_Showing how Sydney was tortured in the Chamber of Death, and how he
made his escape through the City Sewers._
Groping his way to the extremity of the dungeon, Frank sat down upon the
stone 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 the
sight of Heaven, or he would have dashed his brains out against the
walls of his prison, and thus put an end to his misery. Vainly he tried
to 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 with
fleshless arms beckon him to join their awful company.
Slowly, slowly passed the hours away. Numbed with cold, and paralyzed
with the terrors of his situation, Sydney was at last sinking into a
state of insensibility, when he was aroused by the loud noise caused by
the opening of the dungeon door, and the gleam of a lantern flashed upon
him. He staggered to his feet, and saw that his visitors were the two
villains, Maggot and Bloodhound. One of them came down the steps and
deposited upon the floor a small basket and a lamp.
'Here,' said he--'is some _grub_ for you, and a light to scare away the
ghosts. 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 my
comrade will be obliged to help him.'
'Why will you aid that wretch in his cruelties?' asked Sydney--'I never
injured you; pray act like a man of heart and feeling, and release me
from this dreadful place.'
'_Release you!_' cried the man--'I dare not. True, I have no animosity
against 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's
wrath for a million of money. No, no, make up your mind to the
worst--you can never go out of this dungeon.'
With this consoling assurance, the man and his comrade took their
departure. On examining the contents of the basket, our hero found an
ample supply of good, wholesome food, and a jug of water; and while
heartily partaking of these necessities, (of which he stood in great
need,) he could not help comparing his situation with that of an animal
being 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 carried
between them an apparatus of singular appearance and construction.
'Well, dog,' cried the Dead Man, 'how do you like your new kennel? Not
so comfortable, I'll swear, as your fine house on Broadway! Faith, a
fine prayer you made last night, after we left you; you called on God to
help 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 victim
heavily on his head; the extremity of the arm, where the hand had been
cut 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 had
brought with them upon the floor and began to prepare it for use. The
vaults of the Spanish Inquisition never contained a more horrible
instrument of torture. It was a box made of iron and shaped like a
coffin; the sides and bottom were covered with sharp nails, firmly fixed
with their points outwards; beneath the box was a sort of furnace,
filled with shavings and charcoal. This apparatus was called by the
ruffians--_The Bed of Ease_.
Sydney was made to strip himself entirely naked, and lie down in the
box; then the cover was fastened on. The points of the nails penetrated
his flesh, causing him the most excruciating torture; blood started
profusely from all parts of his body, and he could scarce repress groans
of the most heart-felt anguish. But this was nothing to what he was
doomed to endure; for the demons in human shape kindled a fire beneath
him, and when nature could hold out no longer, and he screamed with
agony, his tormentors roared with laughter.
They released him when a cessation of his cries warned them that he
could hold out no longer without endangering his life--for they wished
him to live to endure future torments. He was truly a pitiable object
when taken from the box--his flesh torn and bleeding, and horribly
burnt. They rubbed him with oil, assisted him to dress and laid him upon
a heap of straw which one of them brought. They then left him, after
assuring him that, as soon as he was healed, they had tortures in store
for him much more severe than the one just inflicted. The iron box they
left behind them in the dungeon, probably intending to use it again on
some 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 was
harassed by the dread of other and more severe tortures yet in store for
him. How gladly would he have bared his bosom to the deadly stroke of
the knife, or the fatal discharge of the pistol!
But exhausted nature could hold out no longer, and he fell into a deep
sleep, from which he was awakened by the entrance of some person into
the dungeon. Starting up, he was confronted by the dark and menacing
visage of the Dead Man. The villain was alone and held in his left hand
a large knife; Sydney perceived, by his unsteady gait, his wildly
rolling eyes, and his thick, indistinct utterance, that he was much
intoxicated.
'I am come, dog,' said he, with a look that a demon might have
envied--'to feast upon your heart, and drink your blood. My soul is
hungry. I wish you had a thousand lives for me to take. Sit up, and let
me dig out your eyes, and cut off your nose, ears and fingers--for you
must die by inches! Get up, I say!'
'The monster is drunk,' thought Sydney; 'had I a weapon and sufficient
strength, I might perhaps overcome him; but alas! I am weak and sore--'
'Get up!' again roared the ruffian,'that I may sacrifice ye upon the
flaming altar of Satan, my deity. My heart is a coal of fire; it burns
me, 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 struggling
in the powerful grasp of a tall, stout man, who at that crisis rushed
into the dungeon.
'Now, reptile, I have thee!' muttered the Doctor, (for it was he) as
with mighty and resistless strength he dashed the miscreant to the floor
and 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 his
assailant, knowing that a single well-directed blow would stun him. But
the Doctor's science in pugilism enabled him to keep off the blows with
ease, while he punished his antagonist in the most thorough and
satisfactory manner. Finding himself likely to be overcome, the villain
yelled at the top of his voice--'Treason! murder! help!'
'Your handkerchief, Mr. Sydney--quick!' cried the Doctor. Frank, who had
already arisen from his bed of straw, handed his gallant protector the
article he had called for--and, though very weak, assisted in gagging
the vanquished ruffian, who, breathless and exhausted, could now offer
but a slight resistance.
'Into the box with him!' exclaimed the Doctor, and the next minute the
Dead Man was stretched upon the points of the sharp nails; the lid was
closed upon him, the fire was lighted beneath, and he writhed in all the
torture he had inflicted upon poor Sydney.
Suddenly, the Doctor assumed a listening attitude, and whispered to his
companion--
'By heavens, the band is aroused, and the Knights are coming to the
rescue. If they capture us, we are lost! There is but one way for us to
escape--and that is _through the sewers_, a dreadful avenue! Will you
dare it?'
'I will dare anything, to escape from this earthly hell!' cried our
hero, vigor returning to his frame as he thought of liberty.
'Follow me, then,' said the Doctor, taking up the lamp, and hurrying up
the dungeon steps; he led the way, at a rapid pace, up another high
flight of steps, to a point which overlooked the city sewers. By the dim
light of the lamp, Frank saw, twenty feet below, the dark, sluggish and
nauseous stream of the filthy drainings of the vast city overhead,
which, running thro' holes under the edges of the sidewalk, collect in
these immense subterranean reservoirs, and are slowly discharged into
the 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 was
demonstrated by the sound of many footsteps hurrying rapidly towards
them.
The Doctor leaped into the dark and terrible abyss. Sydney heard the
splash of his fall into the muddy water, and nerving himself for the
deed, 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 our
pursuers, unless they follow us, which is hardly probable; for I confess
these sewers are so full of horrors, that even those villains would
hesitate to pass through them, unless under circumstances as desperate
as ours.' Frank shuddered. 'Will they not fire upon us?' he asked. The
Doctor answered:--
'No, they dare not; for the noise of fire-arms would be heard in the
streets above, and people might be led to inquire into the cause of such
a phenomena. Fortunately my lamp is not extinguished, and as the mud is
not 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 the
point from which they had jumped. On seeing the fugitives, they setup a
shout of surprise and anger.
'A pretty trick you've served us, Doctor,' called out the fellow known
as Bloodhound--'you've nearly roasted the Dead Man, and carried off his
prisoner; 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 he
levelled a pistol.
'Blow and be d----d,' coolly remarked the Doctor, who knew very well
that he dare not fire--'come, Mr. Sydney, follow me, and leave these
fellows to talk to the empty air.'
With much difficulty the two fugitives began to move off through the mud
and water.
'What, cowards, will you let them escape before your eyes?' roared the
Dead Man, as he rushed up to the brink of the chasm, and glared after
Sydney and his friend with flaming eyes. 'Plunge in after them, and
bring them back, or by G----every man of you shall die the death of a
dog!'
Not a man stirred to obey the order; and the miscreant would have leaped
into the sewers himself, had they not forcibly held him back.
'No, no, Captain,' cried Maggot--'the Doctor's too much for you; you've
only got one hand now, and you'd be no match for him, for he's the
devil's pup at a tussle. Let them both slide this time; you may catch
them napping before long. As it is, they've got but a devilish small
chance of escape, for it rains terribly overhead, which will fill up the
sewers, and drown them like kittens.'
Meanwhile, Frank and his brave deliverer struggled manfully through the
foul waters which encompassed them. Soon an angle in the wall concealed
them from their enemies; and they entered a passage of vast extent,
arched overhead with immense blocks of stone. This section of the sewers
was directly under Canal street, and pursued a course parallel with that
great avenue, until its contents were emptied into the North river. Our
subterranean travellers could distinctly hear the rumbling of the carts
and carriages in the street above them, like the rolling of thunder.
It was an awful journey, through that dark and loathsome place. At every
few steps they encountered the putrid carcase of some animal, floating
on the surface of the sickening stream. As they advanced, hundreds of
gigantic rats leaped from crevices in the wall, and plunged into the
water. Their lamp cast its dim rays upon the green, slimy stone-work on
either side of them; and their blood curdled with horror as they saw,
clinging there, hideous reptiles, of prodigious size, engendered and
nourished there. They imagined that at every step they took, they could
feel those monsters crawl and squirm beneath their feet--and they
trembled lest the reptiles should twine around their limbs, and strike
deadly venom to their blood. But a new terror came to increase their
fears; the water was growing deeper every instant, and threatened to
overwhelm them. Sydney overcome by the awful effluvia, grew too sick and
faint to proceed further; he requested the Doctor to leave him to his
fate--but the gallant man raised his sinking form in his powerful arms,
and struggled bravely on. 'Courage, my friend,' cried the Doctor--'we
are near the river, for I see a light ahead, glimmering like a star of
hope!' In ten minutes more they emerged from the sewers, and plunged
into the clear waters of the North river.
Without much difficulty they got on board of a sloop which lay moored at
the wharf; and as Sydney had money, he easily procured a change of
raiment for himself and friend, from the skipper, who was too lazy to
ask any questions, and who was very well satisfied to sell them two
suits of clothes at five times their value. Frank took the Doctor to his
home, resolved never to part with so faithful and gallant a friend,
whose faults had been the faults of unfortunate circumstances, but whose
heart, he felt assured, was 'in the right place.'
Poor Clinton, the dumb boy, welcomed his master and his old acquaintance
the Doctor, with mute eloquence. Dennis, the Irish footman, was almost
crazy with delight at Mr. Sydney's safe return, swearing that he thought
him '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.