Barnes. Both of you stand on the bare
floor near the wall."
Considerably surprised, Mrs. Barnes did as she was told, and
uttered a cry when she saw the floor begin to move. Jennings,
who was pressing a button at the end of the room, stopped.
"Take her upstairs, Twining. She will alarm the gang!"
"Alarm who?" cried the cook, struggling with the inspector.
"Whatever do you mean? Shame--shame to 'old a defenceless
lady. 'Elp!"
But her cries for help were unheeded. Twining bore her up the
stairs and summoned one of his men. In a few minutes Mrs.
Barnes was safely locked up in her own bedroom in the cottage,
a prey to terrors. Poor woman, being innocent, she could not
understand the meaning of this midnight visit, nor indeed the
mysterious moving of the floor. It had never happened so
before within her recollection.
Twining came down with six men, leaving the others to guard
the exits from the house and garden. At the door of the
sitting-room he stopped at the head of those he was bringing.
At his feet yawned a gulf in which steps appeared. The whole
of the centre of the floor had disappeared into the wall
opposite to the fireplace, and the rough steps led down into a
kind of passage that ran in the direction of the unfinished
house. "This is the entrance," said Jennings, "it works from
a concealed button on the wall. Electricity is used. You see
why the sides of the floor are left bare; the carpet has quite
disappeared.
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