Black Bess; or, The Knight of the Road — A Tale of the Good Old Times — page 187: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

eee ar = a ie 2 lel BLUESKIN: A ROMANCE, AWS SN (CAPTAIN HOWLET ORDERS THE FXECUTION OF THE SPY. |} first listening that there was no one close at hand to in- terrupt her. was still. She knelt down, and quickly had the panel undone. She pressed it as far back as she could, using the piece of mood the back of the chair afforded her for this pur- pose. Then, when it had reached its full extent, she carefully lodged it against a projection. he door was open. A current of cold air came from the aperture, and more than once its force was so great that the lamp was all but extinguished. - She saved it, however, by shielding it with her hand. Then holding it forward, and lying almost ou her face, she proceeded to look what kind of place it was the secret door in the paneling disclosed. She uttered an ejaculation of terror! The light of the lamp revealed nothing but the sides of en abyss, the Lare sight of which, and thoughts of the | fnightful depth, sent a chill of horror through her blood. Had she been less careful, what an awful fate would have been hers. Cnn =a 7 aD CHAPTER CXXYVIII. EDGWORTH BESS MAKES GOOD USE OF THE SECRET OUTLET TO HER CHAMBER, BUT THE END OF HER PERILS IS NOT YET REACHED. THERE was nothing whatever to indicate the position of such a pitfall, and nothing to guard one from falling into it; and no doubt this was a part of the cleverness of the original contriver, who, in anticipation of some person dis- covering the secret outlet, determined that they should not long survive that knowledge. a Caution—generally, in its extended phase, tinidity— is a prominent characteristic in the mental composition of nearly all females; and thus it was Edgworth Bess, dif- } ——— NOOLKS Cc (SO) (SO)