Under His Thumb — page 153: what you’re looking at

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

144 UNDER HIS THUMB. into the hut. Of course she could not discern an object before her. She cautiously groped her way for two or three paces, and then tremblingly demanded: ‘‘Is there any one here? If there is, let him speak.” Katie, usually courageous, was timid now. She would not shrink from visible dangers. But the un- seen and unknown perils were to her the hardest to defy. They waited breathlessly for a response to Stella’s challenge. But none came. A loose board upon the hut was rattled by a passing gust of wind; this was the only sound audible above the patter of the rain and rustle of the overhanging foliage. ‘“‘Come—we have nothing to fear,” said Stella, her courage returning. They entered and sank down upon the mossy earth which was the only floor ot which the hut could boast. Fortunately it was dry, and the girls experienced a sense of comfort and security such as they had not known since the commencement of their flight. Attaining a comfortable position, and lulled by the pattering rain and whirring foliage, the fugitives fell asleep. How long they slept they did not know. They were awakened with a start. Both sprang to a sit- ting posture, clutching each other’s hands. They instantly recalled their situation, and realized that some unusual sound must have awakened them, for they were too greatly fatigued to have been aroused otherwise. ‘“What is it?’? Katie asked, in a whisper. “Vm not sure.’’ ‘“What do you think it was, then? Sure, and we heard something.”’ | Comicbooks.com |