The bridal guests waited their return in stupified
amazement.
Arrived at the door of the apartment, Colonel Ashton knocked and called,
but received no answer except stifled groans. He hesitated no longer
to open the door of the apartment, in which he found opposition from
something which lay against it. When he had succeeded in opening it, the
body of the bridegroom was found lying on the threshold of the bridal
chamber, and all around was flooded with blood. A cry of surprise and
horror was raised by all present; and the company, excited by this
new alarm, began to rush tumultuously towards the sleeping apartment.
Colonel Ashton, first whispering to his mother, "Search for her; she
has murdered him!" drew his sword, planted himself in the passage, and
declared he would suffer no man to pass excepting the clergyman and
a medical person present. By their assistance, Bucklaw, who still
breathed, was raised from the ground, and transported to another
apartment, where his friends, full of suspicion and murmuring, assembled
round him to learn the opinion of the surgeon.
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