Jack swung the axe vigorously, and, being aided by Walter, soon had removed two or three of the narrow boards. As they were prying on another, a queer thing happened.
A solid section of the floor from the middle of the room suddenly sank down, and then rolled back, exactly as a sliding door rolls, only this door was horizontal instead of vertical. Back it rolled, leaving what was practically a trap in the floor, and as the light shone down this a flight of steps was revealed leading into darkness.
“Great bumblebees!” gasped Jack. “See what we’ve done! Uncovered a secret passage! Now for the solution of the mystery!”
CHAPTER XXV—THE PATCHED TIRE
Crowding around Jack they all gazed down into the opening. For a moment no one spoke. Then Cora softly murmured:
“A secret passage.”
“What else is it?” demanded her brother. “No one knew it was here. You didn’t; did you?” he asked Mr. Floyd.
“Never had the least notion of it. How it got here is a mystery to me.”
“It must have been built in the bungalow, or put in after it was built,” said Bess. “What does it mean? What’s it all about?”
“That’s what we’re going to find out,” declared Walter.