an awed tone. "A room without windows.
An' over in the far corner I found some rusted iron rings fastened to
big staples set deep into a post in the wall."

"What, Tom? You don't say."

"Yes, siree. Ol' Brownell, the pirate whaler's, been dead for a long
time. But there's queer stories still around these parts about him an'
his house; stories not only 'bout how he was killed finally by the men
as he'd cheated, but also 'bout a mysterious figure in white that used
to be seen on the roof, an' yells heard comin' from here. You know
what?" He leaned closer, and still further lowered his voice. "I'll
bet this room was a cell fer some crazy body an' ol' Brownell kept him
or her chained up when violent. Some people still say, you know, as
how that white figure wa'n't a ghost but the ol' man's crazy wife."

"Brrr."

Frank shivered in mock terror and grinned in the darkness. "Some place
to be," he added.

Nevertheless, light though he made of Tom's story, the hour, the
circumstances in which they found themselves, the mystery of the
windowless room, all combined to inspire in him an uncanny feeling, as
if unseen hands were reaching for him from the dark.

"Getting out is still our first consideration," Captain Folsom said.
"What Barnum reports makes it look difficult, but let's see. Have you
tried the door? Is it locked?"

"Tried it?" said Tom. "Ain't possible. There ain't neither handle nor
knob inside, to pull on. No lock nor keyhole in it, neither. Must be
barred on the outside. That's another reason for thinkin' it was built
for a prison cell."

"And if the old pirate kept a crazy woman in here when she was
violent," supplied Jack, "you can bet he built the walls thick to
smother her yells. That's why we hear no sounds."

There was silence for a time. Each was busy with his own thoughts. The
prospect, indeed, looked dark. How could they escape from a cell such
as this?

Jack was first to break the silence.

"Look here," said he, "fresh air is admitted into this room in some
fashion, and, probably, as Tom surmised, through an air port in the
ceiling. It may be the old pirate even built a trap door in the roof.
Obviously, anyhow, our best and, in fact, our only chance to escape
lies through the roof. It may be possible to break through there,
whereas we couldn't get through walls or the door. Let's
investigate."

Eager whispers approved the proposal.

"Come on, Tom," Jack continued, "we'll investigate that an