Suddenly a wisp of wind extinguished the light, and they stood in total darkness.
"My light's out!" cried Old Danny. "But it's all one. We're almost at the bottom anyhow, and there I'll strike a match."
Broadbrim made no reply, but hugged the nearest wall, for the stairs cracked beneath his weight.
"Come on," said the old man's voice.
Broadbrim put out his hand, but he could not touch Danny.
The little fellow had got beyond his reach, and now he could not hear him.
The tenth step!
Perhaps the stairs was a death-trap and there was no tenth step at all.
The thought startled the detective.
He stopped, and then, in a shiver of excitement which he could not suppress, he started back.