Meanwhile Elmer had, as before, taken a section of the newspaper, crumpled it into a ball, and after that drew out his match box.
"Guess it's safe to drop this down," he remarked. "It seems so damp there can really be no danger of anything taking fire."
"Sure there couldn't," asserted Lil Artha, sturdily. "Let her go, Elmer; and everybody look."
The match crackled, and the resulting flame was instantly applied to the paper ball.
Then Elmer let this drop, after he had made sure it would burn.
Three pairs of very good eyes immediately started in to take a complete inventory of the contents of the little damp cellar under the deserted mill cottage.
For perhaps a full minute the paper ball continued to burn, lighting up the cellar well enough for them to see from wall to wall.
Then the flame dwindled, flickered, and finally went out altogether. Chatz gave a big sigh.
"Well, I declare!" he exclaimed.
"What did you see, Chatz?" asked Elmer.