led-up door,
fancied all was secure. The moon was at the full, shining brightly on
the sombre stone walls of the mansion,--on its windows, and on the lofty
corner turret, whence Mompesson used so often to reconnoitre the
captives in the opposite prison; and, as certain of the guard looked up
at the turret, they laughed at its present emptiness. Yet they little
dreamed who was there at the time, regarding them from the narrow
loop-hole. After the pause of a few minutes they moved on, and the gleam
of their halberts was presently seen, as they crossed Fleet Bridge, and
marched towards Ludgate.

About two hours afterwards the watch re-appeared, and, while again
passing the house, the attention of their leader was attracted by an
unusual appearance in the masonry near the north-east angle, above which
the tall turret was situated. On closer examination, the irregularity in
the walls was found to be produced by a small secret door, which was
left partially open, as if it had been recently used. The suspicions of
the party being aroused by this singular circumstance (none of them
having been aware of the existence of such a door), they at once entered
the house, resolved to make strict search throughout it. In the first
instance, they scaled the turret, with which the secret outlet
communicated by a narrow winding staircase; and then, proceeding to the
interior of the habitation, pursued their investigations for some time
without success. Indeed, they were just about to depart, when a sound
resembling a deep groan seemed to arise from the cellars which they had
not visited. Hearing this, they immediately rushed down, and made an
extraordinary discovery.

To explain this, however, we must go back to the time when they first
passed the house. We then mentioned that there was a person in the
turret watching their movements. As they disappeared in the direction of
Ludgate, this individual quitted his post of observation, and,
descending the spiral staircase, threaded a long passage in the
darkness, like one familiar with the place, until he arrived at a
particular chamber, which he entered; and, without pausing, proceeded to
a little cabinet beyond it. The moonlight streaming through a grated
window, showed that this cabinet had been completely dismantled; stones
had been removed from the walls; and several of the boards composing the
floor, had been torn up and never replaced. The intruder did not pass
beyond the door, but, af