worked upon it, the stone began to sag. An
edge caught upon the adjacent flagging. The two men, perched upon the
wobbly bricks, manipulated the stone, working it loose, until,
finally, it came crashing down.

The stone had made noise enough, it seemed, to wake the dead; yet
above them there was no sound. Swiftly they raised the flagging and
set it securely upon the heap of bricks. When Detroit Jim stood upon
this improvised platform his head was level with the aperture they had
made. He could see no sky, no stars, could feel no wind, discover no
light such as pervades even the darkest night.

"Good God!" he breathed. His fingers went out over the flagging. His
knife dropped. The tinkle echoed dully down the conduit. He stooped to
where Old Man Anderson stood, breathing hard.

"It's a--a room!" he whispered.

"A--a room?" repeated Old Man Anderson dully.

"Come! After me! Up! I'll pull you up!"

Detroit Jim, being wiry, swung himself up, and then bent down, groping
for the old man's hands. Winded, panting, exhausted, the two men stood
at last in this new blackness, clutching each other, their ears
strained to catch the slightest sound.

"For God's sake, don't fall down that hole now!" hissed Detroit Jim.
"Listen. We'll both crawl together till we get to a wall. Then you
feel along one way, and whisper to me what you find, and I'll crawl
the other. Look for a window or a door--some way out! We'll come
together finally. Are you ready?"

"I'm--I'm afraid," whined the old man.

Detroit Jim's fingers dug into the other's arm, and he pulled the
latter along. Their groping hands touched a wall--a wall of wood.
Detroit Jim stood up and pulled Anderson beside him. He felt the old
man shiver. He shoved him gently in to the left and himself moved
cautiously to the right, slowly, catlike.

Finally, Jim came to a door. He could perceive no light through the
chinks in the door. Sensing the increasing uncanniness of a room
without windows, without furniture, with flagging for a floor, he
turned the knob of the door gently, and it gave under his touch.

Just then there came to him a hoarse whisper from across the room. It
made him jump. "I've--I've found some wires," the old man was saying,
"in a cable running along the floor----"

"See where they lead!" Detroit Jim was breathless, in anticipation.

And then, shattering the overwhelming tension of the moment, shrilled,
suddenly, a horrible, prolonged, piercing shriek en