“Now how can we get in?” said Bella.

“I don’t see,” replied Mary Bell, “and I can’t think how they locked the door without any key-hole.”

“Could not we climb in at one of the windows?” said Mary Bell,—­“only they are so high up!”

The children looked around at the windows.  They were all too high from the ground for them to reach.  There was, however, a heap of short blocks and boards which the carpenters had left in the yard near the house, and Mary Bell said that perhaps they could build up a “climbing pile” with them, so as to get in at a window.  She accordingly went to this heap, and by means of considerable exertion and toil she rolled two large blocks—­the ends of sticks of timber which the carpenters had sawed off in framing the house—­up under the nearest window.  She placed these blocks, which were about two feet long, at a little distance apart under the window, with one end of each block against the house.  She then, with Bella’s help, got some short boards from the pile, and placed them across these blocks from one to the other, making a sort of a flooring.

“There,” said Mary Bell, looking at the work with great satisfaction, “that is one story.”

Then she brought two more blocks, and laid them upon the flooring over the first two, placing the second pair of blocks, like the first, at right angles to the house, and with the ends close against it to keep them steady.  On these blocks she laid a second flooring of short boards, which made the second story.  She then stepped up upon the staging which she had thus built, to see if it was steady.  It was very steady indeed.

“Let me get up on it,” said Bella.

Bella accordingly climbed up, and she and Mary Bell danced upon it together in great glee for some time to show how steady it was.

Mary Bell then attempted to open the window.  She found that she could open it a little way, but not far enough to get in.  So she said that she must make one more “story.”  They then both went back to the pile, and got two more blocks and another board to lay across upon the top of them for a flooring, and when these were placed, Mary Bell found that she could raise the window very high.  She got a long stick to put under it to hold it up, and then tried to climb in.

She found, however, that the window sill over which she was to climb was still rather too high; but, at length, after various consultations and experiments, Bella succeeded in getting up by means of the help which Mary Bell, who was large and strong, gave her, by “boosting her,” as she called it, that is, pushing her up from below while she climbed by means of her arms clasped over the window sill above.  Bella being thus in the house, took the key, which Mary Bell handed her for the purpose, and went along to the entry to unlock the door, while Mary Bell, stepping down from the scaffolding, went to the door on the outside, ready to enter when it should be opened.  The children had no doubt that there was a key-hole in the lock on the inside, although there was none made in the door on the outside.