The Rajah's Fortress — page 241: what you’re looking at

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

228 THE RAJAH’S FORTRESS, Guy, blinded and deafened, staggered back against the wall and toppled over on the mass of bedding. At first the terrible explosion was followed by a dead silence that was rendered all the more awful by the dense, pitchy darkness, for the concussion had extinguished the bronze lamp in the corridor. Then arose a tumult of cries and imprecations, piteous wails for help, and shouts of anger and rage. Dimly through the stone walls came a confused murmur from the outer alr, an ominous sound that grew louder and louder. The Chinaman, crouch- ing low in the entrance to the cavern, had escaped the fullest shock of the explosion. Dazed though he was, he comprehended what had happened, and Jost no time in acting. It was singular how cool he was under such try- ing circumstances, but he realized perhaps that for the present there was no immediate peril. Little danger that the guards would rush into the dark- ened chamber. So, crawling on hands and knees, he made his way across the floor. He reached the cannon, and then more by instinct than knowledge, for the darkness had been simultaneous with the explosion, he steered directly for the wall to his right. Success rewarded his ‘sagacity. He found Guy sitting upright upon a rough mattress, and no doubt oblivious to everything, for the explosion must have destroyed his hearing at once, and no doubt his senses with it. CONMUC WOO SS co