ed foot down upon the cold
stone floor, which struck up like ice. Bringing forward his second
foot, he reached out for the side of the vault, and found the place just
as his companion had described, for his hands came in contact with small
wooden barrels, neatly piled one upon the other on a great stone shelf,
beneath which was another shelf laden in a similar way.

"Feel anything, sir?" said Ben, from the entrance.

"Yes: barrels, numbers of them," said Roy, huskily, his voice sounding a
mere whisper in the darkness. "They go on--yes, to here. It is only a
small vault."

"Yes, sir, but big enough. Try the other side now."

Three steps took Roy there, and his hands touched barrels again piled-up
in the same way, and he whispered his experience.

"That's it, sir; just what I thought. But what we want to know now is,
are they full? Would you mind lifting one, or shall I come and do it?"

Roy shuddered a little, but he did not shrink. Stretching out his
hands, he took a careful hold of one of the kegs, raised it to find it
fairly heavy, and then replaced it.

"Try another, sir."

Roy felt less compunction in lifting the second, and this being
replaced, he began to sound others with his knuckles, to find that they
all gave forth the same dull dead note.

"That's all we want to know down here, Master Roy," said the old soldier
at last; "and now I think we'd better get back and take a couple of the
little kegs with us. I'd take one from each side, sir. You pass 'em to
me and I'll carry 'em up safely. It wouldn't do to drop one in case it
should go off."

These words, lightly spoken, made Roy thrill as he lifted down one of
the kegs, getting his fingers tightly fitted to the ends, and then stood
there in the black darkness, afraid to stir for fear he should strike
his elbow against anything and jerk the keg to the floor.

"Got him, sir?"

"Yes," said Roy, hoarsely. "Whereabouts are you?"

"Here, just at the door, sir; I haven't moved," was the reply.

"Reach out your hands, then, and take hold very carefully. Tell me when
you've got it tight."

"Tight hold," said Ben, the next moment.

"Sure?"

"Yes, sir; let it go, and I'll carry it up."

Roy quitted his hold of the keg unwillingly, and his heart beat
violently as he listened to the soft _pat, pat_, of his companion's
feet, and thought of the consequences of a fall. Possibly one vivid
flash and the whole place destroyed; and yet for years t