should like a breath of fresh air. I cannot do anything while in
confinement. My brain won't work."

Meanwhile Mr. Gryce was engaged in examining the huge plate of steel
which served as a barrier to their egress. He found that it had been
made--certainly at great expense--to fit the curve of the walls through
which it passed. This was a discovery of some consequence, causing Mr.
Gryce to grow still more thoughtful and to eye the smooth steel plate
under his hand with an air of marked distrust.

"Mr. Adams carried his taste for the mechanical to great extremes," he
remarked to the slightly uneasy man beside him. "This slide is very
carefully fitted, and, if I am not mistaken, it will stand some
battering before we are released."

"I wish that his interest in electricity had led him to attach such a
simple thing as a bell."

"True, we have come across no bell."

"It would have smacked too much of the ordinary to please him."

"Besides, his only servant was deaf."

"Try the effect of a blow, a quick blow with this silver-mounted
alpenstock. Some one should hear and come to our assistance."

"I will try my whistle first; it will be better understood."

But though Mr. Gryce both whistled and struck many a resounding knock