He hastened back to his room, and
succeeded with some difficulty in lighting a candle, powerfully
agitated by hearing the cries repeated, yet still more afraid lest
they should sink into silence.
He rushed along the narrow and winding entrance, guided by the noise,
which now burst more wildly on his ear; and, while he descended a
narrow staircase which terminated the passage, he heard the stifled
voices of men, encouraging, as it seemed, each other. "D--n her,
strike her down--silence her--beat her brains out!"--while the voice
of his hostess, though now almost exhausted, was repeating the cry of
"murder," and "help." At the bottom of the staircase was a small door,
which gave way before Nigel as he precipitated himself upon the scene
of action,--a cocked pistol in one hand, a candle in the other, and
his naked sword under his arm.
Two ruffians had, with great difficulty, overpowered, or, rather, were
on the point of overpowering, the daughter of Trapbois, whose
resistance appeared to have been most desperate, for the floor was
covered with fragments of her clothes, and handfuls of her hair. It
appeared that her life was about to be the price of her defence, for
one villain had drawn a long clasp-knife, when they were surprised by
the entrance of Nigel, who, as they turned towards him, shot the
fellow with the knife dead on the spot, and when the other advanced to
him, hurled the candlestick at his head, and then attacked him with
his sword.
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