"Why not give our friend escort through the tunnel?"
asked Larry. "I'll not hesitate to say that I'm dying
to see it."
"To be sure!" We went down into the cellar, and
poked over the lantern and candlestick collections, and
I pointed out the exact spot where Morgan and I had
indulged in our revolver duel. It was fortunate that
the plastered walls of the cellar showed clearly the cuts
and scars of the pistol-balls or I fear my story would
have fallen on incredulous ears.
The debris I had piled upon the false block of stone
in the cellar lay as I had left it, but the three of us
quickly freed the trap. The humor of the thing took
strong hold of my new allies, and while I was getting a
lantern to light us through the passage Larry sat on the
edge of the trap and howled a few bars of a wild Irish
jig. We set forth at once and found the passage unchanged.
When the cold air blew in upon us I paused.
"Have you gentlemen the slightest idea of where
you are?"
"We must be under the school-grounds, I should say,"
replied Stoddard.
"We're exactly under the stone wall. Those tall posts
at the gate are a scheme for keeping fresh air in the
passage."
"You certainly have all the modern improvements,"
observed Larry, and I heard him chuckling all the way
to the crypt door.
When I pushed the panel open and we stepped out
into the crypt Stoddard whistled and Larry swore
softly.
"It must be for something!" exclaimed the chaplain.
"You don't suppose Mr. Glenarm built a secret passage
just for the fun of it, do you? He must have had some
purpose. Why, I sleep out here within forty yards of
where we stand and I never had the slightest idea of
this."
"But other people seem to know of it," observed
Larry.
"To be sure; the curiosity of the whole countryside
was undoubtedly piqued by the building of Glenarm
House. The fact that workmen were brought from a
distance was in itself enough to arouse interest. Morgan
seems to have discovered the passage without any
trouble."
"More likely it was Ferguson. He was the sexton of
the church and had a chance to investigate," said Stoddard.
"And now, gentlemen, I must go to my service.
I'll see you again before the day is over."
"And we make no confidences!" I admonished.
"'Sdeath!-I believe that is the proper expression under
all the circumstances." And the Reverend Paul
Stoddard laughed, clasped my hand and went up into
the chapel vestry.
I closed the door in the wainscoting and hung the
map back in place.
We went up into the little chapel and found a small
company of worshipers assembled,-a few people from
the surrounding farms, half a dozen Sisters sitting somberly
near the chancel and the school servants.