Under the Elevated Road it was not as light as could be wished, and
Richard could not see very well. But presently he beheld a figure at
the end of the block--a figure that looked familiar.
Richard quickened his pace and soon reached the spot, yet only in time
to see the figure turn the next corner. But this time his view had
been better, and Richard was tolerably certain that it was the thief
he was pursuing.
He broke into a run instantly, and being light of foot, gained rapidly
upon the boy.
A glance around the next corner, and Richard just caught a glimpse of
the urchin's head as it disappeared down a cellar way. Rushing to the
spot, he was compelled to pause. He was far down on a side street that
was little better than an alley-way. The building before him was dirty
and old, evidently a storehouse, and the open stone steps led down to
a steep cellar from which not a ray of light came up.
Should he enter? For an instant Richard paused, and then slowly
descended.
"They shall not say that I was a coward," he said to himself. "And I
can easily handle that chap if it comes to a hand to hand affair."
The moldy smell of the cellar was nearly unbearable, and in several
spots upon the brick floor the scum lay an inch deep. Presently the
boy's eyes became accustomed to the darkness, and then he saw it was
not so gloomy, after all.
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