THE MYSTERY OF THE CHAIR--THE CATASTROPHE.
The reader will recollect that when Flora Francatelli was released from
the chair at the bottom of the pit or well, Sister Alba had led her
along a narrow, dark passage communicating with the chamber of
penitence.
In a small dome-like cavity, hollowed out of the roof of this passage,
hung a large bell; and in a cell opening from the side of the passage
immediately beneath the dome, dwelt an old nun, who, for some dreadful
misdeed committed in her youth, had voluntarily consigned herself to the
convent of the Carmelites, and, having passed through the ordeal of the
chamber of penitence, had accepted the office of sextoness in that
department of the establishment.
It was her duty to keep the chamber of penitence clean, maintain tapers
constantly burning before the altar, supply also the cells of the
penitents themselves with lights, and toll the bell whenever occasion
required. She it was who had visited Flora's cell the first night of her
arrival at the convent, to renew the taper that burnt before her
crucifix, and to exchange the maiden's attire for the conventual garb.
This old nun it was, then, who suddenly tolled the bell, at the moment
when Piero and Stephano were menacing the abbess and Sister Alba with
their vengeance, and when the Marquis of Orsini was bearing away Flora
to the robbers' hold, that she might have the companionship of Giulia.
The way in which the old nun rang the bell was such that the inmates of
the convent would perceive it to be an alarm; and moreover, so sudden
was its startling clang, that Stephano and Piero abandoned their hold
upon the abbess and Sister Alba, and retreated a few paces, uncertain
how to act; hence the exclamation of the superior of the convent, "We
are saved! we are saved!"
But little did that stern, imperious woman know of the desperate
characters of those with whom she had now to deal. Ashamed of their
momentary hesitation, Stephano and Piero rushed on the abbess and Sister
Alba, and dragged them, in spite of their deafening screams, into that
fatal cell, where they threw them headlong over the lifeless corpse of
their victim.
Scarcely, however, had they closed the door on the wretched woman, when
the Marquis of Orsini returned; and, too well divining what had passed,
he exclaimed, "In the name of Heaven, captain!--by all that is holy,
Piero! I implore you not to consummate this dreadful crime!"
"My lord," said Stephano, "ere we entered on this expedition to-night,
you bound yourself by an oath to obey me as the leader. I command you
then not to interfere with our proceedings; but, on the contrary, go and
ascertain whence comes the clanging of that infernal bell."
The marquis turned aside, sick at heart at the deed of vengeance which
was in progress, but unable to remonstrate further, in consequence of
the oath which he had taken. It was, however, a relief for him to move
away from the vicinity of the living tomb, whence emanated the shrieks
of the abbess and the nun; and guided by the sound of the bell, he
rushed, with whirling brain and desperate resolution, into the passage
leading from the chamber of penitence.
In a few moments the clanging of the bell ceased, for the marquis had
discovered the old sextoness in her cell, and compelled her to desist.
All the events yet recorded in the preceding and the present chapter had
occurred with a rapidity which the reader can scarcely comprehend,
because their complicated nature and variety have forced us to enter
into minute details requiring a considerable time to peruse. Those
events which we are now about to describe also succeeded each other with
marvelous speed, and occupied an incredibly short space of time,
although our narrative must necessarily appear prolix in comparison.
Extraordinary was the excitement that now prevailed in all the
subterranean department of the convent. The victims of a stern but just
vengeance were sending forth appalling screams from the fatal dungeon;
and some of the penitents in their cells, which were still guarded by
the sentinels, were also giving vent to their affright by means of
piercing shrieks, though others remained tranquil in hope of the
promised release.
Stephano had entirely recovered his presence of mind, and now issued his
orders with wondrous rapidity.
Pointing to the door by which the abbess and Sister Alba had entered the
chamber of penitence, he said, "Lomellino, that is the way to the upper
part of the convent--there can be no doubt of it! Take Piero and half a
dozen of the men, and hasten up that staircase. Secure the front gate of
the building, and possess yourself of the plate and treasure. But no
violence, remember--no violence to the nuns."
Lomellino, Piero, and six of the banditti hastened to obey these
commands, while Stephano remained below to act as circumstances might
require. He went the round of the five cells belonging to the penitents,
and enjoined those who were yielding to their terrors to hold their
peace, as they had nothing to fear, but much to gain--at least, he
observed, if they valued their freedom; and to those who were tranquil
he repeated the assurances of speedy liberation already given by his
men.
For thirty years the old woman had not seen a being of the male sex; and
she was terrified by the appearance of an armed man in that place which
she had so long deemed sacred against the possibility of such an
intrusion.
"Fear nothing," said the marquis, "no one will harm you. But what will
be the effect of that alarm which you have rung?"
"Merely to warn those above that something unusual is taking place
below," answered the old woman.
"And by what means can access be obtained to this subterrane?" demanded
the marquis.
"There is a staircase leading from the chamber of penitence up into the
hall of the convent----"
"Of the existence of that staircase I am aware," interrupted the
marquis, who had seen the abbess and Sister Alba enter the chamber of
penitence a few minutes previously, as stated in the preceding chapter;
"but are there no means of ingress or egress?"
"Yes; follow me," said the sextoness.
Taking up a lamp from the table in her cell, she led the way to the
further end of the passage, threw open a door, and thrusting forth the
light beyond the opening, exclaimed in a tone denoting a reminiscence
the bitterness of which long years had scarcely mitigated--"That is the
road whereby I came hither; and many, many others have traveled the same
downward path!"
The marquis seized the lamp, and beheld, a few paces from from him, a
wicker chair, to which two ropes, hanging perpendicularly down, were
fastened. He raised his eyes, following the direction of the ropes, but
as there was now no other light in the pit than the feeble, flickering
one shed by the lamp which he held, his glances could not penetrate the
dense obscurity that prevailed above.
"What means this chair, with its two ropes? and for what purpose is this
narrow, square compartment, the mouth of which is shrouded in darkness?"
inquired Manuel.
"This is the method of descent to this region, for all those who come to
this convent either as willing penitents, or who are sent hither against
their inclination," returned the sextoness. "And though I came a willing
penitent, yet never, never while the breath shall animate this poor,
weak form, and reason shall remain, can I forget the mental agony, the
intense anguish, of that fearful descent. Ah! it is a cruel engine of
torture, although it tears not the flesh, nor racks the limbs, nor
dislocates the joints. And even though thirty long years have passed
since I made that dread journey," she continued, glancing
upwards--"thirty years since I last saw the light of day--and though I
have since learned and seen how much of the horror of that descent is
produced by the delusion of mechanical ingenuity--yet still I shudder,
and my blood runs cold within me."
"To me, old woman," said the marquis, "your words are an enigma. But you
have excited my curiosity: speak quickly, and explain yourself, for I
may not linger here."
"Behold this basket," returned the nun, without further preface--"these
ropes connect it with complicated machinery in some chamber adjoining
the well itself. In that basket those who are doomed to pass the ordeal
of penitence are lowered from an apartment above. This apartment is
really but a short distance overhead: but the art of the mechanist has
so contrived the four wooden walls of the well, that when the descent of
the basket ceases, those walls rise slowly upward, and thus descent
appears to be continued. Then, when the affrighted female stretches
forth her hands wildly, she encounters the ascending walls, and she
believes that she is still going down--down--down! Oh! signor, it is
most horrible, but a fitting prelude to the terrors of that place!"
And she pointed back toward the chamber of penitence. The marquis was
about to make some observation in reply to the strange disclosures of
the old sextoness, when suddenly the din of a tumult, occurring, as it
seemed, in that department of the convent far overhead, reached his
ears, commencing with the rushing of many feet--the ejaculations of
hostile bands--and then continuing with the clash of arms, and the
shrieks of affrighted women--until, in a few moments, those ominous
sounds were broken in upon and dominated by the wild, terrific cry of
"Fire! fire!"
"Oh! wherefore have I tarried here so long?" exclaimed the marquis; and
he was about to return to the chamber of penitence, when a sudden blaze
of light appeared at the mouth of the pit, thirty yards above. Looking
hastily up, he beheld the flames rolling over the entrance of that well
at the bottom of which he stood; and, in another minute, the forked fire
burst from the sides, forcing for itself a way through the wooden walls;
and the old dry timber and planks yielded to the devouring element as if
they had been steeped in oil.
But while the marquis was still standing at the bottom looking up the
pit, the clash of weapons, the tread of many steps, and the
vociferations of combatants appeared to grow nearer; then in another
moment he became aware that the hostile sounds came down the well, and
proceeded from the room far above, where the fire as well as the war was
raging.
Manuel had again turned around to hurry back to the chamber of
penitence, when a loud cry of despair came vibrating down, and in
another instant the heavy form of a man was precipitated into the well.
The wicker chair fortunately broke his fall, and he rose with a dreadful
imprecation.
"Piero!" cried the marquis.
"Ah! my lord, is it you?" said the bandit faintly, as he staggered back
and fell heavily on the floor. "This is a bad business--the sbirri were
alarmed, and broke in--Lomellino has got away, but the rest who were
with me are slain----"
"And you are wounded, Piero," ejaculated the marquis, rushing forward to
assist the bandit, from whose breast he now perceived the blood to be
flowing.
"Never mind me, my lord!" said Piero faintly. "Haste and tell Verrina
that--our men fought well--it was not their fault--nor mine--the nuns
must have given--the--alarm----"
His voice had grown fainter as he spoke: and, while the marquis was
endeavoring to raise him, he fell back again, and expired with the name
of Carlotta upon his tongue.
The combat had ceased above, but the flames had increased in the well to
such an extent that the marquis was compelled to beat a rapid retreat
toward the chamber of penitence, whither the old sextoness had already
fled. At the entrance of that apartment he met Stephano, who, alarmed by
the clashing of arms and the cries of "fire" that had reached his ears,
and which seemed to come from the direction of the passage, was hurrying
thither to learn the cause. In a few words the marquis informed him of
all that had occurred.
"Back to the cavern, my friends!" cried Stephano, in a loud tone. "If
the sbirri discover us there, we will resist them to the death."
And followed by the marquis and two or three of his men, the captain
passed through the aperture made from the cell recently occupied by
Flora and the countess, into the treasure-chamber.
But scarcely had those few individuals effected their retreat in this
manner, when a tremendous crash was heard, cries and shrieks of horror
and dismay burst from those who had not as yet passed through the
opening, and then the roof of the chamber of penitence and all the
adjacent cells gave way with a din as of a thousand cannon, burying
beneath their weight the sextoness, the five penitents, the inmates of
Carlotta's cell, and seven of the banditti.
Those who were in the treasure-chamber felt the ground shake beneath
their feet; the sides--although hollowed from the solid rock--appeared
to vibrate and groan, and the aperture leading into the subterrane of
the convent was closed up by the massive masonry that had fallen in.
Flora and Giulia threw themselves into each other's arms, weeping
bitterly; for they saw how dearly their freedom had been purchased, and
they trembled for the result.
But the Marquis of Orsini, although greatly shocked at the terrible
sacrifice of human life which had occurred, exerted himself to console
and reassure the two terrified ladies.