ere?" she asked.

"Ourselves."

"Did we do that?"

"I did; or rather my foot struck the edge of the rug as I turned to go
out with you. Shall I replace it and press back the nails?"

"If you will be so good."

Do what she would there was eagerness in her tone. Remarking this, I
decided to give another and closer look at the floor and the nails. I
found the latter had not been properly inserted; or rather that there
were two indentations for every nail, a deep one and one quite shallow.
This caused me to make some examination of the others, those which had
not been drawn from the floor, and I found that one or two of them were
equally insecure, but not all; only those about this one corner.

Mrs. Carew, who had paused, confused and faltering in the doorway, in
her dismay at seeing me engaged in this inspection instead of in
replacing the rug as I had proposed, now advanced a step, so that our
glances met as I looked up with the remark:

"This rug seems to have been lately raised at this corner. Do you know
if the police had it up?"

"I don't. I believe so--oh, Mr. Trevitt," she cried, as I rose to my
feet with the corner of the rug in my hand, "what are you going to do?"

She had run forward impetuously and was now standing close beside
me--inconveniently close.

"I am going to raise this rug," I informed her. "That is, just at this
corner. Pardon me, I shall have to ask you to move."

"Certainly, of course," she stammered. "Oh, what is going to happen
now?" Then as she watched me: "There is--there _is_ something under it.
A door in the floor--a--a--Mrs. Ocumpaugh never told me of this."

"Do you suppose she knew it?" I inquired, looking up into her face,
which was very near but not near enough to be in the full light of the
lantern, which was pointed another way.

"This rug appears to have been almost soldered to the floor, everywhere
but here. There! it is thrown back. Now, if you will be so very good as
to hold the lantern, I will try and lift up the door."

"I can not. See, how my hands shake! What are we about to discover?
Nothing, I pray, nothing. Suspense would be better than that."

"I think you will be able to hold it," I urged, pressing the lantern
upon her.

"Yes; I have never been devoid of courage. But--but--don't ask me to
descend with you," she prayed, as she lifted the lantern and turned it
dexterously enough on that portion of the door where a ring lay outlined
in the depths of its ou