Under His Thumb — page 145: what you’re looking at

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

136 | ONDER HIS THUMB. vital spot. He intends only to frighten, or, at worst, to temporarily cripple me. I must let him do it.” — Such a thought takes form in an active brain much more quickly than words can express it. The purpose and its fulfillment were simultaneous. Hence, as the pistol report rang on the still morn- ing air, reverberating through the surrounding woods, Croly stood motionless as a statue, and ex- perienced that hot, stinging sensation which a bullet imparts in grazing the person. It was his right lee that was struck, and it seemed to him that only the skin was grazed by the bullet. But, as Brandon turned to flee, and Croly sprang for- ward to overtake him, the wounded limb succumbed to his weight as though paralyzed, and the detective fell headlong to the Brotind. Pursuit then would be unavailing, even if the de- tective could have used his limb, for the fugitive had a good start, and was dninjured. Croly sat up and hastily examined hisinjury. <As he had supposed, it was only a slight one, yet in- flicted at a point that temporarily paralyzed his limb. ‘‘He intended to do just this and no more, and he succeeded in a way that shows him to be a prime shot,”’ the detective explained, proceeding to band-_ age the wound and stanch the flow of blood. In ten minutes he could stand and walk without much difficulty. But he did not pursue the fugitives. He could find the latter whenever he chose to do so, and there was no hurry in that direction. He returned to New York, partook of breakfast at a restaurant, and then riaite his way toward the lodgings of Steve Lawton. comicbooks.co