“Evidently you were not interested in my learned discourse,” he said, with a terrible frown, which was not at all alarming.

The diversion, however, caused him to remember his pudding, and in a few minutes Rosalind was free to join Maurice and Katherine at the gate.

Belle, who had called the meeting, was waiting for them at the top of the hill.

“I thought you were never coming,” she cried; “we have made such a discovery!” And as they walked toward the house she explained that her mother had sent her that morning with a message to Miss Celia, and not finding her at home, she and Jack, who was with her, went over to the Gilpin place to wait.  As they wandered about the grounds, something put it into Jack’s head to try one of the cobwebby cellar windows, and lo! it opened.  Poking their heads in, they saw it was over a stairway, which could be easily reached by walking a few feet on a ledge of stone.  Delighted with the discovery, they scrambled in, and making their way up the steps found the door at the top unbolted.

“Jack opened it and peeped into the hall, and then we were as scared as anything, and ran, and oh! we had such a time getting out.  Now, what do you think of it?  We can look for the ring really!” Belle paused, out of breath.

“What fun!” cried Rosalind.

“Just what we have been wishing for,” added Maurice.  “I have been trying to think how we could get in.”

Katherine was the only one who was not enthusiastic over the adventure.  She hung back a little and wanted to know what Belle had been afraid of.

“Oh, I don’t know.  It was so dark, and mysterious, and creepy; but it was such fun!”

“We shan’t mind if we are all together,” said Rosalind, reassuringly.  “We’ll pretend we are storming a castle to rescue somebody.”

If it occurred to any of them that it might not be exactly right to break into a closed house in this fashion, the idea was quickly dismissed.

Jack was watching for them, sprawled at his ease on the grass by the window.  He was rather proud of having been the discoverer of it.

In the heart of the country it could hardly have been quieter than it was in the Gilpin grounds that afternoon.  Now and then some vehicle could be heard going up or down the hill, or the whistle of a canal-boat broke in upon the drowsy droning hum that was part of the summer stillness.  There was no one to interfere.  Even if Celia brought her work to the arbor, it was on the other side of the house, out of sight and hearing.

The first obstacle the expedition encountered was the impossibility of Maurice’s getting through to the stairway with his crutch.  It was plain that it was out of the question, yet it was terribly hard to give up.  There was a spice of daring in the adventure that appealed to him.  For a moment he had a most uncomfortable sensation in his throat; and the old pettishness returned as he thundered at Katherine, in response to her reiterated, “You mustn’t do it, Maurice,” “I wish you’d hush.  I know what I can do!”