第52章

How long they lay in this state neither ever knew.The two old ladies had rushed upstairs on hearing the tumult.Other persons had been concealed in other parts of the house.The servants found themselves suddenly locked in, and were not sorry to be saved from a collision which involved so awful a danger.The old ladies had rushed, side by side, into the very center of those who were seeking them.Retreat was impossible; two persons at least were heard following them upstairs.Something like a shrieking expostulation and counter-expostulation went on between the ladies and the murderers; then came louder voices--then one heart-piercing shriek, and then another--and then a slow moaning and a dead silence.Shortly afterwards was heard the first crashing of the door inward by the mob; but the murderers had fled upon the first alarm, and, to the astonishment of the servants, had fled upward.

Examination, however, explained this: from a window in the roof they had passed to an adjoining house recently left empty; and here, as in other cases, we had proof how apt people are, in the midst of elaborate provisions against remote dangers, to neglect those which are obvious.

The reign of terror, it may be supposed, had now reached its acme.

The two old ladies were both lying dead at different points on the staircase, and, as usual, no conjecture could be made as to the nature of the offense which they had given; but that the murder WASa vindictive one, the usual evidence remained behind, in the proofs that no robbery had been attempted.Two new features, however, were now brought forward in this system of horrors, one of which riveted the sense of their insecurity to all families occupying extensive houses, and the other raised ill blood between the city and the university, such as required years to allay.The first arose out of the experience, now first obtained, that these assassins pursued the plan of secreting themselves within the house where they meditated a murder.All the care, therefore, previously directed to the securing of doors and windows after nightfall appeared nugatory.The other feature brought to light on this occasion was vouched for by one of the servants, who declared that, the moment before the door of the kitchen was fastened upon herself and fellow servant, she saw two men in the hall, one on the point of ascending the stairs, the other making toward the kitchen; that she could not distinguish the faces of either, but that both were dressed in the academic costume belonging to the students of the university.The consequences of such a declaration need scarcely be mentioned.Suspicion settled upon the students, who were more numerous since the general peace, in a much larger proportion military, and less select or respectable than heretofore.Still, no part of the mystery was cleared up by this discovery.Many of the students were poor enough to feel the temptation that might be offered by any LUCRATIVE system of outrage.Jealous and painful collusions were, in the meantime, produced; and, during the latter two months of this winter, it may be said that our city exhibited the very anarchy of evil passions.This condition of things lasted until the dawning of another spring.

It will be supposed that communications were made to the supreme government of the land as soon as the murders in our city were understood to be no casual occurrences, but links in a systematic series.Perhaps it might happen from some other business, of a higher kind, just then engaging the attention of our governors, that our representations did not make the impression we had expected.We could not, indeed, complain of absolute neglect from the government.They sent down one or two of their most accomplished police officers, and they suggested some counsels, especially that we should examine more strictly into the quality of the miscellaneous population who occupied our large suburb.But they more than hinted that no necessity was seen either for quartering troops upon us, or for arming our local magistracy with ampler powers.