"I believe he had been here for twenty years, or more."
"And his system of keeping account was the same as yours?"
"Precisely. He handed his books to me, and I have kept mine in the same way."
"Then it is a fact, if I understand you rightly, that there has been no taking of stock for the past thirty years?"
"It was not necessary," the officer said, in a surly tone. "There can be no mistake possible, considering the way in which we made our entries."
They now entered the store. It was some sixty feet long and forty feet wide, with pillars of masonry along the centre to support the weight of the roof. It was lighted only by small loopholes in the thick walls. Four of the soldiers carried lanterns, and they were about to enter, when Desmond said:
"There is no loose powder lying about, I suppose?"
"None," the officer replied. "The barrels were all carefully examined before being taken into the store. They are, as you can see, strongly made. A leakage is out of the question, unless by any accident one should fall off the pile and burst; but such a thing has never happened, as far as I know."
"I see, by your book, that there should be three thousand four hundred and eighty-two barrels, each containing five hundred cartridges. Certainly an ample supply, even for a prolonged siege."
The barrels were piled in four tiers, one above another, forming a wall on each side of a central path, seven feet wide.