Page:The Duke Decides (1904).djvu/291

 nearly filled with parchment-bound volumes exactly like those on the shelves, but there was plenty of room for the box.

The Senator promptly placed his precious charge in the vacant space, and heaved a sigh of relief.

“It ought to be all right there,” he said.

“It ought to be,” Beaumanoir echoed, as he set the mechanism in motion. And when the heavy door had slid noiselessly back into position, he turned the key and pocketed it with an air of achievement. “Come, Mr. Sherman,” he said lightly, “let us go and rejoin the ladies. Now that we have got that safely housed we shall both feel much—er—more comfortable, shan’t we?”