He saw at once that the letter had been correct as to the alterations being made. During his tenancy the cellars had been lighted by gas, but now electric light was being installed throughout. Mr. Martin could see the run of the wires and the fittings for the lamps, but he noticed that the lamps themselves had not yet been inserted. This fact did not worry him. He had a box full of matches in his pocket, and one of these he lit as he cautiously descended the stairs. The builders’ litter was here, as everywhere, and he picked his way among it until he stood in the main vault below the shop. It smelt close and musty, as though it had only recently been opened up after a long period of disuse. Mr. Martin, holding a lighted match above his head, glanced rapidly round. Nothing had been altered here since he remembered it, except that a new brass switch stood behind the door, and two empty lamp sockets projected downwards from the ceiling.

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