antern on the floor above, he took a firm hold on a plank
that looked fairly strong, and drew himself up. It was a tight
squeeze, but he had been through many tight squeezes before, so did not
mind it.

Once in the storeroom, his next move was to place what was left of the
broken plank into position, and on it he piled several empty boxes and
barrels.

"That may keep them guessing as to how I got out of the room below," he
thought. "They'll find out sooner or later--but the later the better."

Lantern in hand, he moved cautiously around the old storeroom. There
were many empty boxes and barrels, and also sacks that contained musty
flour. Rats were in evidence, and they scurried hither and thither as
the detective moved around.

It was not long before he discovered two doors. One was nailed up, and
where it led to, he could not surmise. The other stood partly open,
and through it came a whiff of fresh air.

"That smells like liberty," he thought, as he breathed in the fresh air.

He looked down a passageway, with a flooring partly of brick and partly
of stone. Where it led to, there was no telling.

Feeling that it would be unwise to use the light longer, he put it out.
But he kept the lantern in his hand, for possible use in the future,
either to show the way or as a weapon.

The passageway made several turns, and in the darkness he had to feel
his way along. Then he reached a flight of stone steps, leading
downward.

"I don't want to go down--I want to go up," he reasoned. But there
seemed no help for it, and down he went, sixteen steps, to land in a
small room at the bottom.

Here all was pitch-dark, and for the moment he stood still, not knowing
in what direction to move next. All around him were stone walls.

Presently he felt a small iron door. He took bold of the handle and
found the door locked.

Curious to learn his whereabouts, he felt for a match, struck it, and
lit the lantern once more. A brief glance at the door caused a look of
wonder to overspread his face. The door was locked with a combination
lock similar in make-up to the lock on a safe.

He gazed around, and soon learned that there was no exit from where he
was, save by the flight of stone steps. To get out, he would have to
go back.

He gazed again at the small iron door, set in an iron frame, embedded
in the stone wall. What could be behind that barrier? Most likely
something of great value.

On the floor at his