Noel scrambled after her. They climbed the fence. The country was strange to them. There was a river, and across the field an old disused mill-house.
Once out of the wood Noel recovered his spirits, and when Inez proposed that they should go across the field and see if anyone lived in the old house, he agreed to accompany her.
"And then we'll go back to the uvvers!" he said.
"There's generally someone living in ruined houses," said Inez. "In story-books it's gipsies or smugglers or misers. We'll go and see."
But when they came to the old house, it was quite deserted. The roof had partly fallen in; there was no glass in the windows.
Inez and Noel scrambled in at an old window and explored the house. Then they found a shut door which with difficulty Inez opened. This led into a small room with a window high above their reach. There was an old box in the corner turned upside down. By its side was a heap of ashes. Evidently a tramp had taken refuge there at some time. A gust of wind suddenly swept through the house, and the door which the children had left open, banged violently. As it shut upon them the vibration brought a torrent of mortar and stones down from the roof.
Noel was frightened and ran to open the door. He could not move it, and when Inez came to his help she found that it had jammed in some way, which made it impossible for her to open it.
"Oh, Noel," she screamed, "we're shut up here! We shall never be able to get out, and we shall be starved to death!"