A Gentleman from Gascony: A Romance of the Huguenots — page 108: what you’re looking at

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

104 A GENTLEMAN FROM GASCONY. ’ he was, he arose to a sitting posture and endeavored to pierce the gloom about him. It seemed to him that the darkness was not so intense as it had been. And sure enough, as he raised his eyes, far above his head glimmered two round spots of light, undoubtedly openings into the outer air. He leaped to his feet and felt his way to the wall. Built as it was of solid masonry, how could he hope to climb up? Drawing a dagger he wore in his belt, and which had been lent to him by Madame Goujon as a portion of his attire, he inserted the point between two stones about two feet from the ground and had soon dug out sufficient of the mortar to leave a resting-place for his feet. Tiras | Clinging to the joining in the stonework, he mounted upon the tiny platform he had made, and proceeded to dig out a similar one a little farther up. His progress was slow and painful, but he finally managed to reach the two loopholes, near the roof. These he found to be the entrances to a dilapidated dovecot. As he peered in, two pigeons, startled at the intrusion, flew out with a great whirr of wings. Through the holes, he could see nothing but the sky and a distant view of roofs. ‘There was no hope here, for even if he should succeed in enlarging the openings sufficiently to admit of the passage of his body, he would be perched in mid-air, with no possibility of reaching the ground. He obtained one meagre advantage, however, by his climb. The dovecote contained ten eggs, which he took possession of and carefully stowed away in his pockets. These at least would ward off starvation for a little time. GComicbooks: co - |