Jacob Gray leaned his head upon his hands, and groaned aloud, in the bitterness of his despair.
Then after a time he rose and carefully examined the door with a forlorn hope, that he might be able by some means to escape by it, and slinking down the staircase, leave the house; but it was quite fast, and although his strength might have been sufficient to break it open, that was a mode of operation attended with far too much noise to answer his purpose.
“I am a prisoner here,” he said,—“a prisoner to Andrew Britton, and my only chance of safety consists now in acting upon his fears, and arousing his anger more against Hartleton. He is long in coming,—what can be detaining him? Has he gone to Learmont’s, and are they together hatching some plot for my destruction? Am I safe, or—or am I on the very brink of the grave? My heart sinks within me. Surely he has been gone an hour. Shall I alarm the house? No—no. I am then taken for a thief; and, perhaps, dragged before Hartleton, who would not fail to recognise me. There is no weapon here to protect myself,—no means of escape.”
A sudden thought seemed to strike Gray, and he took up the candle which Britton had brought from the bar, and left with him.
“Does Britton,” he muttered, “keep his confession here with—my knife? Oh, if I could find those,—if I could, ’twere worth all the risk I now run. I would sell him to Learmont for a goodly sum.”
With a stealthy step, and a damp clammy perspiration of fear upon his brow, Jacob Gray crept about the room, which was at the top of the house, peering into every hole and corner in search of the much-dreaded confession of Andrew Britton.
His search was in vain—there was no paper to be found of any description and he sat down at length in despair.
“’Tis in vain—’tis in vain,” he groaned. “I am the victim of some contrivance of Britton’s to destroy me, or he would have returned eye this. I am lost—lost—lost.”
Jacob Gray wrung his hands, and wept like a child, as he thought his hour was come.
A long, straggling ray of light came in at the window now, and he started up exclaiming,—