Crown and Sceptre | Page 7

smooth, carefully finished piece of work.
"Shall we try if we can creep in?" suggested Fred.
"I hardly like to; but if you will, I will."
"I will," replied Fred, laconically.
"But how are we to get in? It isn't deep enough to crawl."
"Tell you what," cried Fred, "I think the way is to lie down in it and
then roll along. There's plenty of room that way."
"Will you try?"
"If you'll come after me."
"Go on, then."
Fred hesitated a few moments, and then holding the candle as far
forward as he could he lay down, but instead of rolling, shuffled
himself along under the landing, finding plenty of room for his journey,
and pushing the light onward as he crept sidewise.
"Coming, Scar?" he whispered rather hoarsely.
"Yes, I'm coming. Mind the candle doesn't set fire to anything. What's
that?"
"Only a cobweb burning. The place is full of them; and--Oh, Scar!"
"What is it?"

"I can get my legs down here, and--yes, it's a narrow passage, and I can
stand upright."
Wondering more and more, Scarlett shuffled along to his companion,
and directly after they were standing together in a passage so strait that
they could barely pass along it as they stood square, their shoulders
nearly touching the sides.
"Yes, it's a passage, sure enough," said Scarlett, in an awe-stricken
whisper, as by the light Fred held he could see that the sides and ceiling
were of rough oak panelling, the floor being flagged with stone.
"Shall we go on?" whispered Fred.
"Yes. Why not? You're not afraid, are you?"
"Yes, a little. It's all so strange. Don't you feel a little--"
"Yes, just a little; but there can't be any thing to be afraid of. You must
go first."
Fred hesitated a few moments, and then went on for quite forty feet,
when the narrow passage turned off at a right angle for about another
twenty, when it again bent sharply round in the same direction as at
first.
"This cannot be a chimney?" whispered Scarlett, for the darkness and
heavy dusty air seemed to oppress them.
"No; they wouldn't make a chimney of wainscotting. Oh!"
"What have you found?"
"Look here; a lot of stone steps."
The boys stood looking at the old stone stairway, which seemed to
invite them to a higher region, but still as narrow as the passage.
The stones were dusty, and cobwebs hung in all directions; but

everything seemed as if it had been unused ever since the architect put
the finishing touches to the place.
The two boys looked at the stairway, Fred holding up the candle, and
Scar peering over his shoulder for some moments before the former
spoke.
"Think we'd better go back now."
"Yes," said Scarlett; "only doesn't it seem cowardly?"
Fred remained silent for a while, and then said with a sigh--
"I suppose it does. Come on."
"Are you going up?"
"Yes. I don't want to. It's all so dark and creepy; but we should laugh at
each other for being frightened when we got out."
Scar nodded his head, and after a little more hesitation, Fred went
slowly up the stairs, to find that from the top another narrow passage
went off at right angles.
As they stood together on the narrow landing, Scar exclaimed--
"Here, I know. These are only openings through the thick walls to keep
them dry."
"Look!" said Fred, pointing before them at a thin pencil of light which
made a spot on the wall.
"That's sunshine," cried Scarlett, "and shows what I said. This is one of
the walls we are in, and that must be the south."
"Why?" said Fred, trying to touch the slit through which the light came.
"Because the sun shines in. Let's go on to the end."

This was soon reached, for at the end of a dozen steps they came upon
a narrow door studded with great nails, and after a little hesitation, Fred
pushed this, and the boys started back at the hideous groan which
greeted them.
CHAPTER THREE.
HOW THE LIGHT WAS EXTINGUISHED.
There was something very strange and weird about that sound--one
which sent a chill of horror through both the hearers, but they laughed
the next moment at their fears, for the noise was only such as could be
given out by a pair of rusty hinges from which an unused door had
hung for a hundred years, the sound being rendered more startling from
the hollow space beyond.
Fred felt more startled than ever, in spite of his forced laugh; but he
held the candle before him, and gazed through the narrow opening into
a little low-ceiled room, panelled throughout with oak, and festooned
with cobwebs, while on one side there was quite a cluster of long,