hen she came back, to her great joy, the child
recognized her.

"Now, little precious, we will get out of this as fast as we can," said
Annie, and, clasping Nan tightly in her arms, she prepared to return by
the way she had come. Then and there, for the first time, there flashed
across her memory the horrible fact that the stone door had swung back
into its place, and that by no possible means could she open it. She and
Nan and Tiger were buried in a living tomb, and must either stay there
and perish, or await the tender mercies of the cruel Mother Rachel.

Nan, with her arms tightly clasped round Annie's neck, began to cry
fretfully. She was impatient to get out of this dismal place; she was no
longer oppressed by fears, for with the Annie whom she loved she felt
absolutely safe; but she was hungry and cold and uncomfortable, and it
seemed but a step, to little inexperienced Nan, from Annie's arms to her
snug, cheerful nursery at Lavender House.

"Tum, Annie--tum home, Annie," she begged and, when Annie did not stir,
she began to weep.

In truth, the poor, brave little girl was sadly puzzled, and her first
gleam of returning hope lay in the remembrance of Zillah's words, that
there were generally two entrances to these old underground forts. Tiger,
who seemed thoroughly at home in this little room, and had curled himself
up comfortably on the heap of straw, had probably often been here before.
Perhaps Tiger knew the way to the second entrance. Annie called him to
her side.

"Tiger," she said, going down on her knees, and looking full into his
ugly but intelligent face, "Nan and I want to go out of this."

Tiger wagged his stumpy tail.

"We are hungry, Tiger, and we want something to eat, and you'd like a
bone, wouldn't you?"

Tiger's tail went with ferocious speed, and he licked Annie's hand.

"There's no use going back that way, dear dog," continued the girl,
pointing with her arm in the direction they had come. "The door is
fastened, Tiger, and we can't get out. We can't get out because the door
is shut."

The dog's tail had ceased to wag; he took in the situation, for his whole
expression showed dejection, and he drooped his head.

It was now quite evident to Annie that Tiger had been here before, and
that on some other occasion in his life he had wanted to get out and
could not because the door was shut.

"Now, Tiger," said Annie, speaking cheerfully, and rising to her feet,
"we must get out. Nan and