For
he found himself looking into Mr. Bellward's library.
He stepped into the room to see how the cupboard looked from the
other side. He found that a whole section of bookshelves had
swung back with the cupboard, in other words that the cupboard in
the toolshed and the section of bookshelves were apparently all
of one piece.
He carefully examined the walls on either side of the recess in
the library to see how the mechanism worked. The bookshelves were
open, made of mahogany, the sides elaborately carved with leaves
and flowers. Desmond ran his hand down the perpendicular section
immediately on the right of the recess. About halfway down--to be
exact, it was in line with the fifth shelf from the floor--his
fingers encountered a little knob which gave under pressure--the
heart of a flower which released the section of bookshelves.
Going back to the shed, Desmond examined the place against which
his hand had rested as he sought to force the lock of the
cupboard. As he expected, he found a similar catch let into the
surface of the oak, but so cunningly inlaid that it could scarce
be detected with the naked eye.
Before proceeding further with his investigations, Desmond softly
turned the lock of the library door. He also shot forward a bolt
he found on the inside of the door of the shed.
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