”Asmallchamberaboutsevenfeetdeepandfourfeetsquarelayopentous。Atonesideofthiswasasquat，brass-boundwoodenbox，thelidofwhichwashingedupwards，withthiscuriousold-fashionedkeyprojectingfromthelock。Itwasfurredoutsidebyathicklayerofdust，anddampandwormshadeatenthroughthewood，sothatacropoflividfungiwasgrowingontheinsideofit。Severaldiscsofmetal，oldcoinsapparently，suchasIholdhere，werescatteredoverthebottomofthebox，butitcontainednothingelse。”Atthemoment，however，wehadnothoughtfortheoldchest，foroureyeswereriveteduponthatwhichcrouchedbesideit。Itwasthefigureofaman，cladinasuitofblack，whosquatteddownuponhimhamswithhisforeheadsunkupontheedgeoftheboxandhistwoarmsthrownoutoneachsideofit。Theattitudehaddrawnallthestagnantbloodtotheface，andnomancouldhaverecognizedthatdistortedliver-coloredcountenance；buthisheight，hisdress，andhishairwereallsufficienttoshowmyclient，whenwehaddrawnthebodyup，thatitwasindeedhismissingbutler。Hehadbeendeadsomedays，buttherewasnowoundorbruiseuponhispersontoshowhowhehadmethisdreadfulend。Whenhisbodyhadbeencarriedfromthecellarwefoundourselvesstillconfrontedwithaproblemwhichwasalmostasformidableasthatwithwhichwehadstarted。”Iconfessthatsofar，Watson，Ihadbeendisappointedinmyinvestigation。IhadreckoneduponsolvingthematterwhenonceIhadfoundtheplacereferredtointheRitual；butnowIwasthere，andwasapparentlyasfaraseverfromknowingwhatitwaswhichthefamilyhadconcealedwithsuchelaborateprecautions。ItistruethatIhadthrownalightuponthefateofBrunton，butnowIhadtoascertainhowthatfatehadcomeuponhim，andwhatparthadbeenplayedinthematterbythewomanwhohaddisappeared。Isatdownuponakeginthecornerandthoughtthewholemattercarefullyover。”Youknowmymethodsinsuchcases，Watson。Iputmyselfintheman’splaceand，havingfirstgaugedhisintelligence，ItrytoimaginehowIshouldmyselfhaveproceededunderthesamecircumstances。InthiscasethematterwassimplifiedbyBrunton’sintelligencebeingquitefirst-rate，sothatitwasunnecessarytomakeanyallowanceforthepersonalequation，astheastronomershavedubbedit。Heknowthatsomethingvaluablewasconcealed。Hehadspottedtheplace。Hefoundthatthestonewhichcovereditwasjusttooheavyforamantomoveunaided。Whatwouldhedonext?Hecouldnotgethelpfromoutside，evenifhehadsomeonewhomhecouldtrust，withouttheunbarringofdoorsandconsiderableriskofdetection。Itwasbetter，ifhecould，tohavehishelpmateinsidethehouse。Butwhomcouldheask?Thisgirlhadbeendevotedtohim。Amanalwaysfindsithardtorealizethathemayhavefinallylostawoman’slove，howeverbadlyhemayhavetreatedher。
HewouldtrybyafewattentionstomakehispeacewiththegirlHowells，andthenwouldengageherashisaccomplice。Togethertheywouldcomeatnighttothecellar，andtheirunitedforcewouldsufficetoraisethestone。SofarIcouldfollowtheiractionsasifIhadactuallyseenthem。”Butfortwoofthem，andoneawoman，itmusthavebeenheavyworktheraisingofthatstone。AburlySussexpolicemanandIhadfounditnolightjob。
Whatwouldtheydotoassistthem?ProbablywhatI
shouldhavedonemyself。Iroseandexaminedcarefullythedifferentbilletsofwoodwhichwerescatteredroundthefloor。AlmostatonceIcameuponwhatIexpected。Onepiece，aboutthreefeetinlength，hadaverymarkedindentationatoneend，whileseveralwereflattenedatthesidesasiftheyhadbeencompressedbysomeconsiderableweight。
Evidently，astheyhaddraggedthestoneuptheyhadthrustthechunksofwoodintothechink，untilatlast，whentheopeningwaslargeenoughtocrawlthrough，theywouldholditopenbyabilletplacedlengthwise，whichmightverywellbecomeindentedatthelowerend，sincethewholeweightofthestonewouldpressitdownontotheedgeofthisotherslab。