"Very good; but the ravine is all on the Glenarm side
of the wall, isn't it? Now when we get under the wall
I'll show you something."
"Here we are," said Larry, as the cold air blew in
through the hollow posts. "Now we're pretty near that
sharp curve of the ravine that dips away from the wall.
Take the lantern while I get out the compass. What
do you think that C on the piece of paper means? Why,
chapel, of course. I have measured the distance from
the house, the point of departure, we may assume, to
the chapel, and three-fourths of it brings us under those
beautiful posts. The directions are as plain as daylight.
The passage itself is your N. W., as the compass
proves, and the ravine cuts close in here; therefore, our
business is to explore the wall on the ravine side."
"Good! but this is just wall here-earth with a layer
of brick and a thin coat of cement. A nice job it must
have been to do the work,-and it cost the price of a
tiger hunt," I grumbled.
"Take heart, lad, and listen,"-and Larry began
pounding the wall with a hammer, exactly under the
north gate-post. We had sounded everything in and
about the house until the process bored me.
"Hurry up and get through with it," I jerked impatiently,
holding the lantern at the level of his head. It
was sharply cold under the posts and I was anxious to
prove the worthlessness of his idea and be done.
Thump! thump!
"There's a place here that sounds a trifle off the key.
You try it."
I snatched the hammer and repeated his soundings.
Thump! thump!
There was a space about four feet square in the wall
that certainly gave forth a hollow sound.
"Stand back!" exclaimed Larry eagerly. "Here goes
with the ax."
He struck into the wall sharply and the cement
chipped off in rough pieces, disclosing the brick beneath.
Larry paused when he had uncovered a foot of
the inner layer, and examined the surface.
"They're loose-these bricks are loose, and there's
something besides earth behind them!"
I snatched the hammer and drove hard at the wall.
The bricks were set up without mortar, and I plucked
them out and rapped with my knuckles on a wooden
surface.
Even Larry grew excited as we flung out the bricks.
"Ah, lad," he said, "the old gentleman had a way
with him-he had a way with him!" A brick dropped
on his foot and he howled in pain.
"Bless the old gentleman's heart! He made it as
easy for us as he could. Now, for the Glenarm millions,
-red money all piled up for the ease of counting it,-
a thousand pounds in every pile."