"Nell," Jannet called, "lock the door on this side, and leave the key in it, and then come to me slowly, seeing that no one passes you. I've lost my flashlight."
Nell had heard the crash and now most thoroughly awake, she took the key which had locked them in, though Jannet had pressed her bunch of keys into her hand before, locked the door on the inside as directed, and came waving her flashlight from side to side. "Isn't a soul that I can see, Jannet," she said, "What has become of the ghost?"
"That is what I want to find out," said Jannet, rising from the pile of carpet, while the light played over it and beyond to a gaping hole. "Look!"
A push by the ghost had been sufficient to remove the old carpet from a trapdoor, which the ghost had not had time to close. Somewhere in the depths she had disappeared.
Jannet brushed the dust from her hands and asked Nell to hold the light for her while she found her own. "It flew down after the lady you see. I hope that it is still fit to use."
"No, you keep it and light me down. If anything happens to me, you can find your way back and out."
"If anything is going to happen, you'd better not start."
"Very wise remark, Nell; but don't you want to find out about it?"
"Yes, I do. I'm so provoked at that ghost I could just--I don't know what! You _did_ speak of a trapdoor, but nearer the partition."
It was some little distance to the first step, but Jannet sat on the edge and let herself down without trouble to that. Several more steps in this very narrow space brought her to a tiny platform. On this her flashlight lay, apparently unharmed, for its light went on as usual. "All right, Nell. There's a sort of well with a ladder down one way, and I see a bit of light through a partition here." But even as Jannet spoke the light went out and she heard a rustle inside. Hurriedly she moved her light up and down to find a way of getting within. Ah, a harmless looking nail protruded. "Come on, Nell, we can get in, I think."
"That is so. I believe that you'd better go and waken Paulina. I'm going on, but I may get caught somewhere, so you can tear the house down looking for me."
Nell hesitated. "Go on, Nell,--it is the only sensible thing to do."