rable caution. He feared that were he to dislodge a
brick or a section of the ladder, it might fall on the girl below and
seriously injure her. Why she should be so far below the narrow
platform where he had found Mollie Thurston he did not pause to ask
himself. The urgent work of the moment was to get Barbara out as quickly
as possible.

"Is there no end to this?" muttered the young man. He figured that he
must be somewhere in the vicinity of the cellar. Barbara's voice, now
strong and clear, halted him suddenly.

"Be careful," she warned. "The ladder doesn't reach all the way down.
You will fall if you don't step carefully."

"Where are you?" he cried. "Goodness, I'm glad to hear your voice! I
feared you had been killed."

"I don't know how this happened. I am down here. That is all I can tell
you about it."

Stevens had reached the end of the ladder by this time. He lowered his
lantern, directing her to take it from the rope, then observing that he
was not more than half a dozen feet from the bottom, he dropped lightly
down beside her.

"Did you fall down here?" he asked.

"The last several feet I did," she answered. Bab was pale, but her eyes
were bright.

"Then how did you get down this far? Didn't the landing stop you?"
questioned the young man while looping the rope under Barbara's arms.

"Yes, the landing stopped me. I thought I surely had been killed, but
after a little I pulled myself together and screamed for help. I guess
no one heard me."

"They were excited. The house is in an uproar. Your sister is in the
hands of her friends. I think she will be all right."

"My sister?" questioned Bab, opening her eyes wide.

"Yes. Didn't you know she fell in, too?"

"Tell me--was she--how did it happen?" demanded Bab, all in one voice.
"Oh, it was awful! Mollie fell in, you say?"

"Yes. I got her out with the help of the others. You haven't answered my
question. Why did you come on down here?"

"I thought there might be an opening at the bottom. This chimney was
intended to be used for climbing. Hurry. I want to see Mollie."

Barbara was in a fever of excitement. She could not see why she
shouldn't climb the rope. Stevens advised her to calm herself, saying
that when she reached the ladder she might climb, but not to cast off
the rope.

"When you reach the top tell them to lower the rope again, so I can get
out."

Barbara suddenly collected herself.

"Oh, forgive me for my thoughtlessness. You