The tower had
escaped ruin, almost accidentally it would seem, for there were no signs
of any particular care having been expended upon it. This open space had
evidently been chiefly occupied by a large hall, its floor a little
lower than the terrace level, but adjoining the tower end of it there
had been other rooms, for traces of stone steps could be seen in the
wall. In one corner, too, there had been a room below the level of the
floor--indeed, some of the stone flags still projected over it. Its
walls, strong and dungeon-like, were built down some fifteen feet; two
or three narrow slits piercing the outer wall in a sharp upward angle
had evidently given this buried chamber a dim light, and the entrance to
it could only have been from the top, probably by a trap door. Some
_debris_ had fallen into it, but not very much, and creepers had sown
themselves and, climbing over part of the walls to the top, had spread
themselves over a portion of the floor of the hall.
Barbara picked her way across the fallen _debris_ and stood looking
down into this hole for a few minutes. It seemed to possess a certain
fascination for her, as though it were in some way connected with her
history.
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