The door was locked.

At the entrance from my own room we were again met by bars.
"Can you break it open ?" asked Madame.
"Not without noise.

Let us make sure that he is not elsewhere in the house first." Together we went up and down the old dwelling, and I traversed many corridors and chambers for the first time.

We found nothing.

It was beginning to get light when we returned to my study.
"Shall I break open the door ?" I asked, when I had unbarred the shutters.
"Yes," answered Madame.
The door was a solid one of walnut, and not to be broken open by mere pressure.