shouted. He put his shoulder to the huge box of books that had been
shoved close to the picture, until it could be unpacked. "Give a hand
here!" he commanded excitedly.

They all obeyed him--even Barbara Lee, next to Uncle Johnny, shoved with
all the strength of her muscular arms. And Uncle Johnny commenced to
chuckle softly.

"The imps," he muttered. "Trapped in their lair."

The box well out of the way, Graham pressed the left-hand side of the
panel picture and it swung out under his amazed eyes, revealing a
white-faced Gyp standing in the narrow aperture, and Jerry close behind.
Their big, frightened eyes blinked in the flashlight.

Uncle Johnny managed to embrace both at once. He wisely asked no
explanations, for he could see that tears were not far away. Barbara Lee
hugged them, too, and the assistant janitor, who had a girl of his own
and at the suggestion of dragging the lake, had been startled "out of a
year's growth" as he said afterwards (though he was six feet tall,
then), beamed on them as though _he_ would like to caress them, too.
Graham was excitedly swinging the panel back and forth and peering
longingly up the dark, narrow stairway.

"How'd you find it? Does it open right into the tower room? Were you
scared?" he asked.

"I'm hungry," declared Gyp.

"Let's hear all about it on the way home," suggested Uncle Johnny. "And
we'll put George Washington back in place--there's no use letting the
entire school know about this." His words were directed to Graham and to
the janitor. "Now, my girlies--what in the world have you got?" For
Jerry had picked up the huge Bible.

"It's a--a letter we found--in the Bible----"

"So you brought the whole thing?" Uncle Johnny laughed. "Lead the way,
Miss Lee."

In the automobile Gyp had to have an explanation of the poles and the
rope. When she heard of their fears her face grew troubled.

"Oh--_how_ mumsey must have worried!" As the automobile drew up at the
curb she sprang from it and rushed into the house, straight into her
mother's arms--Mrs. Westley had heard the car stop and had walked with
faltering steps to the door.

"Mother, I didn't _want_ you to be worried--not for the _world_! But we
couldn't help it."

With the girls safe at home the horrible fears that had tortured them
all seemed very foolish. The entire family listened with deep interest
while Gyp told of that first afternoon when she and Jerry had discovered
the secret stairway and of the