A Gentleman from Gascony: A Romance of the Huguenots — page 106: what you’re looking at

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

102 A GENTLEMAN FROM GASCONY, pierced the sleeve of the chevalier’s doublet, tearing away, as it was withdrawn, Gabrielle’s handkerchief. “Coward!” roared Raoul, striking his assailant on the face with the flat of his weapon for want of room to thrust at him with the point. With a furious ejaculation and white with anger, De Vrissac retreated a step, and then steel clashed against steel. The vicomte was a swordsman of the first order, and -Raoul soon recognized that he had met his equal. Exhausted as he was by excitement and the loss of blood resulting from the wound he had received from the Swiss soldier, it taxed all his skill to parry the thrusts of his adversary without thinking of taking the ~ offensive himself. He found himself being forced gradually backward until finally his back was against the wall. Encouraged by his success, the vicomte pursued the attack still more vigorously. The result was still in doubt, however, when a most extraordinary thing happened. . The wall behind Raoul suddenly gave way, and the room, the lights, his antagonist all vanished from his vision. He had fallen violently backwiid into a region of utter darkness, GEomicbooks co