“Is it just a cellar?” called Mr. Floyd from up above, where he stood at the edge of the opening, with the girls and his wife.
“There’s a long narrow passage leading off somewhere,” Jack called back. “We’ll investigate. It doesn’t seem to be just a cellar though.”
“Be careful,” warned Cora, as the boys passed out of sight of those who were watching.
Jack, Walter and Paul found themselves in what was practically a planked passageway, about four feet wide and eight feet in height. There was a musty, damp smell to it, and when they had walked on a few feet over the hard-packed dirt floor, Jack said:
“This goes beyond the bungalow.”
“What do you mean?” asked Walter.
“I mean that we have passed beyond the limits of the bungalow. This passage extends back under the ground, perhaps into the mountain.”
“Maybe right into that cave we found to-day,” suggested Paul.
“It might be,” agreed Walter. “There’s something queer about this—something big, too. Keep on, and we’ll find where this passage leads to. It’s been built some time, that’s evident.”
This was shown by the fact that the planking on the sides and overhead was old, and rotted in some places. And the ground underfoot was packed so hard that it gave no evidences of footprints or other marks.