There was not a drop of liquor in the store, but I found an old whisky bottle half full of methylated spirits.

With this I thought I might raise an atmosphere of bad whisky, and for the rest I must trust to my meagre gifts as an actor.
Supposing I escaped suspicion, Laputa and Henriques would meet in the outhouse, and I must find some means of overhearing them.

Here I was fairly baffled.

There was no window in the outhouse save in the roof, and they were sure to shut and bolt the door.

I might conceal myself among the barrels inside; but apart from the fact that they were likely to search them before beginning their conference, it was quite certain that they would satisfy themselves that I was safe in the other end of the building before going to the outhouse.
Suddenly I thought of the cellar which we had built below the store.
There was an entrance by a trap-door behind the counter, and another in the outhouse.