The Twin Detectives; or, The Robbers of the Tomb — page 37: what you’re looking at

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

28 THE TWIN DETECTIVES. He always kept a room in one of these houses, and to his neighbors acted like one of themselves. He passed for a low sporting man, and called himself a «¢ Welcher.” Even Prescot never suspected that Brierly, the dreaded detective, was none other than ‘‘ Gibbins the Sport.” By means of his underground passage, the detective could pass into the house which was the stronghold of the bur- glars, unsuspected, and overhear their plots and plans. » This gave him a great advantage over his confreres. They often were puzzled to find out how he acquired his information. Bob had no confidants. He trusted no one. He closed the door, which was painted black to escape observation in the dim light of the coal-begrimed cellar. He looked around him eagerly. The floor was incumbered with fuel, old clothing, boots, rubbish of all kinds. In one corner stvod a large black trunk. _ It looked new, and was of rather a peculiar shape, being longer than an ordinary trunk. Brierly caught hold of one of its handles, and tested its weight. It was extremely heavy. He could not move it one inch. Placing his candle in an empty bottle, which he placed on the floor, he drew a bunch of keys from his pocket. He knelt down before the black chest and tried the locks. Brierly had perfected himself in one branch of his pro- fession. He was a thorough locksmith. It took time to open this chest, but he persevered until his task was accomplished. He threw back the lid. A faint, death-like odor floated through the cellar. The black trunk was full of charcoal. Brierly drew a Gomicbooks.co m 3)