He paused, looked around him, hoping that when his eyes got used to the
darkness some faint ray of light coming either through the boarded-up
front or through the glass upper half of the door, would enable him to
take his bearings, or, at any rate, to help him avoid that uncanny
"something" in the middle of the floor.

But the blackness was absolute. Strain his eyes as he might, there was
no glimmer of light in any direction to guide him, and he had used up
his last match. So he went to work again with his hands. These rough
planks were placed perpendicularly against the wall to a width of about
three feet--the width of the door. Passing his fingers slowly all round
them, he ascertained that they reached to the floor, and to a height of
about seven feet above it. Evidently, thought he, it was the door itself
which opened into the shop which had been carefully boarded up. As soon
as he felt sure of this, he dealt at the planks a tremendous blow with
his fist. He hurt his hand, but did no apparent injury to the door,
which scarcely shook. Then he tried to tear one of the boards away from
the framework to which it was attached, but without result. The nails
which had been used to fasten it were of the strongest make, and had
been well driven in.

Foiled in his attempt to get out of the room by the way he had come, Max
moved slowly to the left, and at the distance of only a couple of feet
from the door found the angle of the wall, and began to creep along,
still feeling with hands and feet most carefully, in the direction of
the front of the shop.

This side of the room presented no obstacles. The wall-paper was torn
here and there; the plaster fell down in some places at his touch. A
board shook a little under his tread when he had taken a few paces, but