Part 8 (2/2)

His whole frame seemed to vibrate under that pulsation which was alher still!

_It_ was coray hair The light shone down upon it as it was upheld in the bony hand The hair caradually, a face

That face was pale as ashes; it was lean and shrivelled; the cheeks were sunken; the cheek bones projected; and a million wrinkles were carved upon the deep-searay hair wandered Bob's blood seemed to freeze within his veins The old fable tells of the Gorgon, whose face inspired such horror that the beholder stiffened into stone So here Bob beheld a Gorgon face He felt petrified with utter horror!

As the face caher, and at length stopped about a foot above the opening

Here it fixed its gaze upon Bob, bending itself forward, and holding forth the light as far as possible, so that it loo indescribably evil, ht Bob out, fastened theaze There was a hideous eagerness in her look There was a horrible fascination about it,--such as the serpent exerts over the bird And as the bird, while under the spell of the serpent's eye, seeht, and falls a victim to the destroyer, so here, at this tilance, and lost all power of motion He could not speak He tried to scream No cry cahtht-mare, and not the fanciful terrors of dreareat to be endured He closed his eyes tight, and thus shut out the sight

But though he shut out the sight, he could not shut oat sound; and soon he becaht a fresh terror over his soul

It was a stealthy step

It was advancing towards, hi, yet steady, and nearer and still nearer, came the awful step! Bob opened his eyes, to assure himself once more of the worst He opened theure was now half way between the opening and the bed The old hag stood now fully revealed Her bleary eyes were fixed on Bob One hand upheld the flickering lamp, and in the other was a sharp weapon

Bob closed his eyes in an anguish of horror He was dumb He could utter no cry He could notThe destroyer was here, yet he could not make one motion to ward off that blow

His brain whirled, his heart see

There was a terrible moment of dumb, motionless, breathless expectancy

The old woman knelt by his side

She put the la, lean, bony, skinny, shrivelled hands, and took Bob by the hair of his head, while with the other she raised her sharp weapon

CHAPTER IX

_The Cavalcade in Pursuit--Hopes and Fears--Theories about the lost Boy--A new Turn to Affairs--Explanations--On to Salerno--Inquiries--Baffled--Fresh Consternation and Despondency--The last Hope_

Meanwhile the party on donkeys trotted along the road after Bob

At the exclamation from the donkey boy they had all experienced a shock; but soon they recovered from it, and the shock only served as a stimulus to make them push the donkeys onwardany reht reappear; but he had vanished behind a turn in the road, and as they advanced, there were other turns to be encountered, and so they were unable to see hian to create uneasiness At first they all had hoped that Bob would be able to stop the ass, or that the ani his paces for a short time, would stop of his own accord; but the farther they went, theserious in it