"I wish we had a candle," said Lindsay. "There isn't even an end left inside the lantern, and we've no matches either." "Shall I go downstairs and fetch some?" suggested Cicely. "No, no! You might meet 'The Griffin' on the way. We'd better explore now, as quickly as we can, while the coast is clear." It needed a little screwing up of courage to plunge into the dim obscurity before them. Lindsay went first, with Cicely clinging particularly closely on to her arm behind. The passage seemed to lead along the inside of the wall for about two yards, then took a sharp turn, and ended at the foot of a kind of ladder stairway. One gleam of light fell from above, as if through some small chink in the roof, just sufficient to allow them to distinguish their surroundings and enable them to scramble up the rough steps. At the top they found themselves in a huge garret, how big they could not tell, for the corners were completely lost in black nothingness. The floor was thick with dust (such old dust!), and was so worm-eaten and rotten that it felt quite soft and crumbling under their feet. They were close beneath the tiles, to judge from the rafters overhead. The air was hot and stifling, and had that stale, mouldy smell noticeable in places long shut up. They began to walk cautiously along, peering on all sides as their eyes grew more accustomed to the darkness. "It's just the place for them to have put the treasure," said Cicely. "If we only had a light!" sighed Lindsay. "I want to go nearer the wall, and see if I can find any heaps of money or silver tankards." She groped her way a little more boldly across the room, and, putting out her foot, began to feel about. "Do be careful!" begged Cicely. It was a most necessary warning. The ancient, rotten boards could not stand the strain of Lindsay's weight, and down went her leg, making a great hole in the floor. Luckily she was not seriously hurt, only scratched and considerably frightened. With Cicely's help she managed to extricate herself, and withdrew to the safer middle of the garret. "The old house must be almost ready to tumble down," she declared. "Monica said parts of the Manor were very much out of repair," replied Cicely. "Besides, if this is a secret place, no one could ever come up to mend it." "I wonder where my leg went to?" said Lindsay. "Perhaps into some room below." "In that case Mrs. Wilson will notice a hole in the ceiling, and will know somebody has been up here." It was not an encouraging incident, but they were determined to venture farther all the same. "We couldn't think of turning back now," said Lindsay. At the far end of the room there was a door that seemed to lead into an attic even darker than the first. "It's not much use going in there without a light," said Cicely. "Just a few steps," said Lindsay.