Тайна загадочной лестницы [with w_cat]

[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.

[1177] Presently the passageway began to twist and turn, as if its builders had found obstructions too difficult to dig through.

[1178] "Where do you think this leads?" Helen whispered.

[1179] "I don't know. I only hope we're not going in circles."

[1180] Presently the girls reached another set of stone steps not unlike the ones down which Nancy had tumbled. But these had solid stone sides. By their lights, the girls could see a door at the top with a heavy wooden bar across it.

[1181] "Shall we go up?" Helen asked.

[1182] Nancy was undecided what to do. The tunnel did not end here but yawned ahead in blackness. Should they follow it before trying to find out what was at the top of the stairs?

[1183] She voiced her thoughts aloud, but Helen urged that they climb the stairs. "I'll be frank with you. I'd like to get out of here."

[1184] Nancy acceded to her friend's wish and led the way up the steps.

[1185] Suddenly both girls froze in their tracks.

[1186] A man's voice from the far end of the tunnel commanded, "Stop! You can't go up there!"

[ 1187 ] CHAPTER XX. Nancy's Victory.

[1188] THEIR initial fright over, both girls turned and beamed their flashlights toward the foot of the stone stairway. Below them stood a short, unshaven, pudgy man with watery blue eyes.

[1189] "You're the ghost!" Helen stammered.

[1190] "And you're Mr. Willie Wharton," Nancy added.

Astounded, the man blinked in the glaring lights, then said, "Ye-yes, I am. But how did you know?"

[1191] "You live in the old Riverview Manor," Helen went on, "and you've been stealing food and silver and jewelry from Twin Elms!"

[1192] "No, no. I'm not a thief!" Willie Wharton cried out. "I took some food and I've been trying to scare the old ladies, so they would sell their property. Sometimes I wore false faces, but I never took any jewelry or silver. Honest I didn't. It must have been Mr. Gomber."