The Automobile Girls at Chicago Part 22

"No." He did not catch what followed. Bob was climbing down the narrow ladder, prudently keeping the rope about his waist in case the ladder should give way. He carried the lantern with him on his descent, which he made with considerable caution. He feared that were he to dislodge a brick or a section of the ladder, it might fall on the girl below and seriously injure her. Why she should be so far below the narrow platform where he had found Mollie Thurston he did not pause to ask himself. The urgent work of the moment was to get Barbara out as quickly as possible.

"Is there no end to this?" muttered the young man. He figured that he must be somewhere in the vicinity of the cellar. Barbara's voice, now strong and clear, halted him suddenly.

"Be careful," she warned. "The ladder doesn't reach all the way down.

You will fall if you don't step carefully."

"Where are you?" he cried. "Goodness, I'm glad to hear your voice! I feared you had been killed."

"I don't know how this happened. I am down here. That is all I can tell you about it."

Stevens had reached the end of the ladder by this time. He lowered his lantern, directing her to take it from the rope, then observing that he was not more than half a dozen feet from the bottom, he dropped lightly down beside her.

"Did you fall down here?" he asked.

"The last several feet I did," she answered. Bab was pale, but her eyes were bright.

"Then how did you get down this far? Didn't the landing stop you?"

questioned the young man while looping the rope under Barbara's arms.

"Yes, the landing stopped me. I thought I surely had been killed, but after a little I pulled myself together and screamed for help. I guess no one heard me."

"They were excited. The house is in an uproar. Your sister is in the hands of her friends. I think she will be all right."

"My sister?" questioned Bab, opening her eyes wide.

"Yes. Didn't you know she fell in, too?"

"Tell me--was she--how did it happen?" demanded Bab, all in one voice.

"Oh, it was awful! Mollie fell in, you say?"

"Yes. I got her out with the help of the others. You haven't answered my question. Why did you come on down here?"

"I thought there might be an opening at the bottom. This chimney was intended to be used for climbing. Hurry. I want to see Mollie."

Barbara was in a fever of excitement. She could not see why she shouldn't climb the rope. Stevens advised her to calm herself, saying that when she reached the ladder she might climb, but not to cast off the rope.

"When you reach the top tell them to lower the rope again, so I can get out."

Barbara suddenly collected herself.

"Oh, forgive me for my thoughtlessness. You go on up. I can come later."

Bob Stevens merely smiled, then raised his voice in a shout to the men to pull up. He lifted Bab up with apparent ease, for he was a muscular young man. The rope began to move up slowly. He helped Barbara until she had reached the ladder, then after seeing her safely on her way, and when she was no longer visible, the young man picked up his lantern and began to look about him.

The chimney reached clear to the bottom of the pit in which he was standing. A short pa.s.sage underground led off from the pit. He followed it for about thirty yards, when it ended abruptly against a solid mound of earth. Investigation showed that this earth had caved in, thus blocking what had once been a long pa.s.sage. Little particles of dirt showered down on his head as he stepped carefully about, indicating that the rest of the roof might cave in at any moment.

"The silence of the tomb," muttered Bob. "What a place in which to be buried alive! I can imagine what that poor little girl must have suffered in here without a light, not knowing whether she ever would be found again. There's pluck for you. I know I should have been scared stiff. What a house of mystery this is! If it were mine I would pull it to pieces to satisfy my curiosity if for no other reason. But the treasure? Can it be possible that we have stumbled upon the hiding place of the real treasure? I'm going to investigate this place later on. Mr.

Presby's ancestors must have been regular woodchucks. At least they were great burrowers. Hold on; there must have been some sort of stream through here by the looks of the ground. The tunnel was already made.

All it needed was covering and filling. I begin to see. The families used it for getting away when the Indians got too busy. But I hear the rope. I want to examine that attic."

Bob held up his lantern to look for the rope when a ray from the lantern glinted on something bright in a niche in the chimney near the base, from where a brick had been pried out. He held the lantern closer, his eyes grew large, then the young man gave a whoop that was heard far above him in the attic.

CHAPTER XVI

BOB SOLVES ANOTHER MYSTERY

"I'VE got it!" he cried. "I've found the--but it can't be a very big treasure done up in so small a package," he added in a disappointed tone.

That which had attracted his attention was a metal box about six inches in length which had been set into the chimney so skilfully that a person pa.s.sing would be unlikely to observe it. The box fitted the niche so nicely that Stevens was obliged to use his knife to pry it out. The box was locked. He found no key and was about to attempt to pry open the cover with his knife when he paused.

"No. I won't do it. That wouldn't be fair. Miss Thurston is the real discoverer. She shall open the box, or I will open it in her presence unless Mr. Presby wishes to do so himself." Saying which, Bob Stevens pocketed his curiosity as well as the little metal box. The rope now being at hand, he slipped the loop about his waist, reached up and grasped the lower rung of the ladder, drawing himself up easily until the lower rung was beneath his feet. From that point on he climbed rapidly to the platform. From there he was obliged to use the rope in place of the missing section of the ladder. A few seconds later he was standing in the garret.

"How is Miss Mollie?" were his first words.

"Just coming to," answered one of the hands. "Miss Ruth was just up here to see if you had gotten up yet. She wishes to see you."

"Hold up the lantern. I want to look at this wall a moment." Bob had found the maul lying on the floor in the gable. He returned it to the garret. He now recalled the crash that had followed his final chopping.

Since then the young man had reasoned out what he thought was the mechanism that had caused all the trouble.

Stevens pushed gently on the panel against which he had originally struck so hard a blow. To the amazement of the onlookers, the panel fell into the gable with a mighty crash.

"I thought so," he nodded. The others had leaped to the far side of the room. Mr. Presby came hobbling up, fearing that still another disaster had fallen upon the house.

"Please look here, Mr. Presby," called Bob. "Here is the secret. See that narrow panel? It is a little wider than a man's body. It is hinged at the bottom. Attached to it were ropes running over pulleys in wooden tunnels. At the ends of these ropes are heavy weights. So nicely balanced were the weights that the pressure of a few pounds from this side would throw the panel inward. Any person leaning against it on this side would be dumped into the other room so quickly that unless he understood the mechanism, he would not know what had occurred."

"Wonderful," breathed the owner.

"It was evidently intended to afford a quick get-away in case the occupants of the house found it necessary to leave hurriedly. You will find the remnants of an old mattress in the gable there. I presume that was originally so placed that the person going through would slide from the smooth panel to the mattress without the least danger of injury. The instant his body left the panel the weights would pull the panel into place with a great bang. When the weights struck their foundation--the floor--another crash would be heard. Were I an Indian, I think I would run if I heard all that cras.h.i.+ng and smas.h.i.+ng. However, I have cut the ropes. You will have no recurrence of to-day's accident. The trap was open and both the young women fell into it while groping about in the dark in there. Is Miss Mollie seriously hurt?"

"One wrist is sprained and she is somewhat bruised. I do not believe it will prove to be anything serious," answered Mr. Presby. "Bob, I thank you," he added, giving the young man's hand a hearty grip.

"May I go down there now?" piped Tommy.

"You may not, sir," returned his father sternly. "You will keep away from that place entirely. I shall have the opening nailed up to-morrow.

By the way, Robert, what did you find at the bottom?" questioned the master eagerly.

"A caved-in pa.s.sage. I also found this. I intended to give it to you in the presence of Miss Thurston. However, it belongs to you."

Mr. Presby turned the metal box over in his hand reflectively.

"Open it, Robert. I decline to become excited."

"May I call Miss Barbara?"

"Certainly."