Great Porter Square: A Mystery. v. 1Farjeon, B. L. (Benjamin Leopold)
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Great Porter Square: A Mystery. v. 1
Farjeon, B. L. (Benjamin Leopold)
Detective and mystery stories; Fiction
glass, and it peers over his shoulder; maddened, he flies away, and when
he stops to rest, he feels the breath of the Invisible on his cheek. He
slinks into his bed, and hiding his head in the bedclothes, lies there
in mortal terror, knowing that the shadow is close beside him. It brings
awful visions upon him. He looks over the bridge into the river upon
which the sun is shining. How bright is the water! How clear! How
pure! Surely over that white surface the shadow can have no power! But
suddenly comes a change, and the river is transformed into a river of
blood. An irresistible fascination draws him to the river again in
the night, when the moon is shining on the waters, and, as he gazes
downwards, he sees the ghastly body of his victim, its face upturned,
floating on a lurid tide. He cannot avoid it; whichever way he turns
it is before him. He walks through country lanes, and trembles at the
fluttering of every leaf. Rain falls; it is red; and as he treads along,
it oozes up and up till it reaches his eyes, and, resting there, tinges
everything that meets his sight with the colour of blood. Water he
cannot drink, its taste is so horrible. He must have gin, brandy--any
poison that will help him to forget. Vain hope! He shall never forget!
And the shadow of his crime shall never leave until he falls at the feet
of outraged justice, and pays the penalty. Then, _and then only_, there
may be hope for him--for God is merciful!
Among the measures adopted by the police for the discovery of the Great
Porter Square murderer was that of having the house, No. 119, watched
day and night by policemen in private clothes. There are not many
persons in the kingdom who, in a murder case which has thrilled the
public heart and filled it with horror, would accuse the police of want
of zeal; but there are many who, with justice, would accuse them of want
of tact.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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