after trying everything
within reach she came to the conclusion that it needed a second spring
to be touched to reveal the entrance.

It took her another three weeks before she found this. It was a slight
projection, about as large as a button, in the inside of the chimney
behind the mantel. Pressing this and the other spring simultaneously,
the bookcase on the left of the fireplace suddenly swung open three or
four inches. For a moment she stood breathless with excitement,
hesitating before she entered; then she swung the bookcase open.
There, as she had expected, was a little room seven feet long by four
deep; but, to her bitter disappointment, it was bare and empty. A few
scraps of paper lay on the ground, but there was no furniture, chest,
or boxes in the room. The revulsion was so great that Mrs. Conway
returned into the library, threw herself into a chair, and had a long
cry. Then she went back into the room and carefully examined the
pieces of paper lying on the ground. One of them was a portion of a
letter, and she recognized at once the handwriting of Mr. Tallboys.

It contained only the words: "My dear Mr. Penfold--In accordance with
your request I send you the--" But above was the date, which was ten
days only anterior to Mr. Penfold's death. Mrs. Conway had no doubt
that the word that should have followed the fragment was "will," and
that this was the letter that Mr. Tallboys had sent over with that
document. It was important evidence, as it showed that Mr. Penfold had
been in the habit of using this place during his lifetime, and that he
had entered it after he had received the will from his solicitor a few
days before his death. Why should he have entered it except to put the
will in a place of security? Where that place was she did not know,
but she felt certain that it was somewhere within reach of her hand.

"If it is here it must be found," she said resolutely; "but I won't
begin to look for it to-night. It must be three o'clock already, and I
will think the matter over thoroughly before I begin again. It is
something to have found out as much as I have. I ought to be
encouraged instead of being disappointed."

That day she wrote to Mr. Tallboys, giving him a full account of the
discovery which she had made, and inclosing the fragment of his
letter. She did not renew her search for the next two nights; for her
long watchfulness and excitement had told upon her, and she felt that
she needed rest be