Тайна загадочной лестницы [with w_cat] - [38]

[1145] As they approached the front porch, Helen showed signs of nervousness. "Nancy, what will we do if we meet the ghost?" she asked.

[1146] "Just tell him we've found him out," her friend answered determinedly.

[1147] Helen said no more and watched as Nancy inserted the enormous brass key in the lock. It turned easily and the girls let themselves into the hall. Architecturally it was the same as Twin Elms mansion, but how different it looked now! The blinds were closed, lending an eerie atmosphere to the dusky interior. Dust lay everywhere, and cobwebs festooned the corners of the ceiling and spindles of the staircase.

[1148] "It certainly doesn't look as if anybody lives here," Helen remarked. "Where do we start hunting?"

[1149] "I want to take a look in the kitchen," said Nancy.

[1150] When they walked into it, Helen gasped. "I guess I was wrong. Someone has been eating here." Eggshells, several empty milk bottles, some chicken bones and pieces of waxed paper cluttered the sink.

[1151] Nancy, realizing that Helen was very uneasy, whispered to her with a giggle, "If the ghost lives here, he has a good appetite."

[1152] The young sleuth took out her flashlight and beamed it around the floors and walls of the kitchen. There was no sign of a secret opening. As she went from room to room on the first floor, Helen followed and together they searched every inch of the place for a clue to a concealed door. At last they came to the conclusion there was none.

[1153] "You know, it could be in the cellar," Nancy suggested.

[1154]     "Well, you're not going down there," Helen said firmly. "That is, not without a policeman. It's too dangerous. As for myself, I want to live to get married and not be hit over the head in the dark by that ghost, so Jim won't have a bride!"

[1155] Nancy laughed. "You win. But I'll tell you why. At the moment I am more interested in finding my father than in hunting for a secret passageway. He may be a prisoner in one of the rooms upstairs. I'm going to find out."

[1156] The door to the back stairway was unlocked and the one at the top stood open. Nancy asked Helen to stand at the foot of the main staircase, while she herself went up the back steps. "If that ghost is up there and tries to escape, he won't be able to slip out that way," she explained.

[1157] Helen took her post in the front hall and Nancy crept up the back steps. No one tried to come down either stairs. Helen now went to the second floor and together she and Nancy began a search of the rooms. They found nothing suspicious. Mr. Drew was not there. There was no sign of a ghost. None of the walls revealed a possible secret opening. But the bedroom which corresponded to Miss Flora's had a clothes closet built in at the end next to the fireplace.

[1158] "In Colonial times closets were a rarity," Nancy remarked to Helen. "I wonder if this closet was added at that time and has any special significance."

[1159] Quickly she opened one of the large double doors and looked inside. The rear wall was formed of two very wide wooden planks. In the center was a round knob, sunk in the wood.

[1160] "This is strange," Nancy remarked excitedly.

[1161] She pulled on the knob but the wall did not move. Next, she pushed the knob down hard, leaning her full weight against the panel.

[1162] Suddenly the wall pushed inward. Nancy lost her balance and disappeared into a gaping hole below!

[1163] Helen screamed.   "Nancy!"

[1164] Trembling with fright, Helen stepped into the closet and beamed her flashlight below. She could see a long flight of stone steps.

[1165] "Nancy! Nancy!" Helen called down.

[1166] A muffled answer came from below. Helen's heart gave a leap of relief. "Nancy's alive!" she told herself, then called, "Where are you?"

[1167] "I've found the secret passageway," came faintly to Helen's ears. "Come on down."

[1168] Helen did not hesitate. She wanted to be certain that Nancy was all right. Just as she started down the steps, the door began to close. Helen, in a panic that the girls might be trapped in some subterranean passageway, made a wild grab for the door. Holding it ajar, she removed the sweater she was wearing and wedged it into the opening.

[1169] Finding a rail on one side of the stone steps, Helen grasped it and hurried below. Nancy arose from the dank earthen floor to meet her.

[1170] "Are you sure you're all right?" Helen asked solicitously.

[1171] "I admit I got a good bang," Nancy replied, "but I feel fine now. Let's see where this passageway goes."

[1172] The flashlight had been thrown from her hand, but with the aid of Helen's light, she soon found it. Fortunately, it had not been damaged and she turned it on.

[1173] The passageway was very narrow and barely high enough for the girls to walk without bending over. The sides were built of crumbling brick and stone.

[1174] "This may tumble on us at any moment," Helen said worriedly.

[1175] "Oh, I don't believe so," Nancy answered. "It must have been here for a long time."

[1176] The subterranean corridor was unpleasantly damp and had an earthy smell. Moisture clung to the walls. They felt clammy and repulsive to the touch.