It needed a jolly good tug, but at last up it came, unexpectedly suddenly, so that Fatty sat down with a bump, and the lid clanged down, making quite a noise.
Fatty held his breath, but nothing happened. He got up cautiously, pushed the lid to one side, and then shone his torch down the dark opening to see how far below the floor was.
Fortunately for him there was a heap of coal just below the hole. He could let himself down on it fairly easily. So down he went, and landed on the coal, which at once gave beneath him, so that he went slithering down the side of the heap.
He picked himself up and switched on his torch. He saw a flight of stone steps leading upwards to a shut door - the kitchen or scullery door, he guessed. He went up slowly, and turned the handle of the door.
It opened into a large scullery, into which the moon shone brightly. It was completely empty. He went into the next room, which was a kitchen. That, too, was empty, but in the dust of the floor Fatty saw the same large footprints that he had seen in the snowy drive the day before.
“Perhaps I can see into the secret room!” thought the boy, his heart beating fast. It was a queer feeling to be all alone in a deserted house, knowing that people came there secretly for some mysterious reasons.
Fatty felt certain there was nobody at all in the house, but all the same he jumped at any moving shadow, and almost leapt out of his skin when a floor-board creaked loudly under his foot.
He looked into room after room. All were completely empty. He explored all the ground floor, the first floor, and the second floor. The secret room was on the third floor, at the top of the house. Fatty went up the stairs to the last floor, trying to walk as quietly as possible even though he felt so certain that there was nobody else in the house but himself.
He came to the top floor. He looked into the first room he came to. It was empty. He looked into the next one, that was empty too. But the third one was the secret room!
Fatty pushed open the door quietly and slowly. He peeped in. It lay silent and still in the brilliant moonlight - a very comfortable room, large, high-ceilinged like all the rooms, and very well furnished.