As luck would have it, he struck the door of the place at the first attempt.
Pressing his knee against it, he gave a gentle shove.
Contrary to his expectations, it opened readily enough.
Just then huge drops of rain began falling.
"We are in luck!" exclaimed Van, turning to his friends. "Here is a stone building, which I don't believe is occupied. The door is open, so we may as well go in and stay till morning."
The doorway was a large one, and was on a level with the ground, and, noticing this, Jack suggested that they bring their horses in, as well.
There were no objections, so in the whole party filed, all on horseback save Van, who led his steed.
As soon as they got inside, Dr. Pestle struck a match.
By the light it made they saw they were in a broad hallway, which looked as though it had not been used for a generation or more.
A broad staircase led upward from the hall, and as soon as they saw this they decided to leave their horses where they were, and use the next story of the building for themselves.