But we have no time to lose," he jumped down
lightly. "Come along men, hurry up."
"As we will be at a disadvantage, we may as well get our
barkers out," said the inspector, and the men produced
revolvers. Then they went into the burrow at the tail of the
intrepid Jennings.
That gentleman stole along the narrow passage: It ran
straightly for a few yards and then took a turn to the right.
The ground continued to slope for some distance until it
terminated in a heavy door of wood. Jennings fancied this
might be locked, and felt a pang of disappointment. But it
proved to be merely closed to. Apparently the coiners were so
sure of their safety that they did not trouble to keep the
door locked. The detective opened it gently, and with the men
close at his heels stole forward. He held his revolver
lightly in his right hand, ready for emergencies. The passage
was quite dark, but being narrow, the men had no hesitation in
going forward. Some way down, after leaving the door, the
passage branched into two ways, for Jennings came against a
wall directly ahead. Wondering what this meant, he struck a
match, and the blue light revealed one passage running down to
the left and another opening up to the right. While the
detective hesitated which to take, the darkness was suddenly
illuminated with the glare of lamps. From a dozen electric
lights at the sides of the passage sprang a white glow. At
the further end of the sloping passage appeared the figure of
a man.
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