Under His Thumb — page 42: what you’re looking at

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

UNDER HIS THUMB. 5) George Dyer stooped and vrasped an iron ring which was fastened to a small, square section of floor. He raised the section, disclosing a black, yawning opening. Steve struggled desperately to escape from the powerful arms of his captor. But in vain. And again he shouted for help, with the same hopeless result as before. Then, despite his resistance, despite his cry for mercy, the boy was thrust downward through the opening—down into the black abyss below. For an instant Dyer clung to the lad’s collar, al- lowing him to hang in suspension. Then he released. his hold, and the youngster was sensible of the aw- ful horror of dropping down, down through invisible space. He struck with a shock, and then his senses for- sook him, partly from terror and partly from the vio- lent contact of his head with the hard earth upon which he had fallen. | Nearly an hour passed before he had fully regained his senses; and it required another hour to clamber up the wet, slippery wall that helped to support that end of the building. Several times he made the attempt, only to fall back again, and add to the bruises from which he already suffered. And when he had at last succeeded in drawing himself up through the opening into the boiler-room, he was so exhausted that he sank down upon the floor and lay there a long time, faint, year and _ breathless. At length he recovered and sprang to his feet. . Eco EOmMmIcboo Ss) mn