At last they were all gathered in the great hall, and Patty’s sense of the dramatic proved too strong to allow her to make her announcement simply.
“People,” she said, “I have made a discovery. That is, I think I have. If I am right, the Cromarty fortune is within your grasp. If I am wrong—well, in that case, we’ll begin all over again.”
“Tell us about your new find,” said Sinclair, selecting a comfortable chair, and sitting down as if for a long session. “Is it another mason’s bill?”
Nobody minded being chaffed about searching or finding, for the subject was treated jocosely as well as seriously.
Patty stood on the platform in front of the carved oak chimney-piece, and addressed her audience, who listened, half laughing, half eager.
“What is this on which I stand?” she demanded.
“A rug,” replied Mabel, promptly.
“I mean beneath the rug?”
“The floor.”
“No, it isn’t! What is this—this construction across the room?”