sides I rapped, receiving the same dead, dull
response. I was in the darkest corner now, beyond the stairs, still
hopelessly beating the gun barrel against the stone. The dim light
revealed no change in the wall formation, the same irregular expanse of
rubble set in solid mortar, hardened by a century of exposure to the dry
atmosphere. Then to an idle, listless blow there came a hollow, wooden
sound, that caused the heart to leap into the throat. I tried again, a
foot to the left, confident my ears had played me false, but this time
there could be no doubt--there was an opening here back of a wooden
barrier.

Half crazed by this good fortune, I caught up the inch of candle, and
held it before the wall. The dim light scarcely served as an aid, so
ingeniously had the door been painted in resemblance to the mortared
stone. I was compelled to sound again, inch by inch, with the gun barrel
before I could determine the exact dimensions of the opening. Then I
could trace the slight crack where the wood was fitted, nor could I have
done this but for the warping of a board. Wild with apprehension lest my
light fail before the necessary work could be accomplished, I drew out
the single-bladed knife from my pocket, and began widening this crack.
Feverishly as I worked this was slow of accomplishment, yet sliver by
sliver the slight aperture grew, until I wedged in the gun barrel, and
pried out the plank. The rush of air extinguished the candle, yet I cared
nothing, for the air was fresh and pure, promising a clear passage.

God, this was luck! With new courage throbbing through my veins I groped
my way back to the table after flint and steel, and relit the candle
fragment, shadowing the flame with both palms as I returned to where the
plank had been pressed aside. However, I found such precaution
unnecessary, as there was no perceptible draught through the passage now
the opening was clear for the circulation of air. There had been two
planks--thick and of hard wood--composing the entrance to the tunnel, but
I found it impossible to dislodge the second, and was compelled to
squeeze my way through the narrow twelve-inch opening. This was a
difficult task, as I was a man of some weight, but once accomplished I
found myself in a contracted passageway, not to exceed three feet in
width, and perhaps five from floor to roof. Here it was apparently as
well preserved as when first constructed, probably a hundred years or
more ago, the s