more and more dangerous. There have
been great falls from the roof already. I will not have you there, not
any one of you. You may as well know at once that there is a passage
from it to some spot---- '

'To the hole in the face of the cliff?' asked Alan, eagerly.

'It can hardly go so far, I fancy. But I am uncertain. I know, however,
that a part of it leads to Aunt Betty's cellars.'

'Could we get in through the cellars?' asked Marjorie.

'Aunt Betty may have the door locked, or, perhaps, permanently closed.
About that I do not know either.'

They had by this time reached the bridge over the moat, the waters of
which reflected the peaceful calm of that beautiful August morning.
Before them lay the Moat House, weather-beaten, dark with age, like an
old soldier at rest after many battles. The original building--the one
which had seen the struggles between the followers of the Red and White
Roses--had been small; but succeeding generations of the Coke family had
added to it, as necessity arose, with the result that the house--an
irregular structure of two stories--extended over a good deal of ground,
and represented every style of architecture.

CHAPTER III.

The weather suddenly changed. It had continued fine and hot for several
weeks, and there was no sign of any break in the succession of cloudless
days. The great heat was bound, however, to end in a thunderstorm. The
air became very sultry, and yet there was a sighing among the leaves of
the trees.

'There is plenty of rain coming,' said Colonel De Bohun, as he stood by
Lady Coke's side, and watched the children going in rather languidly to
their tea. 'We want it badly.'

He was right. That night the greatest storm the children had ever heard
startled them out of their beds. Georgie took refuge with Marjorie, and
even Alan came and sat on her bed, a blanket wrapped round the three of
them, because it 'was more comfortable to be all together,' while the
thunder crashed overhead, and the vivid lightning lit up the room, in
spite of the candles which burnt upon the dressing-table.

All the next day the children had to amuse themselves in the house, and,
truth to tell, they were not sorry for one whole day to settle various
little matters which had been neglected during the fine weather. One of
these was the aquarium. This kept them well employed; but when on the
following morning they found the rain still falling, and the heavy,
ragged clouds gave no