We sat till the midnight hour
had passed, without arriving at a definite conclusion; we saw no plan of
practicable operation, and so we wandered onwards to one of those deep
dens of iniquity, a gaming-house, wherein we had won and lost thousands. "We had no money, but we staked largely, in the shape of a wager, upon
the success of one of the players; we knew not, or cared not, for the
consequence, if we had lost; but, as it happened, we were largely
successful, and beggars as we had walked into that place, we might have
left it independent men. "But when does the gambler know when to pause in his career? If defeat
awakens all the raging passions of humanity within his bosom, success
but feeds the great vice that has been there engendered. To the dawn of
morn we played; the bright sun shone in, and yet we played--the midday
came, and went--the stimulant of wine supported us, and still we played;
then came the shadows of evening, stealing on in all their beauty. But
what were they to us, amid those mutations of fortune, which, at one
moment, made us princes, and placed palaces at our control, and, at
another, debased us below the veriest beggar, that craves the stinted
alms of charity from door to door. "And there was one man who, from the first to the last, stayed by us
like a very fiend; more than man, I thought he was not human. We won of
all, but of him. People came and brought their bright red gold, and laid
it down before us, but for us to take it up, and then, by a cruel stroke
of fortune, he took it from us. "The night came on; we won, and he won of us; the clock struck
twelve--we were beggars. God knows what was he. "We saw him place his winnings about his person--we saw the smile that
curved the corners of his lips; he was calm, and we were maddened. The
blood flowed temperately through his veins, but in ours it was burning
lava, scorching as it went through every petty artery, and drying up all
human thought--all human feeling. "The winner left, and we tracked his footsteps. When he reached the open
air, although he had taken much less than we of the intoxicating
beverages that are supplied gratis to those who frequent those haunts of
infamy, it was evident that some sort of inebriation attacked him; his
steps were disordered and unsteady, and, as we followed him, we could
perceive, by the devious track that he took, that he was somewhat
uncertain of his route. "We had no fixed motive in so pursuing this man. It was but an impulsive
proceeding at the best; but as he still went on and cleared the streets,
getting into the wild and open country, and among the hedge-rows, we
began to whisper together, and to think that what we did not owe to
fortune, we might to our own energy and courage at such a moment. "I need not hesitate to say so, since, to hide the most important
feature of my revelation from you, would be but to mock you; we resolved
upon robbing him. "And was that all?" "It was all that our resolution went to. We were not anxious to spill
blood; but still we were resolved that we would accomplish our purpose,
even if it required murder for its consummation. Have you heard enough?" "I have not heard enough, although I guess the rest." "You may well guess it, from its preface. He turned down a lonely
pathway, which, had we chosen it ourselves, could not have been more
suitable for the attack we meditated. "There were tall trees on either side, and a hedge-row stretching high
up between them. We knew that that lane led to a suburban village,
which, without a doubt, was the object of his destination. "Then Marmaduke Bannerworth spoke, saying,--

"'What we have to do, must be done now or never. There needs not two in
this adventure. Shall you or I require him to refund what he has won
from us?' "'I care not,' I said; 'but if we are to accomplish our purpose without
arousing even a shadow of resistance, it is better to show him its
futility by both appearing, and take a share in the adventure.' "This was agreed upon, and we hastened forward. He heard footsteps
pursuing him and quickened his pace. I was the fleetest runner, and
overtook him. I passed him a pace or two, and then turning, I faced him,
and impeded his progress. "The lane was narrow, and a glance behind him showed him Marmaduke
Bannerworth; so that he was hemmed in between two enemies, and could
move neither to the right nor to the left, on account of the thick
brushwood that intervened between the trees. "Then, with an assumed courage, that sat but ill upon him, he demanded
of us what we wanted, and proclaimed his right to pass despite the
obstruction we placed in his way. "The dialogue was brief. I, being foremost, spoke to him. "'Your money,' I said; 'your winnings at the gaming-table. We cannot,
and we will not lose it.' "So suddenly, that he had nearly taken my life, he drew a pistol from
his pocket, and levelling it at my head, he fired upon me. "Perhaps, had I moved, it might have been my death; but, as it was, the
bullet furrowed my cheek, leaving a scar, the path of which is yet
visible in a white cicatrix. "I felt a stunning sensation, and thought myself a dead man. I cried
aloud to Marmaduke Bannerworth, and he rushed forward. I knew not that
he was armed, and that he had the power about him to do the deed which
he then accomplished; but there was a groan, a slight struggle, and the
successful gamester fell upon the green sward, bathed in his blood." "And this is the father of her whom I adore?" "It is. Are you shocked to think of such a neat relationship between so
much beauty and intelligence and a midnight murderer? Is your philosophy
so poor, that the daughter's beauty suffers from the commission of a
father's crime?" "No, no, It is not so. Do not fancy that, for one moment, I can
entertain such unworthy opinions. The thought that crossed me was that I
should have to tell one of such a gentle nature that her father had done
such a deed." "On that head you can use your own discretion. The deed was done; there
was sufficient light for us to look upon the features of the dying man. Ghastly and terrific they glared upon us; while the glazed eyes, as they
were upturned to the bright sky, seemed appealing to Heaven for
vengeance against us, for having done the deed. "Many a day and many an hour since at all times and all seasons, I have
seen those eyes, with the glaze of death upon them, following me, and
gloating over the misery they had the power to make. I think I see them
now." "Indeed!" "Yes; look--look--see how they glare upon me--with what a fixed and
frightful stare the bloodshot pupils keep their place--there, there! oh! save me from such a visitation again. It is too horrible. I dare not--I
cannot endure it; and yet why do you gaze at me with such an aspect,
dread visitant? You know that it was not my hand that did the deed--who
laid you low. You know that not to me are you able to lay the heavy
charge of your death!" "Varney, you look upon vacancy," said Charles Holland.