below, had at one time taken the formation of a doorway. He tapped on one
of the panels, and the drumming of his fingers gave out a hollow sound.
Gurdon tapped again on the next panel, but hardly any sound came in
response. He looked triumphantly at Venner.

"I think we have got it at last," he said. "Do you happen to have a knife
in your pocket? Unless I am greatly mistaken, the decorations around
these panels come off like a bead. If you have a knife with you we can
soon find out."

Venner produced a small knife from his pocket, and Gurdon attempted to
insinuate the point of the blade under the elaborate moulding. Surely
enough, the moulding yielded, and presently came away in Gurdon's hands.

"There you are," he said. "It is exactly as I told you. I thought at
first that those mouldings were plaster, but you can see for yourself now
that they are elaborately carved wood."

Venner laid the ornament aside and stood watching Gurdon with breathless
interest while the latter attacked another of the mouldings. They came
away quite easily, pointing to the fact that they must have been removed
before within a very short period. Once they were all cleared away,
Gurdon placed the point of the knife behind one of the panels, and it
came away in his hands, disclosing beyond a square hole quite large
enough for anybody to enter. Here was the whole secret exposed.

"Exactly what I thought," Gurdon said. "If I removed all the mouldings
from the other three panels there would be space enough here to drive a
trap through. I think we have been exceedingly lucky to get to the bottom
of this. How clever and ingeniously the whole thing has been managed!