Celia found Lucy already engaged in emptying the closet. Patient came in and helped her until the bed was covered with cloaks and dresses. They heard the searchers coming slowly toward them on the other side of the passage, the Squire especially urging that not the smallest corner should be left unsearched. At length they tapped at the door for admittance. Charley came in first, holding his candle high above his head, as if his mission were to explore the ceiling. "You be off!" said the Squire roughly, as soon as he saw Patient. "Why, Father!" interposed Lucy, "she has only been helping us to move these things. You told us to make haste." Lucy was unconsciously proving a useful ally. "Wow!" came in a little smothered bark from somewhere, and Venus waddled from under the valance and the dresses overhanging it. "Go down, Veny!" said Celia, adding apologetically, "she will get in the way." She felt a terrible secret fear lest Venus should prove a more able searcher than any other of the party. "I'll carry her out of the way,"--and suiting the action to the word, Lucy caught up the little dog and shut her outside. A close examination was made of the room. Charley got into the closet, and held his candle up. "Nothing there, thanks to the young ladies," said Captain Wallace, laughing, as he looked in. "No--he'd be a clever fellow who could hide there," added the Squire, in blissful ignorance. "Why, here's a nail," said Charley, "close to the wall. You'll tear your gowns on it. I'll pull it out." Celia's very heart sank. "Leave it just now, Charley," said Harry, coolly; "we shall want you and your candle." Charley sprang down and rejoined the searching party. Outside the door they were also joined by Venus, who followed them into the next room, which had been the bed-chamber of Isabella. She picked out Captain Wallace, and followed close at his heels, paying no attention to anybody else. The room was searched like the others, the last thing which the Captain did being to look up the chimney. No sooner did he approach the fireplace than Venus gave an angry growl and made a futile attempt to bite him through his thick boots. "What is the brute growling at?" demanded the Squire. "I don't know, indeed," said Harry. The growling continued so long as Captain Wallace was near the chimney, but nobody except Venus knew why. As soon as the party turned from Isabella's room to Henrietta's, which was the next, Venus trotted back to Celia. At the close of the inspection, both Captain Wallace and Squire Passmore were forced to acknowledge that no trace of any hidden fugitive could be discovered. They went down-stairs. Five minutes later Harry came lightly up again, and called to Celia, who was helping Lucy to replace the dresses in the closet. She found him in Isabella's chamber. "Let us look at this chimney, Celia," he said. "It must be very near the hiding-place. What made Veny growl?"