"Ah, here it is!"
"Wait a moment, mademoiselle, while I throw some holy water before it."
"But there's no key; how can we open it?"
"Well, we must try. I have several keys that I have picked up while cleaning the house, perhaps one of those will open it."
Marguerite advanced tremblingly towards the end of the alcove. She drew from her pocket half a dozen rusty keys of different sizes, and was about to try one of them, but her hand shook and she could not find the keyhole. Blanche seized one key and tried it unsuccessfully, then a second; but at the third the young girl uttered a cry of joy, for the key turned, and Marguerite crossed herself, murmuring,—
"O my God, the door is opening!"
In fact, the door yielded to Blanche's effort and opened, creaking and groaning on its hinges, and the two women beheld a square closet; but, as it received no light except from the little door that opened into it, and as that door led into a dark alcove, one may conceive that there was little daylight there. Blanche remained on the doorsill and Marguerite recoiled a few steps, saying,—
"See now, my child; I was right in thinking that that door led somewhere. Oh, this is as dark as a cave."
"Let us go in here, nurse."
"But not without a light, I hope. Wait; I will go and light my lamp. I don't know that it is prudent of us to enter this closet."