The Girl from Hong-Kong: A Story of Adventure Under Five Suns — page 332: what you’re looking at

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

326 THE GIRL FROM HONG-KONG, CHAPTER XXXVIUIL. THE BATTLE OF THE FIRE BALLS. It has been left pretty much to the professor whether he and his companion shall endeavor to make the mines and gather up a rescue party, or attempt to stampede the minions of Senor Enrique by their own efforts. After their departure a suspense seems to rest over the little rock fort ia the barranca, for when men’s fate hangs in the balance, suspended as it were by a single hair, like the famous sword of Damaoeles, they find it rather difficult to be cheerful. Every sound startles their imagination into fancies of impending disaster—if a bit of shale rattles down the face of the cliff they immediately picture their devoted comrades hanging on with a death grip above, and tuily expect to next hear the clatter of their descent. And yet minutes pass, without such a disastrous event occurring, and gradually their hopes rise again to their normal condition. Their enemies do not remain idle. In every possible way they seek to annoy those who | crouch behind the ramparts. The volley of stones is re- sumed, and when that ceases to amuse the rascals, they try other devices, calculated to advance their interests. A couple of them effect a lodgment above the spot where Terry’s little party crouches, and, guessing their presence in that locality, those in the fort are filled with curiosity with respect to their mission. They are not kept long in suspense, for the darkness of the canyon is suddenly shot by a bright light, and a ball of fire descends, landing some six feet beyond the rough breastworks which have sheltered the fugitives. It appears that the enemy have some object in view, or else they miss the professor and his Greek fire. Those at bay await developments, holding their guns ready for desperate work should this new illumination of the gulch mean an attack, which even the most san- comicbooks.com