“There’s nothin’ to stop your goin’ up there,” said the man. “There ain’t nobody up there now, for the two men livin’ there are out. If you should go out of that door opening into the hall, nobody would shoot you for doing it.”
Patsy got up and said:
“I’ll try it.”
“And I’ll go with you,” said the man.
“And so will I,” said the girl.
Thus followed, Patsy mounted the stairs to the top floor and, reaching the hall on the top of the house, soon found the scuttle-hole in the roof.
But there were no steps or ladder leading to it.
Looking about, he saw a broken wooden chair in the corner and, bringing it into the light, saw that the fracture of the top of the back was a fresh one. The scuttle-hole was close to the wall and, looking at the wall directly under it, he saw marks on it which indicated that the chair had been placed against the wall and used as a means of reaching the scuttle.
He put the chair at that place and saw that the chair and the marks fitted.
Mounting the chair, he found that the scuttle cover was loose, and had not been precisely fitted when it was put on.