Darke Darrell, the Boy Detective — page 111: what you’re looking at

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

102 DARKE DARRELL. door went clattering to the bottom of the vault to the sur- — prise of those who were looking on. A scream came up from below, and the coarse voice of 4 man cried out: «‘Take care up there! Help us out of this, you firemen, and you shall be well paid.” Darke recognized Tim Jordan’s voice, and was rather surprised to find him in the dungeon. He could not have hurried hither from the wing, for the intervening door was locked, and Darke had the key of it in his pocket. Tim had said: ‘*‘ Help ws out.” ‘‘ How many are down there?” thought Darke. ‘I hope — my friend Jeff Potter is one of them.” He called down the opening: ‘“We don’t ‘run the machine,’ Mr. Jordan. We want you. ‘The less trouble you give us the better it will be for you.” An oath came back in reply, but not one breathing de- fiance. rie “Light that lamp,” ordered Darke, looking at Patsey, and pointing to the mantel. Patsey took down a lamp with a heavy bronze pedestal. -He lit it and brought it to the opening. Darke had picked up the rope which Tim had carried thither. He dropped one end into the opening. | ““Descend,” Darke said, his eyes on Patsey. ‘It isn’t that I mind being ordered,” demurred Patsey;- ‘but I'd like to have some notion where ’m going to,” “Not into a well, anyhow,” growled Darke. “ They will not lay ahand on you. If they do, we'll kill them like so |many rats. When down, hold the lamp, and the rest of us will jump down.” Thus assured, Patsey descended, lamp in hand, Darke _ bracing himself and holding the other end of the rope. comicbooks.com