“Precisely what I expected,” the doctor said calmly; “a fire elemental sent upon its mission in the days of Thebes, centuries before Christ, and tonight, for the first time all these thousands of years, released from the spell that originally bound it.”

We stared at him in amazement, Colonel Wragge opening his lips for words that refused to shape themselves.

“And, if we dig,” he continued significantly, pointing to the floor where the blackness had poured up, “we shall find some underground connection⁠—a tunnel most likely⁠—leading to the Twelve Acre Wood. It was made by⁠—your predecessor.”

“A tunnel made by my brother!” gasped the soldier. “Then my sister should know⁠—she lived here with him⁠—” He stopped suddenly.