His underling returned and, resting on his arm, Jennings with some difficulty managed to get down the stairs.  The whole house now blazed with light.  Formerly the detective had wondered why Miss Loach had been so fond of electric lamps, thinking that as an old lady she would have preferred a softer glow.  But now he knew that she required the electricity for the illumination of the factory, and for manipulating the metals required in the manufacture of coins.  There was no doubt that she was one of the gang also, but Jennings could not conceive why she should take to such a business.  However, the woman was dead and the gang captured, so the detective moved along the narrow passage with a sense of triumph.  He never thought that he would be so lucky as to make this discovery, and he knew well that such a triumph meant praise and reward.  “I’ll be able to marry Peggy now,” he thought.

The coiners had been removed to the Rexton cells, and only Hale remained under the charge of Mrs. Barnes and Dr. Slane.  The body of Twining lay in the dining-room of the villa.  A policeman was on guard at the door of the villa, and two remained at the forked passage.  When Jennings arrived here he felt inclined to turn off to the right and explore the other passage, but he was also anxious to see the factory and assure himself of the value of his discovery.  He therefore painfully hobbled along, clinging to Atkins, but sustained in his efforts by an indomitable spirit.

“Here you are, sir,” said Atkins, turning on the light and revealing the workshop.  “A fine plant, isn’t it?”

“It is, indeed,” said Jennings, glancing up to the rough roof where five or six lamps blazed like suns, “and a nice hiding-place they found.  I’ll sit here and look round, Atkins.”

He dropped into a chair near the bench and stared at the cellar.  It was large, and built of rough stones, so that it looked like a prison cell of the Bastille.  The floor was of beaten earth, the roof of brick, built in the form of an arch, and the door was of heavy wood clamped with iron.  The brilliant illumination enabled Jennings to see everything, even to the minutest detail of the place.

In one corner were three large dynamos, and in another a smelting pot, and many sheets of silver and copper.  Also, there were moulds of gutta-percha arranged to hold coins in immersion.  On a bench were a number of delicate tools and a strong vice.  Jennings also saw various appliances for making coins.  On rough deal shelves ranged round the walls stood flasks and jars containing powders, with tools and a great many chemicals.  Also there were piles of false money, gold and silver and copper, and devices for sweating sovereigns.  In a safe were lumps of gold and silver.  Beside it, a bath filled with some particular liquid used in the trade.  Electric cells, acids, wooden clips to hold the coins could also be seen.  In fact the whole factory was conducted on the most scientific principles, and Jennings could understand how so many cleverly-prepared coins came to be in circulation.  There were even moulds for the manufacture of francs and louis.