The Underground Passage
After Nancy Drew had plunged through the opening into the dark abyss,
the closet wall clapped back into place. She did not hear the spring
click, for before she reached the bottom of a long flight of stone
stairs her head struck a hard object and she lost consciousness.
For several minutes she remained in a limp little heap at the bottom of
the stairs. When at last she opened her eyes, she gave a little moan of
pain, and tried to recollect what had happened.
She could see nothing, for she was enveloped in darkness. Gradually, she
began to recall the events leading up to the sudden fall through the
opening in the wall. She could remember pressing the tiny knob in the
closet, but there her memory failed her. Evidently, she had found the
secret panel and was now in an underground chamber.
As yet, Nancy was too badly shaken to realize the full importance of the
discovery. She sat up and gingerly felt of her head. There was a big
bump over her left eye.
“Lucky I wasn’t killed,” she murmured.
She scrambled slowly to her feet and moved first one limb and then
another. She had been sorely bruised and scratched in the fall, but so
far as she could tell no bones were broken.
In the descent she had lost both her revolver and flashlight, and she
began to grope around in the dark, hoping to find them.
She found the revolver almost at her feet, but it required a diligent
search before her hand struck the flashlight. It had lodged in a corner
near the last step.
“I hope it isn’t broken,” she thought anxiously, as she picked it up.
To her relief, the flashlight had not been damaged. When she turned it
on it worked perfectly, but its feeble light illuminated only a small
portion of the surroundings.
Nancy saw that she had fallen to the very bottom of a long stone
stairway. In vain she looked for the opening through which she had
plunged. It had vanished as though by magic.
“That’s strange,” she murmured, bewildered. “I know I fell down those
steps.”
Limping painfully up the stairs, she stared in astonishment at the solid
wall at the top. She ran her hands up and down but could not find the
hidden spring.
“Oh, well, I could probably find it if I hunted long enough,” she told
herself. “But I’m only wasting valuable time. I’ve found the secret
passage at last, and, the Fates being willing, I intend to find out
where it leads. I can investigate this panel later when I have more
time.”
Nancy cautiously descended into the tunnel. The steps were of crudely
cut stone and led almost straight down into an inky, uncertain
blackness. Beyond, stretched a passageway.
When she reached the bottom of the steps, she paused, undecided what to
do. She did not know where the passage might lead; she might be walking
into danger.
“I’ll chance it,” she decided. “I wouldn’t turn back for anything in the
world now.”
The passageway which stretched uninvitingly before her was very narrow
and only high enough for her to walk without bending over. The sides
were built of brick and stone, but the material had begun to crumble and
Nancy feared that at any moment a portion of the walls or ceiling might
come tumbling down upon her.
“Well, here’s for it,” she decided resolutely.
She moved slowly forward, flashing her light ahead of her. The passage
was unpleasantly damp and had an earthy smell. Moisture clung to the
walls, and there was a cold breeze circulating.
“I must be underground,” she thought.
An awful silence reigned in the subterranean passage. The quiet was
oppressive. With an anxious glance over her shoulder, Nancy went on.
Once she thought she heard a sigh from someone in distress.
Involuntarily, she stopped to listen.
“I guess it was only the wind,” she told herself uncertainly.
On she went deeper into the labyrinth of darkness, feeling her way
cautiously. The tiny light from her flashlight but dimly illuminated the
passage, and she stumbled and groped her way along timidly. When she
accidentally brushed against the stone walls or put out a hand to save
herself from falling, the structure felt clammy and repulsive to the
touch.
“Silly!” she chided herself sternly.
But in spite of her determination, she could not free her mind from
unpleasant supposition. The gruesome sights she had seen in the bird
room had made an unpleasant impression upon her. What if the colored
woman had heard her fall down the stairs and knew the secret of the
hidden panel in the closet? At this very moment she might be following.
Nancy shivered. In the subterranean passage, cries for help would never
be heard. She would be entirely at the mercy of anyone who found her
trespassing.
Her own footsteps seemed strangely loud and echoed in her ears. Oh, if
only she would come to the end of the passage! Surely, it could not run
on forever.
The air was cold and damp, and in a number of places water dripped from
the ceiling. Nancy believed that it was rain dripping through the cracks
in the cement. In that case she could not be far underground.
Where did the tunnel lead? Perhaps it came out in someone’s garden or a
wood.
“And maybe to a graveyard.” Nancy shivered. “I’ve heard of such things.
Anyway, I hope not. I’ve gone through enough for one night!”
Her head ached from the injury she had received, and she was tired from
nervous strain. She was impatient to reach the end of the passage.
What would she find there? She could only hope that the exit would not
be barred. If such were the case, she would be a prisoner in the
underground vault. Of course she could always return to the entrance,
but whether or not she could find the hidden spring which controlled the
sliding panel was another matter.
After a time she stopped a moment to rest. As she paused she heard a
sound directly behind her. Wheeling, she suppressed a cry of terror.
A big rat scurried by, almost at her feet.
“Ug!” Nancy shuddered. “I don’t like this place.”
Still, she would not turn back. After resting a few minutes she again
proceeded.
The passage was no longer straight, but twisted and turned in a puzzling
fashion. At one place she came to a point where two tunnels branched
off. She hesitated, uncertain, which one to take.
After a short mental debate she selected the right hand one, but as she
went on, could not help but feel she had chosen the wrong one. Perhaps
she was returning to Gombet’s house, doubling back on her trail.
Anxiously, Nancy, glanced at her flashlight. She had forgotten to bring
an extra battery and she did not know how long the present one would
last. The bright light somewhat reassured her, but nevertheless she
quickened her pace. She could think of nothing more horrifying than to
be left without a light in such a gruesome place.
She tried to take note of the various turns in the tunnel but presently
gave it up as a hopeless task. If she were forced to return, she must
depend upon instinct to guide her.
“I hope I don’t get lost,” she worried. “That would be the crowning
misfortune.”
At last her foot struck a hard object, and Nancy quickly turned her
flashlight upon it. She had reached another stone step. Perhaps she was
approaching the exit to the passageway.
The thought gave her new courage. As she peered ahead she saw a long
flight of stone steps leading upward. Eagerly, she groped her way up
them.
It seemed to her that the air became gradually warmer and less damp.
“I’m coming out of the tunnel at last,” she reasoned joyfully. “I wonder
where I am?”
At last the stone steps came to an end, but to her chagrin, Nancy faced
a solid wall.
“There must be a secret spring, if only I can find it,” she thought
desperately.
Anxiously, she flashed her light over the wall. Near the top step she
saw a tiny knob not unlike the one she had discovered in the closet of
Nathan Grombet’s house. With a cry of satisfaction, she pushed upon it.
Slowly, the wall swung back, and in amazement Nancy passed through the
opening. The panel grated shut behind her.
“This is positively spooky,” she laughed uncertainly. “Who ever dreamed
there was a place like this anywhere near Cliffwood? It reminds me of
the feudal castles. The man who built it certainly had funny ideas.”
If Nancy had expected to find herself at the mouth of the passage she
was mistaken. Ahead of her was a steep flight of wooden stairs.
The steps were very old and offered treacherous footing, and the space
between the walls was so narrow that it was with difficulty that she
proceeded. She moved forward cautiously feeling each step.
She had climbed but a short distance when she stepped forward with her
right foot and instead of striking a solid base, found nothing beneath.
Only by grasping the step above did she save herself from a fall.
Quickly focusing the light down upon the step, she was able to see that
the bottom of it was missing. The flooring had rotted entirely away.
“That was a lucky escape,” she said inwardly. “I might have broken my
leg there.”
Carefully avoiding the hole, she moved on. A dozen more steps and she
reached a landing. Here several narrow flights of stairs branched off.
What could it mean? Where was she?
Nancy felt reasonably certain that that she was inside a house, but
whether she had returned to Gombet’s dwelling, she had no way of
telling.
After a slight hesitation she selected one of the flights and continued
to climb. The steps were in terrible condition and at any moment she
expected to crash through the half-decayed wood.
Far above, she thought she could see a dim light filtering through a
crack, and she hurried eagerly on. She was so anxious to reach the top
of the stairs that she failed to notice that her flashlight was growing
dimmer and dimmer.
Just as she came to the end of the steps, the light blinked. Then for
the first time Nancy glanced down and saw that the bulb was dim. The
battery was nearly exhausted. A few moments more, and she would be
plunged in darkness.
Ahead she caught a glimpse of a huge metal ring on the wall. What it was
she had no idea, but it offered her her only hope of escape from the
staircase.
Just as her hand reached out and grasped it, the flashlight flickered
again. Then it went entirely out.
Nancy Drew was left in darkness.