“Sure thing,� agreed Patsy. “Here is where he waited for the signal to enter.�
“And there,� rejoined the detective, “is where the secret door is worked to open and close it from this side of the wall.�
But he was already moving forward when he spoke, and had begun to descend the spiral stairs.
If it should seem incredible to the reader that in this modern day there should be such an arrangement inside one of the New York palaces, it will be interesting to know that the police records show three instances of the kind in palatial residences that have been built by multimillionaires within the last two decades.
And one of these to which reference is made—the mystery of which has never been revealed in print—was instrumental in one of the most sensational crimes that has happened in the city of New York within a generation.
But, to quote Kipling, that is another story.
This particular spiral staircase down which Nick Carter was making his way, began—or ended, as you prefer—at the second floor of the mansion.
It continued past the parlor floor of the house, there being no indication of possible egress from it there, and came to an end, apparently, before a heavy door upon which there was only an ordinary latch.
Raising this and pushing upon the door, Nick stepped into the inner vault of a wine cellar, and he noticed that in opening the door he had pushed out into the room an entire section of shelves.
This wine cellar was of ample proportions.