--he took out a bulky key of antique workmanship. Together we set
to work to remove all the volumes from one of the bookshelves.

"Even when the shelves were empty, it called for our united efforts to
move the heavy piece of furniture; but we accomplished the task
ultimately, making visible a considerable expanse of panelling. Nearly
forty years had elapsed since that case had been removed, and the
carvings which it concealed were coated with all the dust which had
accumulated there since the night of my father's coming of age.

"A device upon the top of the centre panel represented the arms of the
family; the helm which formed part of the device projected like a
knob. My father grasped it, turned it, and threw his weight against
the seemingly solid wall. It yielded, swinging inward upon concealed
hinges, and a damp, earthy smell came out into the library. Taking up
a lamp, which he had in readiness, my father entered the cavity,
beckoning me to follow.

"I found myself descending a flight of rough steps, and the roof above
me was so low that I was compelled to stoop. A corner was come to,
passed, and a further flight of steps appeared beneath. At that time
the old moat was still flooded, and even had I not divined as much
from the direction of the steps, I should have known, at this point,
that we were beneath it. Between the stone blocks roofing us in oozed
drops of moisture, and the air was at once damp and icily cold.

"A short passage, commencing at the foot of the steps, terminated
before a massive, iron-studded door. My father placed the key in the
lock, and holding the lamp above his head, turned and looked at me. He
was deathly pale.

"'Summon all your fortitude,' he said.

"He strove to turn the key, but for a long time without success for
the lock was rusty. Finally, however--he was a strong man--his efforts
were successful. The door opened, and an indescribable smell came out
into the passage. Never before had I met with anything like it; I have
never met with it since."

Lord Lashmore wiped his brow with his handkerchief.

"The first thing," he resumed, "upon which the lamplight shone, was
what appeared to be a blood-stain spreading almost entirely over one
wall of the cell which I perceived before me. I have learnt since that
this was a species of fungus, not altogether uncommon, but at the
time, and in that situation, it shocked me inexpressibly.

"But let me hasten to that which we were come to