Darke Darrell, the Boy Detective — page 101: what you’re looking at

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

92 DARKE DARRELL, CHAPTER XIX. DARKE’S PLUCK. Darke saw his peril, and realized that nothing but quick and decided action would save him. He saw that it would not avail him to deny, or to keep up his deception, with Jeff Potter staring him in the face. One of the men reached for his revolver, but found it tangled in his belt. Darke dealt him a violent blow in the face, then ran swiftly along the room, dodging in and out among the tables and machinery, thereby avoiding sey- eral bullets that were sent after him. Beyond was another room, separated by a board partition, and Darke knew that from that room the windows opened which overlooked the one-story building outside, and the low-roofed shed which joined it. The reader will remem- ber that Darke had made, from the room where he had slept, an accurate observation of the court, and the gate- way which led to it. He bounded into the room in question, closed the door, locked it, then shoved a heavy piece of machinery against _ it, thereby still more baffling his pursuers. The room seemed to be used more for a store-room than anything else. A feeble old man, who had heard the pis- tol-shots, was the only occupant in the room. He stepped across Darke’s path, scarcely knowing whether to look upon him as a friend or foe. He knew, however, in what light to regard him a second thereafter, for he found himself spinning across the floor under a blow in the face from Darke’s sturdy fist. EGomicbooks.co 5