Old Specie, the Treasury Detective; or, The Harbor Lights of New York — page 136: what you’re looking at

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

128 OLD SPECIE. he had been groping that he rejoiced to see these, even as the weary pilgrim, toiling through the dark storm, might welcome the flashing of the sun through a rift above. | Kagerly, yet cautiously, he approached. Looking out for a trap he finally reached the place he was aiming for. It proved to be another door. Whether it was fastened or not he did not know, nor did he try to find out. Voices came from beyond. There was also the wheezing of some machine slowly worked. - Holding his breath in eagerness, the treasury de- tective glued his eye to the largest crack. It did not give him satisfaction enough. He took out his knife. The blades were as keen almost as a razor’s edge. With this he clipped long slivers off. Hach piece he caught and deposited in his pocket, as it was not his intention to betray his having been there by allowing them to fall to the floor, thus at- tracting attention when one of those beyond came out. When he was done with his peep-hole, he would fill it up with some paper chewed into pulp for this same purpose. Trust him for that. Now he glued his eye to the opening. It was good. He could see almost the Stine place. It seemed to bea cellar, used at some time by a former proprietor of the brewery for storing certain things. Perhaps the secret passage was used in Eomicbooks (E(@)