"Don't be a fool, Larry," I coughed at him, for the
brick dust and the smoke of Larry's pipe made breathing
difficult.
"That's all the loose brick,-bring the lantern closer,"
-and we peered through the aperture upon a wooden
door, in which strips of iron were deep-set. It was fastened
with a padlock and Larry reached down for the ax.
"Wait!" I called, drawing closer with the lantern.
"What's this?"
The wood of the door was fresh and white, but burned
deep on the surface, in this order, were the words: THE DOOR
OF
BEWILDERMENT "There are dead men inside, I dare say! Here, my
lad, it's not for me to turn loose the family skeletons,"
-and Larry stood aside while I swung the ax and
brought it down with a crash on the padlock. It was
of no flimsy stuff and the remaining bricks cramped me,
but half a dozen blows broke it off.
"The house of a thousand ghosts," chanted the irrepressible
Larry, as I pushed the door open and crawled
through.
Whatever the place was it had a floor and I set my
feet firmly upon it and turned to take the lantern.
"Hold a bit," he exclaimed. "Some one's coming,"
-and bending toward the opening I heard the sound
of steps down the corridor. In a moment Bates ran up,
calling my name with more spirit than I imagined possible
in him.
"What is it?" I demanded, crawling out into the
tunnel.
"It's Mr. Pickering. The sheriff has come with him,
sir."
As he spoke his glance fell upon the broken wall and
open door. The light of Larry's lantern struck full
upon him. Amazement, and, I thought, a certain satisfaction,
were marked upon his countenance.
"Run along, Jack,-I'll be up a little later," said
Larry. "If the fellow has come in daylight with the
sheriff, he isn't dangerous. It's his friends that shoot
in the dark that give us the trouble."
I crawled out and stood upright. Bates, staring at
the opening, seemed reluctant to leave the spot.
"You seem to have found it, sir," he said,-I thought
a little chokingly. His interest in the matter nettled
me; for my first business was to go above for an interview
with the executor, and the value of our discovery
was secondary.
"Of course we have found it!" I ejaculated, brushing
the dust from my clothes. "Is Mr. Stoddard in the
library?"
"Oh, yes, sir; I left him entertaining the gentlemen."
"Their visit is certainly most inopportune," said
Larry. "Give them my compliments and tell them I'll
be up as soon as I've articulated the bones of my friend's
ancestors."
Bates strode on ahead of me with his lantern, and I
left Larry crawling through the new-found door as I
hurried toward the house. I knew him well enough to
be sure he would not leave the spot until he had found
what lay behind the Door of Bewilderment.