‘Have you looked at the floor beneath those fallen stones?’ Merton asked.
‘No, by Jove, I never thought of that,’ said Logan.
‘How could they have been stirred without the old woman hearing the noise?’
‘How do you know they were there before the marquis’s death?’ asked Merton, adding, ‘this hole was not swept and dusted regularly. Either the entrance is beneath me, or—“the Enemy had power”—as Mrs. Bower says.’
‘You must be right,’ said Logan. ‘I’ll have the stones removed to-morrow. The thing is clear. The passage leads to somewhere outside of the house. There’s an abandoned coal mine hard by, on the east. Nothing can be simpler.’
‘When once you see it,’ said Merton.
‘Come and have a whisky and soda,’ said Logan.
III. A Romance of Bradshaw
Merton slept very well in the turret room. He was aroused early by noises which he interpreted as caused by the arrival of the London detectives. But he only turned round, like the sluggard, and slumbered till Logan aroused him at eight o’clock. He descended about a quarter to nine, breakfast was at nine, and he found Logan looking much disturbed.
‘They don’t waste time,’ said Logan, handing to Merton a letter in an opened envelope. Logan’s hand trembled.