A PERILOUS SITUATION
The three Army Boys started back almost letting go the trap door
in their desire to escape the noxious odor and fill their lungs
with the cool winter air.
"What is this anyway--the entrance to the infernal regions?" asked
Billy.
"If it were, it couldn't smell much worse, I imagine," answered
Bart.
"We're not going to let a thing like that hold us back, are we?"
asked Frank impatiently.
"Of course not," replied Billy. "But that doesn't say we have to
like it, does it? Flash that light of yours and let us see just
what this sweet smelling thing looks like."
Frank directed the rays of his flashlight into the gloomy recess,
and the light fell on a small platform about four feet below the
level of the ground. Two or three stone steps descended from this
and then they could faintly see a rough stone floor from which
several passages branched out in different directions.
He returned the light to his pocket, and the three held a
whispered conversation.
"Well, fellows, you've seen as much of it as I have," said Frank.
"What do you say? Shall we explore it?"
"Sure thing," replied Bart. "What do you think we are, a bunch of
four flushers?"
"Lead on, old scout," said Billy. "But first we must wedge this
door up a trifle, so as to be able to open it easily when we come
back."
"Right you are!" said Frank. "When we do come back we may have to
come in a hurry for all we know, and we want to be able to lift
this up in a jiffy."
They hunted around until they found a small slab of stone which
they wedged under the door, after they had dropped down into the
space below. Then, with Frank in the van, with his flashlight
sending its rays ahead of them, they ventured slowly into the
unknown, feeling their way with the utmost caution.
The stone floor was uneven and damp, and at times they stepped
into pools of noisome water that was covered with green scum. The
sides of the narrow passages were covered with mold, and the air
was heavy and offensive.
Suddenly Frank stepped back with a sharp exclamation, and at the
same instant there was a squeal, and a gray form scurried away
into the darkness.
"A rat!" he murmured to his friends behind him. "I stepped fairly
on him. A mighty big fellow he was, too."
They went on a little further, keeping close together, for there
were several passages that branched off from what seemed to be the
main one, and if they became separated it might be difficult for
them to get together again, especially as Frank was the only one
of the trio who had a flashlight.
And now their ears were assailed by soft patterings and shufflings
that seemed to increase in number as they progressed. Their eyes
caught certain red points that flared like sparks and then
vanished, only to reappear. It was as though a host of eerie
things were keeping tab on their movements, and after a while this
silent mustering of unseen watchers got on their nerves.
Billy, who came last, was passing one of the passages that
branched off to the left when he thought he caught a glimpse of
light. He went into this side passage for a few steps to make
sure, and verified his first impression. There, sure enough, was
an electric bulb, on the opposite side of which he could see the
outline of a door.
He was hurrying back to tell his comrades what he had seen when he
heard an exclamation from Bart that quickened his steps still
more. Bart's right hand was holding on to his left, and in the
light that Frank had directed on it he saw that the hand was
bleeding.
"It was a rat," Bart exclaimed wrathfully, as he nursed his
wounded hand. "The beggar jumped straight at it. It feels as
though he'd made his teeth meet through it"
Billy whipped out his handkerchief and was binding it around his
comrade's hand, when a gray form sprang from the darkness and
fastened its teeth in his trousers leg just grazing the skin.
Frank made a kick at it, but as he did so, his foot slipped on the
damp stone and the flashlight flew out of his hand, leaving them
in utter darkness. He stooped to try to find it, but his hand
touched a furry coat and he drew back just in time to escape a
savage snap.
Then as if by magic those red pin points, that they now knew were
eyes, seemed to spring up from every direction. There were rats
everywhere, an army of them, rats ahead of them and rats behind
them, gathering to oust these human intruders from their domain.
Singly they were contemptible opponents, but now they had the
strength that came from numbers, and they knew it.
And the Army Boys knew it too. For an instant panic gripped at
their hearts. The next moment they had pulled themselves together.
"Back to the trap door, fellows!" said Frank tensely. "Fast, but
not too fast. Don't run. And don't shoot, or we may hit each
other. Draw your revolvers and club them off with the butts."
They retraced their steps as well as they could in the darkness.
The rats knew that they were retreating, and they grew bolder.
Again and again they fastened themselves on their arms and legs,
and had to be beaten off with the revolver butts. All the boys
were bitten many times, and it seemed to them that they would
never come to the end of the passage alive. But none of their
assailants reached their throats, although one had to be knocked
from Billy's shoulder, and at last the nightmare journey ended
when they stumbled against the steps that led to the trap door.
Frantically they heaved the door up and clambered out and sank
down on the ice covered ground, spent and out of breath and
utterly exhausted.