Darke Darrell, the Boy Detective — page 73: what you’re looking at

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

64 DARKE DARRELL. himself on the table. ‘‘ It is about ten feet up there,” lift- ing his eyes, ‘“‘and it was lucky that I didn’t break my neck. Am I to be starved or murdered? I might be fired at through the trap. If I am shown the ghost of a chance, T'll make final settlement with one or more of them. ‘The lock of that door can’t be picked, I fancy. However, I'll try. Whatthen? I may only be getting from the frying- pan into the fire.” He took a box of matches from his pocket. «<T may find these of use,” he thought. ‘‘ Especially in making a close examination of that door, so much in the shadow. That deceitful little gipsy! 1 was a fool for trust- ing her! And yet she pretends to hate a traitress. No doubt she is laughing because I was so easily gulled!” his face flushing with vexation. ‘‘If I get out of this tronble Tl call her to account for it. And yet, not half an hour ago, I fancied I entertained a sincere affection for her. I have been made considerably wiser.” _ Where he sat he heard the same dull, heavy sound which he had heard in the room where he had slept. It was not so much of a jarring sound, but more distinct. Leaping from the table, he once more ascended the flight of stone steps. He struck a match and held it close to the door. He saw that it was secured by a heavy lock, the key of which was missing. He also noticed that there were figures on the door, made with chalk, and they had the ap- pearance of having been recently made. «Those figures mean something,” he said to himself. “©T may be able to find my way out of this through them.” He lit three or four more matches, and by means of the flickering light shed by them, took a copy of the figures ~ in the order in which they had been chalked on the door. — That done, he descended the steps and resumed his seat on the iron table, the point upon which the light from the iron-grating fell most strongly. He closely studied the , EComicbooks. com —