He had been in the Captain's house and had seen those kegs of powder.

He knew exactly where they had been.

Now they were not on the accustomed shelf, nor at any other place in the storeroom.

While he sat there waiting for the awful truth to dawn on the garrison, his eyes roved from one end of the room to the other.

At last they found what they were seeking.
A young woman knelt before a charcoal fire which she was blowing with a bellows.