in search of that elusive captive,--languishing no one knew where, but
certainly somewhere, and whom perhaps we were called to discover. She
must have been very old, considering how long she had been sought in
vain! She might have been over two hundred years old, but we did not
mind that! We sought her, called her, thought of her incessantly, and
never despaired.

That evening I was led into the oldest and most broken-up part of the
buildings,--perhaps the most exciting locality for our exploration. We
selected a little passage with wooden railings overlooking an empty
space without any known outlet. A staircase with banisters led to this
unknown region, but an oaken door forbade access to the stairs. We had
to get around the obstacle by passing from the railing to the banisters,
and walk down the outside of the worm-eaten balusters. There was a dark
void below us whose depth we could not fathom. We had only a little
taper (a "rat"), and that hardly let us see more than the first steps of
the mysterious staircase.

We were at the bottom in a moment; and with more joy than disappointment
found that we were directly under the passage, in a square space without
any opening. Not a door nor a window, nor any explicable purpose for
this sort of closed vestibule. Why was there a staircase leading into a
blind space? Why was there a strong padlocked door shutting off the
staircase?

The little taper was divided into several lengths, and each one began
examining for herself. The staircase was made of wood. A secret spring
in one of the steps must lead to a passage, another staircase, or a
hidden trap. While some explored the staircase, and tried to force its
old planks apart, others groped along the wall in search of a knob, a