The "people" shrank back out of the way.

"I'm going to do some damage, Mr. Presby. At least I think I am."

Richard Presby nodded.

Bob stepped close to the wall, moved back three or four feet, then slowly swung the maul in a circle and let drive with all the force at his command against the side of the wall. The maul landed with a tremendous report.

A most remarkable thing followed, sending the occupants of the room rushing for the staircase, the women uttering cries of alarm. Bob staggered backwards and sat down heavily on the floor. His experiment had been attended with greater success than he had even dreamed were possible. It had been followed by a terrific crash. A cloud of dust filled the room, the structure vibrated as if from a slight earthquake shock, then quiet once more settled over the gloomy attic of Treasureholme.

CHAPTER XV

AN AMAZING OCCURRENCE

BOB was on his feet again ere the dust had settled in the room.

"Don't be alarmed," he cried. "There is no danger so long as you keep away from that part.i.tion. That is where the trouble lies."

"Where--where is the hammer?" cried Grace.

Stevens stepped forward and looked for the maul on the floor near the baseboard, but finally glanced up with a perplexed expression in his eyes.

"The maul has disappeared, too," he said.

There was a gasp following this announcement. But the young man was not disturbed.

"I understand a little of what all this means," he said. "The maul has gone. If someone will get me an axe I will chop down this part.i.tion near where I struck it with the maul."

"Is there some secret there?" whispered Mr. Presby over Bob's shoulder.

The young man nodded.

"Yes. I have an idea what it is. However, we shall see."

When the axe was brought he chose his location with some care, then began chopping away, swinging the axe in a manner that showed him to be no novice at that sort of work. The axe went through the part.i.tion soon after that. Using the back of the tool, he began smashing in the boards, here and there employing the blade to cut through a scantling or a brace. Soon after he had laid open a dark recess behind the part.i.tion.

Tom pushed forward and was about to crawl in when the young man stopped him.

"Better be careful, young man! That may be a pitfall, and I suspect that it is."

The others were too amazed to speak. Still another secret in the old house had been revealed. But the sudden disappearance of the maul was still unexplained, though Stevens had his own idea about this. He began cutting further. A tremendous crash followed a moment of chopping. He sprang back to await developments. There were none.

"There, I think I have drawn the monster's teeth," he said, reaching for a lantern. "One of you will please hold another lantern at the entrance here. I may need help."

Ruth Stuart s.n.a.t.c.hed a lantern from one of the countrymen and stepped promptly up beside the young man. He nodded.

"Do not try to follow me in here unless I tell you to. I must first find out what is in here."

"Do you think they are there?" she asked in a half whisper.

"Yes. Probably below somewhere," he answered, thrusting the lantern ahead of him and crawling into the opening he had made.

Bob found himself in a narrow chamber formed by a gable that had been shut off and enclosed by the part.i.tion. He did not trouble himself at that moment to investigate the strangeness of the disappearance of his maul. Instead, he began going over the little room cautiously. The light from his lantern soon revealed a hole in the floor about a yard square.

"Don't lean against that part.i.tion on your life," he called. Those near the entrance to the gable apartment drew back a little. They gazed at the apparently solid wall to the left of the hole, in respectful silence. Bob lowered his lantern into the hole and peered in. It appeared to extend down a long distance. A trap door that evidently was intended to cover the opening, lay to one side of the opening. As he peered in he saw that the opening revealed a bricked-in shaft.

"A chimney, as I live!" he exclaimed. Then he raised his voice in a long-drawn shout.

"h.e.l.lo-o-o down there!" There was no response. Stevens called again. A faint wail drifted up through the shaft. Ruth, at the panel, hearing it, uttered a scream of joy.

"They're there! They're there!" she cried.

For the first time since his arrival at the house, Bob Stevens showed traces of excitement in his face, but his voice was calm when he spoke.

"Get a rope, quickly. A long one," he commanded.

Ruth, Olive and Tommy crowded into the narrow opening, unable to restrain their impatience longer.

"Be careful," warned Bob. "This floor doesn't seem to be very strong."

The three held their ground, however.

"h.e.l.lo-o-o down there! Are you hurt?"

They were unable to distinguish the words of the reply, but it evidently was made by Barbara.

"There's a ladder," exclaimed Tommy, starting to go down it. Stevens hauled him back.

"Keep out. It looks shaky. I am going down there myself. That's why I sent for a rope. I don't want to fall in, too. Men, I want you to stand by to lend a hand on the rope. Keep it fairly taut, but don't hold me back."

When all the arrangements had been made, Bob started down the ladder. He had gone not more than four or five feet when he found that the ladder extended no further. It appeared to have been broken off. He called to the men to lower away. Finally his feet reached something soft. At first the horrified thought came to him that it was the body of one of the girls for whom he was in search. Instead, what he had found proved to be a piece of an old mattress with a bundle of old clothes heaped on it.

This was something like seven feet from the opening through which he had descended.

He heard a moan from beneath the heap of old garments. He tore them feverishly aside. Mollie lay before him, pale and with eyes closed.

Stevens uttered a shout.

"I've got Miss Mollie. She is injured. Stand by to pull her up when I give you the word," he directed in a tone of excitement. Quickly securing the rope under her arms, he bade them haul away, he lifting the girl as high as his arms would reach, then grasping her feet, lending such a.s.sistance as possible in this way. She was quickly in the arms of her friends, who bore her downstairs to her own room and set to work to revive her.

Now came the next stage of Bob Stevens' work. He could not imagine where Barbara could be. Just at this point he discovered a bend in the supposed chimney. This he decided was in order to avoid some obstruction on the second floor of the house. He found an opening in the platform scarcely large enough to admit his own broad shoulders. There, unmistakably was a ladder, made of thin strips of iron, bolted to the chimney itself.

"I'm going further down," he shouted to those above. "Don't pull unless I call upon you to do so. Are you down there, Miss Barbara?"

"Yes," came the answer. It sounded very far away. Bob knew that the young woman must be a great distance below him, or else there was another bend in the chimney that shut off the sound of her voice.

Perhaps, too, there was another landing. One might expect to meet with anything in this house of mysteries.

"The other one is all right," yelled the young man to those above. "Keep up your courage, Miss Barbara. I will be with you as soon as I can get down. Can you climb up?"