3. Of this he moves the lock, by soft and continued
pressure, till it turns on its hinges without noise; and he enters, and
beholds his victim before him.
1. The face of the innocent sleeper is turned from the murderer, and the
beams of the moon, resting on the gray locks of his aged temple, show him
where to strike. 2. The fatal blow is given! and the victim passes, without
a struggle or a motion, from the repose of sleep to the repose of death. 3.
It is the assassin's purpose to make sure work; and he plies the dagger,
though it is obvious that life has been destroyed by the blow of the
bludgeon. 4. He even raises the aged arm that he may not fail in his aim at
the heart, and places it again over the wounds of the poniard. 5. To finish
the picture, he explores the wrist for the pulse. 6. He feels for it, and
ascertains that it beats no longer. 7. It is accomplished. 8. The deed is
done.
1. He retreats, retraces his steps to the window, passes out through it as
he came in, and escapes. 2. He has done the murder. No eye has seen him, no
ear has heard him. 3. The secret is his own, and it is safe.
1. Ah! gentlemen, that was a dreadful mistake. 2. Such a secret can be safe
nowhere. 3. The whole creation of God has neither nook nor corner where the
guilty can bestow it, and say it is safe.
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