Could it
be that he was now actually in the power of such beings? His mind was
yet in a whirl, and he could form to himself no connected account of
yesterday's happenings, if indeed it was really yesterday, and not in
some remote, far-away time, that he had last ridden along the sands of
Leith. Thirst consumed him, but he hesitated to drink; if he were now in
the hands of those wretches who, it was well known, that they might work
evil sold themselves to the Prince of Darkness, then might it not be
that by voluntarily drinking, his soul would be delivered into the
clutches of the Evil One? The thought brought him painfully to his feet
with many a groan, and roused him to a careful examination of his gloomy
prison. Rough stone walls, oozing damp, an earthen floor, three stone
steps leading up to a heavy iron-studded door in a corner of the room;
and nothing else. The one small window was far out of his reach. A
feeling of faintness crept over him; it might be a wile of Satan, or a
spell cast over him by supernatural powers, but the time was past for
hesitation, and he drank a great draught from the jack, sank feebly on
the couch, and slept profoundly.
When the judge again awoke it was in a prison somewhat less gloomy, for
a thin splash of pale sunlight now struck the wall, and gave light
sufficient to show every corner of the room.
Pages:
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139