“Come along, Fred,” came in muffled tones from beneath the landing; and, uttering a sigh, Fred thrust in his candlestick and followed, to rise, after a slow horizontal progress, to a perpendicular position, behind his leader.
The way seemed far easier now, and in a very few minutes they were standing again in the chamber, where they paused for a few moments before Scarlett drew open the panelled door in the corner, and once more held the light above his head as he gazed down the mysterious stairs.
“Shall I go first?” asked Fred, in a voice which invited a refusal of his services.
“No; it’s our place, and I’ll lead,” was the reply.
“Don’t put the candle out again,” said Fred, with a sigh of relief, and speaking in warning tones. “I say, Scar, perhaps there’s a place like this at the Manor.”
“We’ll see, when we’ve found out all about this,” replied Scarlett, as he began to descend, while Fred followed closely, the two lights making their task easier, while their confidence began now to increase as they encountered no danger.
The foot of the steps was reached in safety, the candle being held low down, so as to guard against any pitfall or fresh flight of stairs in the way.
But all was perfectly level as the boys went on along the narrow, arched-over passage, their light footfalls sending on before them a curious series of reverberations, while their progress for quite a hundred yards was singularly monotonous and uneventful.
“Why, how far does it go?” said Fred at last, becoming bolder now, but feeling startled as he heard his words go whispering away.
“Very little farther. Look!”