Page:Randall Parrish - The Red Mist.djvu/236

 220 I knelt down and stared breathlessly into the yawning cavity, and thrust my head into the opening seeking for some gleam of light above. There was none, nor was there any smell of smoke. This discovery relieved one anxiety, while it brought a new problem. Had the oldtime fireplaces been permanently closed, so as to compel me to climb to the very roof in order to obtain an exit? The opening which I had uncovered was sufficiently large to permit the squeezing through of my body, and, once within the chimney, I found ample space in which to explore.

I could see nothing, and was compelled to rely entirely upon the sense of touch. This, however, quickly convinced me that the opposite wall was solid, containing not even a flue hole. Then assuredly no furnace had ever been installed in the building, and either open fireplaces, or stoves, were used for heating purposes in those rooms above. Probably the former had been discarded and the latter substituted since the days of my boyhood, which would account for the darkness above. The oldtime openings had been closed, sealed up, and so the chances were that only the roof afforded opportunity for my escape. I felt grave doubt as to my ability to attain that elevation; it was not a pleasant prospect, but I had already gone too far to hesitate. This was my