米尔德里德和伊内兹依旧在等待，这时墙的对面传来沉闷的声音，她们以为是有人在敲击墙，于是大声呼喊，之后随着一声霹雳声，一个人掉到了墙内……
As the night advanced the two girls continued to talk，in low and subdued voices because of their anxiety and growing fears.They kept the candles trimmed，for the light lent them courage.They were not hungry，although they had eaten nothing since noon，but they were beginning to suffer from thirst.
The baby wakened with shrill screams and the only way to quiet her was to give her the bottle，which was now less than a third full.Mildred was in a quandarya whether to withhold the remainder of the food from little Jane，so as to prolong her life as much as possible，or to allow the baby to eat what she desired，as long as any of the food remained.She ？nally decided on the latter course，hoping the morning would bring some one to their rescue.
After the little one was again hushed in slumber and cuddled in warm blankets on a seat beside them，the two imprisoned girls renewed their desultory conversation.They realized it must be long after midnight but Mildred avoided looking at her watch because that made the minutes dragb soslowly.
Finally a dull sound from the other side of the wall reached their ears.It seemed that some one was pounding upon the adobe.Both girls sprang to their feet in excitement，their heads bent to listen.The pounding was not repeated but a voice was heard—a far—away voice—as of one calling.
Mildred answered the cry，at the top of her lungs，and immediately Inez followed with a shrill scream that roused a thousand echoes in the hidden passage.And now Toodlums joined the chorus，startled from her sleep and terri？ed by the riot of sound.
They tried to listen，but the baby's cries preventedanything else from being heard，so they devoted themselves to quieting little Jane.It took some time to do this，for the sobbing infant was thoroughly frightened，but finally Inez succeeded in comforting her and the bottle of precious milk was sacri？ced to put baby to sleep again.
By this time the sounds on the other side of the wall had ceased；but the girls were now full of eager hope，believing they had succeeded in letting their friends know they were imprisoned in the wall.
Within the hour more dull pounding began and this continued so regularly that Mildred told Inez the rescuers were surely trying to break through the adobe.They listened alertly to each blow and for a time forgot both thirst and fatiguea inthe excitement of the moment.Daybreak was near，for alreadya gray light was creeping in through the gratings overhead.
Suddenly a crash like a thunder—clap resounded from the end of the passage.From the gloomy recess behind the couch a man's form appeared，struck the bed，was reboundedb by thesprings into the air，turned a complete somersaulta and landed on the ？oor of the passage in a sitting position，facing the two startled nurses.
He did not seem to be hurt，but was evidently bewildered.
He glared in amazement at the girls and they glared in amazement at him.Then，slowly，he turned his eyes to view his surroundings and blinked stupidly at the candles，the antique carved furniture，the baby bundled upon a cushioned seat and finally rested his eyes again upon the faces of the nurses.
"Why，it is Se？or Bul—Run！"cried Inez，clapping her hands with joy."He have come to save us.""Pardon me，"said the man，in a rather quaveringfalsetto，"I'm not sure whether I've come to save you or to share your perilb.Where am I，please？""It is the hollow of the wall，sir，"replied Mildred，who had never seen the big fellow before."It is the secret apartment constructed by Se？or Cristoval，who built this house.""Well，"said he，slowly getting upon his feet and withanother curious glance around，"I can't say that I consider it a desirable place of residence.Certainly it's no place for our precious Toodlums，"and he bent over the sleeping babe and tenderly kissed its forehead.Then，straightening up，he said in as determined a tone as his high voice would permit："We must ？nd a way to get out of here！""Can't you get out the same way you got in？"asked Mildred.
He looked at her in perplexed astonishment."How did I get in？"he inquired.
"Don't you know？"
