"I suppose you want to see the oldest part of the Manor vaults," Connie said to Win as she led the way with a candle in a brass reflector. "We shall come back through here."
To Edith and Frances it seemed that they traversed numberless dark rooms, dry but chilly, some stored with vegetables and barrels, while others were empty or showed dusky apparitions of old lumber. Constance stopped at last.
"We are under the library now, Win. This is the original cellar and you can see how much rougher the workmanship is than in the newer parts."
Walls were rough and floor uneven, indeed, a part of it was composed of an outlying ledge of the Jersey granite. Obedient to suggestion, Roger and the girls began to inspect the walls for traces of some former exit; Roger by himself, the girls, rather fearfully, together. Win stood looking at the ledge in the floor.
"That settles there being any hiding-place underneath," he remarked.
"Yes," said Connie, "but the paper said 'beyond the walls,' you know. So wouldn't it more likely be in one of the cellars not built at that time?"
"Well, probably," assented Win. "But I was looking at the way this rock runs." He produced a pocket-compass. "It's much thicker at this end and the direction is approximately north and south. What is to the east, Miss Connie?"
"Nothing at all. That wall is still the outer one."
"And the wall farthest from the water?" asked Win quickly.
Constance nodded.