The horrid barbarity of the act seized the mind of Hippolitus
so entirely, that, forgetful of his own situation, he groaned aloud,
and started with an instantaneous design of avenging the deed. The
noise he made alarmed the banditti, who looking whence it came,
discovered the count through the casement. They instantly quitted
their prize, and rushed towards the door of the room. He was now
returned to a sense of his danger, and endeavoured to escape to the
exterior part of the ruin; but terror bewildered his senses, and he
mistook his way. Instead of regaining the arch-way, he perplexed
himself with fruitless wanderings, and at length found himself only
more deeply involved in the secret recesses of the pile.
The steps of his pursuers gained fast upon him, and he continued to
perplex himself with vain efforts at escape, till at length, quite
exhausted, he sunk on the ground, and endeavoured to resign himself to
his fate. He listened with a kind of stern despair, and was surprised
to find all silent. On looking round, he perceived by a ray of
moonlight, which streamed through a part of the ruin from above, that
he was in a sort of vault, which, from the small means he had of
judging, he thought was extensive.
In this situation he remained for a considerable time, ruminating on
the means of escape, yet scarcely believing escape was possible. If he
continued in the vault, he might continue there only to be butchered;
but by attempting to rescue himself from the place he was now in, he
must rush into the hands of the banditti. Judging it, therefore, the
safer way of the two to remain where he was, he endeavoured to await
his fate with fortitude, when suddenly the loud voices of the
murderers burst upon his ear, and he heard steps advancing quickly
towards the spot where he lay.
Despair instantly renewed his vigour; he started from the ground, and
throwing round him a look of eager desperation, his eye caught the
glimpse of a small door, upon which the moon-beam now fell. He made
towards it, and passed it just as the light of a torch gleamed upon
the walls of the vault.
He groped his way along a winding passage, and at length came to a
flight of steps. Notwithstanding the darkness, he reached the bottom
in safety. He now for the first time stopped to listen--the sounds of pursuit
were ceased, and all was silent! Continuing to wander on in effectual
endeavours to escape, his hands at length touched cold iron, and he
quickly perceived it belonged to a door. The door, however, was
fastened, and resisted all his efforts to open it. He was giving up
the attempt in despair, when a loud scream from within, followed by a
dead and heavy noise, roused all his attention. Silence ensued. He
listened for a considerable time at the door, his imagination filled
with images of horror, and expecting to hear the sound repeated. He
then sought for a decayed part of the door, through which he might
discover what was beyond; but he could find none; and after waiting
some time without hearing any farther noise, he was quitting the spot,
when in passing his arm over the door, it struck against something
hard.