"You are going to hold the light, sir, while I tear down that wall."

The lawyer gazed at him in speechless horror, but seemed to yield at once to the stronger mind.

"Bruno!" cried George sharply.

The dog bounded to him.

"Lie down! Watch! Watch!"

The dog uttered a low growl, and followed him as he pointed to the wall, crouched directly, and remained silent and motionless as they left the cellar, and closed and locked the door.

CHAPTER THIRTY NINE.

FOLLOWING THE CLUE.

Just as they reached the hall a door opened upstairs and Gertrude came out, candle in hand.

"Bruno is quiet now," said George, looking up to her. "I'll see how Mr Harrington is, and tell you."

He went quickly to the study, and looked in.

"Quite unchanged," said the doctor, nodding his head.

"Do you want to be relieved?"

"Oh, no; but you might have remembered me with the spirits and water."

"I beg your pardon," said George, and hastily supplying the lapse he had made, he went and reported progress to Gertrude, who smiled her thanks, and returned to where Mrs Hampton was nodding on a couch.

"Had we not better wait?" said the lawyer, in a trembling voice.

"Wait, sir? Impossible. Come with me."

They went into the kitchen where they were saluted by a heavy snore, and found the gardener fast asleep by the fireside.

He was roused and sent home as not being again necessary; and as soon as the door was closed upon him, George turned upon the lawyer.

"Now, sir, where can I find tools: a hammer and chisel?"

"Tools? Oh, yes. There are some, I believe, in the little room by the garden door."

He led the way to a little cupboard-like ante-room where garden implements, seeds, and odds and ends were stored; and here the necessary implements were soon found. Armed with these and a fresh candle they returned to the cellar, where the dog was evidently patiently watching their return.

"Stop a moment, my dear young friend," said the old lawyer, whose face was damp with perspiration, and he laid his hand upon the young man's arm.

"What for, sir?"

"Don't you think our proceedings will be a little rash. Suppose the gentleman whom I am bound to look to as the owner of this place returns, and finds how great a liberty we have taken with his place. What am I to say?"

"Mr Hampton, we are going to find him--here."

"What!"

"And unable to reproach you for what you have done."

"But surely you do not really believe--"

"I believe, sir, that I shall find means here of proving to you that I am the man I profess to be--the man whom, in your legal fashion, you refuse to acknowledge; but whom in your heart as a gentleman you know to be your old friend's grandson."

The lawyer looked wistfully in the young man's eyes, and then as he unlocked and took out the cellar door-key, after carefully closing the baize door, he followed him into the mouldy, damp place; saw that he locked inner and outer door, and then as they went to the farther portion found the dog as they had left him in the darkness, crouching by the blank wall.

Mr Hampton drew a long breath but he made no further protest, merely holding the candle as George Harrington threw off coat and vest, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and then taking hammer and chisel proceeded to force the latter between two of the bricks.

There was no need to make any noise by striking with the hammer, for after the first tap the iron chisel was used as a lever, and the first brick soon prized out to show that though the whitewash had dried the mortar was soft enough to give way easily, and before long brick after brick was loosened, thrown into a heap, and a hole was made large enough to admit the pa.s.sage of a man.

"Lie still!" cried George sharply to the dog, who exhibited a great desire to get through; and kneeling down the young man pa.s.sed his candle into the inner cellar, crept through, and to his surprise found that the old lawyer did not hesitate to follow him.

"There, sir," he cried half angrily, as the candle was held up, and they found they were standing in a moderate-sized cellar with a row of bricked-up bins on either side, all neatly whitewashed over and labelled with the name of the wine within, the vintage, and quant.i.ty.

George Harrington made no reply, but candle in hand walked over the carefully smoothed sawdust from end to end, peering eagerly at the different bins.

"Well, sir, are you satisfied?" said the lawyer.

"Satisfied, sir? No. Here, Bruno?"

The dog leaped through the hole and uttered a low bark, as he began to snuff about uneasily.

"Good dog! Seek!"

The dog ran excitedly here and there for a few moments, now with his nose in the air, now snuffing at the sawdust, and then he stopped short before the bricked-up bottom bin at the far left-hand corner of the cellar, and uttered an eager bark.

George Harrington drew forth and opened his knife again, tried the blade on the joints of two of the bins, to find that the mortar was hard.

Then going to the one where the dog stood watching him, he plunged the point in easily between the bricks.

"Look, sir," he said hoa.r.s.ely; "and you can see the whitewash is hardly dry. The proofs of all I have said are in there."

CHAPTER FORTY.

SELF-CONDEMNED.

Mr Hampton caught George Harrington by the arm, and his voice was low and husky with emotion as he said:

"No, no; in heaven's name, no. It is too horrible."