It was in no sense of the word a secret chamber, and it was
evident it had not been disturbed since the house was built. It
was a supreme disappointment.
It had been Mr. Jamieson's idea that the hidden room, if there
was one, would be found somewhere near the circular staircase.
In fact, I knew that he had once investigated the entire length
of the clothes chute, hanging to a rope, with this in view. I
was reluctantly about to concede that he had been right, when my
eyes fell on the mantel and fireplace. The latter had evidently
never been used: it was closed with a metal fire front, and only
when the front refused to move, and investigation showed that it
was not intended to be moved, did my spirits revive.
I hurried into the next room. Yes, sure enough, there was a
similar mantel and fireplace there, similarly closed. In both
rooms the chimney flue extended well out from the wall. I
measured with the tape-line, my hands trembling so that I could
scarcely hold it. They extended two feet and a half into each
room, which, with the three feet of space between the two
partitions, made eight feet to be accounted for. Eight feet in
one direction and almost seven in the other--what a chimney it
was!
But I had only located the hidden room. I was not in it, and no
amount of pressing on the carving of the wooden mantels, no
search of the floors for loose boards, none of the customary
methods availed at all. That there was a means of entrance, and
probably a simple one, I could be certain.
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