In the house of Ben Ezra, at the head of the flight of stone steps in the secret passage, Ulric the Jarl stood looking down into a great darkness. But now Ben Ezra came to him, having lighted a large brazen lamp which swung like a cresset at the end of a wooden rod a fathom long. The flame of the lamp was very brilliant, but the smoke thereof was unpleasant to the smell because of some strange oil which burned in it. Such a lamp might not be lighted at a feast or in the dwellings of men.
"Follow me, O jarl," he said. "This is the underworld and thou and I are alone in this place. But not all the swords of Cæsar could find thee if thou wert hidden here. It hath been a refuge for some who fled from a destroyer."
"O Jew," said Ulric, "I will cover this thy secret. May I fail of Valhalla, dying as a cow dieth, if I betray thee!"
"Come!" said Ben Ezra, and they went on down the stairway together.
At the foot of it was a low chamber, the air of which was heavy, but Ben Ezra turned to the left, and as he lifted his lamp there might be seen a narrow cleft in the masonry. A little inside of this cleft there was a barrier of iron-bound woodwork.
"Lift it away by its hand pieces," said Ben Ezra. "Thou art stronger than I."
Very massive was the wooden barrier, but it might be dragged forth and laid upon the floor, and at once a current of cold, damp air poured through the opening, bringing with it a smell as of earth.
"I will go in first," said Ben Ezra. "Now will I show thee my crypt."
In a moment more they were stooping over an open coffer, and he said: