CHAPTER XVI.
FOUND AT LAST.
As soon as Mrs.Conway received the box she set to work in earnest.
Directly the house was still and a sufficient time had elapsed for the Miss Penfolds to have fallen asleep, she rose from the bed on which she had lain down without undressing, put on the coat and hat, and made her way noiselessly down to the library.

As she kept the lock well oiled she entered noiselessly, and then locking the door behind her lighted a candle and commenced her search.

On the fifth night she was rewarded by finding that the center of what looked like a solidly carved flower in the ornamentation of the mantelpiece gave way under the pressure of her finger, and at the same moment she heard a slight click.

Beyond this nothing was apparent; and after trying everything within reach she came to the conclusion that it needed a second spring to be touched to reveal the entrance.
It took her another three weeks before she found this.

It was a slight projection, about as large as a button, in the inside of the chimney behind the mantel.