"You know what it is, don't you?" asked Page.
"A chimney, I suppose?"
"Exactly, and it follows that it's hollow."
"I suppose so, unless it's been filled up."
"It hasn't been filled up," said Page. "When they put modern heating into the house they closed up the fireplace that was here, and I had some notion of opening it again, but I've decided not to."
He spoke now in a loud tone of voice, hoping that Merriwell would hear him.
"Why not open the fireplace?" asked Ford.
"Because I've got a pet that I want to keep there."
"A pet?"
"Yes. It's just the place for it——"