Page:The Necromancer, or, The Tale of the Black Forest Vol. 1.djvu/205

 fastened as before. We entered the garden, searching and prying around, 'till we at length espied the aperture of the cavern through which we had effected our escape from the grisly jaws of a lingering death. The hollow sound of our footsteps re-echoed horribly through the dreary subterraneous abode as we entered, and the light of our torches reflected grisly from the damp mossy walls of the deep and narrow passage.

Stepping into the ruinous stable, we espied with pleasure the hole in the boards through which the Baron had fallen down, and detected in one of the corners a ladder, and above the place where it was standing, a trapdoor. Having ascended the ladder I opened the half decayed door, with one violent push, and entered with my fellow adventurers the well known spacious apartment, leaping over the gaping opening where the boards had given way. Looking around we beheld several small iron doors, one of which flew open at the first push of the Austrian, and presented