Again casting the rays of her light over every inch of the room, she stopped suddenly on noticing the curious appearance of the floor. One half of it was the dull gray color of the cement, and the other half, black.
Taking the string from her belt, she fastened it securely to the flashlight and carefully lowered it down the wall into the room. As the rays shone directly on the floor, she gasped in surprise. The black strip was an open shaft!
“Why is it there?” she asked herself. “Where does it lead?”
Peggy called down just then, “Jo! Oh, Jo! Come on. It’s time to go, and I’m roasting.”
Jo Ann kicked her feet in response. Why would Peggy interrupt her at such a time?
By twisting and turning the string she was able to throw the light back and forth along the shaft. Carefully she examined it. There was some object at one end of it, she was sure, but in the dim light she could not distinguish what it was.
Again Peggy’s impatient voice floated down to her.
“Oh dear, there’s Peg calling again,” she groaned. “I suppose I’ll have to go now, but I’m coming back—with more light and more rope.”
Just as she started to wind up the string, it suddenly slipped through her fingers. Down fell the flashlight to the floor, then rolled over and disappeared down the black hole.
As its rays shone on the sides of the shaft, Jo Ann caught sight of something which made her gasp in surprise. In her excitement she almost fell off the ledge in her attempt to get a better look at this object.