To her exhausted and frightened gaze the cellar seemed enormous—as vast and august as some great ancient tomb. The lantern made a little pool of light, and outside it the shadows closed in on them thickly. She came near to him and caught him by the sleeve.
“Oh, let’s go away!” she cried. “Let’s go away! We’ve looked—”
“This is the last place,” he said gently. “After this, we’ll give it up.”
Fighting down the sick terror that had come over her, she walked beside him in the little circle of light, and tried not to look at the shadows.
“What’s that?” he exclaimed.
“Oh, what?” she cried.
He went back a few paces and set down the lantern. Then he advanced again and bent over, staring at the floor.
“Do you see?” he asked.[Pg 361]
She did see. A narrow strip of light lay along the floor.
“It comes up from below,” he said. “There must be a subcellar. Let’s see!”