He took them from the policeman, shut the door, and locked it again.

He set the steps in the fireplace and mounted them.
"Be careful," he said to the Duke, who had followed him into the fireplace, and stood at the foot of the steps.

"Some of these bricks may drop inside, and they'll sting you up if they fall on your toes." The Duke stepped back out of reach of any bricks that might fall.
Guerchard set his left hand against the wall of the chimney-piece between him and the drawing-room, and pressed hard with his right against the top of the dappled patch of bricks.

At the first push, half a dozen of them fell with a bang on to the floor of the next house.

The light came flooding in through the hole, and shone on Guerchard's face and its smile of satisfaction.