t to speak, and stood watching
till there was a dull cracking sound, the sawdust was heaved up again,
and all at once I seemed to get a hot puff of that burnt oily smell
right in my nose. Then I began to understand, and felt afraid in a
different fashion, as I knew that we had only got there just in time.

The next minute Sir John made a movement toward me, took my candle and
turned it upside down, so that it went out, and then pointed back toward
the outer cellar, as he put his lips to my ear:

"Iron bar!"

I stepped back softly, and got the iron bar from where it lay on the
edge of a bin, and I was about to pick up the screw-driver, when I
remembered where the wooden mallet lay, and I picked up that before
stepping softly back to where Sir John was watching the floor; and now I
could see that the sawdust was higher in one place, as if a flagstone
had been heaved up a little at one end.

There was no doubt about it, for, as I handed the crowbar, the end of
the stone was wrenched up a little higher and then stuck; for it was
tightly held by those on either side; but it was up far enough to let a
thin ray of dull light come up through the floor and shine on the side
of one of the old chests.

It was a curious scene there, in that gloomy cellar: Sir John standing
on one side, candle in his left, the iron bar in his right hand, and me
on the other bending down ready with the mallet to hit over the head the
first that should come up through the floor. For, though horribly
alarmed, I could understand now what it all meant--an attempt to steal
the gold in the chests, though how those who were working below had
managed to get there was more than I could have said.

As we watched, the smell of the burnt oil came through, and I knew that
it must have been going on for a long time.

All at once we could hear a low whispering, and then there was a
grinding noise of iron against stone; the flag gritted and gave a
little, but it held fast all along; and I could understand that the man
who was trying to wrench it up had no room to work, and therefore no
power to wrench up the stone. Then came the faint whispering again, and
it seemed to sound hollow. Then another grinding noise, and the end of
the flag was moved a trifle higher, so that the line of light on the old
chest looked two or three inches broad.

I stepped softly to Sir John and put my lips to his ear as the
whispering could be heard again, and I said softly: "S