He brought back the lantern and examined the floor by its light, going down on his hands and knees.
“Stand back!” he said suddenly. “It’s a trapdoor. See—here’s a ring to lift it.”
Captain Grey pulled at the ring, but nothing happened.
“I’m on the wrong side,” he said.
Moving over, he pulled again, and a square of stone lifted. A clear light came from below, showing a short ladder clamped to the floor.
“Stay there, please,” he told Lexy. “You have the lantern. I shan’t be a minute.”
But as soon as he had reached the foot of the ladder, Lexy climbed down after him; and just at the same moment, they saw—
They were standing in a tiny room with roughly mortared walls. A powerful electric torch stood on end in one corner, and at their feet lay the body of a man, face downward across a wooden chest. It was Dr. Quelton.
With a violent effort Captain Grey lifted the doctor’s heavy shoulder, while Lexy covered her eyes. She knew that he was dead. No living thing could lie so.
Her head swam, her knees gave way, and she tottered back against the wall, half fainting, when the captain’s voice rang out, with a note of agony and despair that she never forgot.