Then with his lens he tested the hinges, but they were of solid iron, built firmly into the massive masonry.

"Hum!" said he, scratching his chin in some perplexity, "my theory certainly presents some difficulties.

No one could pass these shutters if they were bolted.

Well, we shall see if the inside throws any light upon the matter." A small side door led into the whitewashed corridor from which the three bedrooms opened.

Holmes refused to examine the third chamber, so we passed at once to the second, that in which Miss Stoner was now sleeping, and in which her sister had met with her fate.