Making a permanent installation of electricity became the first order of business. A few articles of furniture had then been brought down, though the way was so narrow that the table at which they sat had been constructed from within. Otherwise the room was much the same as he had found it. He hadn’t disturbed the ancient table and chest on the far side, nor the aged wardrobe, in or behind or under which, for all he knew, Bismarck’s treasure might be located just like Eppie had said.

A thorough archaeology of the place was intrinsic to his objective, but he wanted to wait until he could relish every moment of the intriguing task. Therefore, he placed all the articles of his present work in the portion of the room he had found empty and left the rest to await that day. Whatever the ghosts of Bismarck and the old count who wanted to get his hands on the estate might think of the proceedings, the baron did not stop to inquire. There was only one Ghost he believed in.

No one but Marion, Sabina, and the doctor knew of the place, which made all the work of getting it ready most difficult and delicate. Not even the servants had been told.

The baron immediately interpreted the discovery as an indication from the Lord that even greater precautions than those taken heretofore were necessary. He gradually began hiding important papers below the house, as well as transferring more of the supplies and material having directly to do with the business of the network.

He also began giving more regular attention to his journal in the solitude afforded by the dungeon’s quiet, the only room in the house where such loneliness could now be assured. Perhaps he enjoyed the underground chamber because of Eppie’s stories, perhaps because of the obvious antiquity of the place. Whatever the reason, the baron here felt more closely in touch with his own early years, with his ancestry, with the history of his country and the European continent, all of which he had been chronicling since he was a youth.

He considered it important to write, to preserve both a personal and a historical legacy, especially one day for Sabina, and for whoever else might chance to come across it—telling about his past, his and Marion’s early years together, the history of the estate, and their work hiding Jews during this terrible time of persecution.