Marion Marlowe's Disappearance, or, Almost a Crime — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

. If there was only an opening by which she ec ld reach the river! The thought came | swiftly to the poor girl and stirred her pulses x pth fresh courage. 3 Not once did she shrink from this horrible ee tiee Death even in the dark river f inder a decaying wharf would be preferable to the fiendish treatment which she knew awaited her at the hands of these wretches. She ‘began creeping cautiously along, gg uided by the sound of the water, while, to he T great — the fight waxed hotter and pet fer. F was a | fet. to the death, for each of the hideous creatures was half crazed with drink an nd each was determined to wrest the spoils fr rom the other. + ‘sta ay their hands, for, as the beggar boy said, ae ‘the cellar told no secrets.” * ew victims came easily to their fearful den, what wonder then that they should ba pie like vultures over the tempting morsel lat had fairly dropped among them. As they fought in the darkness they gave tl nem, ) and the river; there was no escape for oe a _ Suddenly a yell announced the victory de- 4 led. some one had. won that bloody bat- 2 in the darkness and solitude of the cellar, , b ut it mattered nothing to Marion who had D been victorious, "She could see a-ray of light 1 now and knew She re- doubled her speed, half rising, but moving cz cautiously. that she was nearing the river. As soon as she reached the light her cap- tors would see her, then—then she would fice like a deer and seek safety in the river. as perfect volley of unintelligible oaths sh owed her that they were after her. There Ww: as no time to lose. She rose and darted ‘SM itly toward the opening which she sup- * a, es = : | MY QUEEN. No thought ‘of law or punishment need 3 thought to their victim. She was between | 25 posed meant death for her but defeat for her captors. A broad shaft of light almost blinded her as she reached the opening, which seemed only a jagged hole in a wall of rotten timbers. A silver sheen of water stretched before her in the distance, but between her and the moonlit stream yawned a black, silent space. Tt was the water under the rotten wharlf, but there was no sign of a sewer opening. Without an instant’s delay the young girl darted on. There was a yell of rage from her baffled captors as she sprang fearlessly into the dark water. CHAPTER XIV. A RESCUE AT THE LAST MINUTE. The detectives from headquarters had done their best and so had the police force in its search for Marion. The beggar boy’s information had been accepted by them all and every effort had been made to track the old woman whom he called “Skinny.” ~ Finally two men and women who had seen Marion in the carriage with the old creature communicated their knowledge to the au- thorities, with the result that the cabman was found who had driven her to the tene- ment. Then followed activity such as was seldom seen in the department. Before morning every old rookery in that particular section was thoroughly searched or raided. The friends of the beautiful girl offered every inducement in their power, and the three young men, with the beggar boy still acting as escort, were foremost among the searchers through the squalid rookeries. But it remained for the river police to res- cue Marion. While ene was choosing between the river cComicboOokS.€O©