mr. Berners. We returned to-day to resume our
search through these mountains, and late this afternoon, as we were
returning from our unsuccessful pursuit of the burglars, we were met
here in the churchyard by these men."
And here the sheriff pointed to Purley and Munson, who were standing at
a short distance.
"They told us," proceeded Mr. Benthwick, "that Mrs. Berners, with your
assistance, had escaped from their custody."
"Right over my dead body, which I should say, my sleeping body," put in
Purley.
"And that she was certainly concealed in this chapel, as they had
received unquestionable information to that effect," added Mr.
Benthwick.
"Well, sir, if you find her here, you will succeed in the search far
better than I have done," replied Lyon Berners, grimly.
"We have found _you_ here, and under very suspicious circumstances; so
we will take leave to make a more thorough search than we did yesterday,"
replied the sheriff.
"Have you tried the vault?" inquired Purley.
"No; but we will try it now. She may be concealed within it, after all,"
said Mr. Benthwick. And seeing the crowbar, he took it up and went to
work upon that immovable door; but finding it so fast, he threw down
the tool, saying:
"It is of no use to work at that door in that way, and it is of no use
either to look through the bars, for you can see nothing but black
darkness. But, Purley, I will tell you what to do. Do you go and cut the
most resinous knot that you can find on the nearest pine tree, and bring
it to me."
Purley started off in a hurry, and soon returned with a pine knot fairly
soaked with turpentine.
"Now, then," said Mr. Benthwick, as he took the torch from the hand of
his messenger. "I think this will throw some light into the darkness
below!"
And he applied it first to the fire in the aisle, and then he carried,
it, flaming high, to the door of the vault, and putting it through the
iron bars, let it drop into the vault.
It was lighted up in an instant, and the sheriff and Purley bent down to
look through the grating to see what the interior illumination might
show them.
And Lyon Berners, whose anxiety was of course more intense than that of
any one present, elbowed his way through the crowd to get nearer the
door of the vault.
But before he could effect his purpose, a sound of thunder burst upon
the air; the solid floor upheaved; the walls of the old Haunted Chapel
fell in a heap of smoking ruins; and all the valley and the mountain
tops were lighted up with the flames of destruction.