Knock Three Times!

by Marion St. John Webb

“I believe I could reach it if you could lift me up, Jack,” said Molly.

“Right-o!” said Jack. And then Molly’s match went out.

As it would be too difficult to hold a match while trying to reach the ring, and as Molly said she remembered just where the ring was on the wall, it was decided to pull the ring if possible, and then light a match, and see what had happened.

So Jack lifted Molly up, and after groping about on the wall with her hands for a few seconds, she caught hold of the ring.

“I’ve got it! Keep steady, Jack!” she cried, joyfully, and gave a vigorous tug at the iron ring. “Something’s given way—it feels as if a sort of door’s opened. All right, put me down now, Jack, and strike a match.”

Jack followed her directions, and by the light of the match they saw that a small square door had opened in the wall above their heads. The light from the match pointed straight through the opening. It looked like a narrow, dark tunnel beyond. Jack put his match down on the top of the boxes to see if it would give them sufficient light from there, but directly it left his hand it went out, so they decided to try to get into the tunnel before they lit up again, as it was too difficult to hold matches while scrambling through the little black opening. Jack hoisted Molly up first, and she managed to get through the door, and then she turned and reached down her hand to pull Jack up. It was rather an ordeal, doing all this in the dark, but at length it was safely accomplished and they were both inside the tunnel. Once through the door, although rather cramped, they found there was sufficient room to stand up, if they bent their heads.

They did not stop to close the door behind them, but, lighting another match, they scurried along the tunnel as fast as ever they could. The tunnel twisted and turned a good deal, and then began to slope gradually upward. Two more matches they were obliged to light before they came at length to a standstill where the tunnel branched out in two directions. The light pointed steadily to the left, so they followed it. Another minute’s rapid walking, and they felt a rush of cool air, and when their match spluttered and went out, they could see that the inky darkness was thinning a little way ahead, and so they did not light another match, but hastened onward toward a glimmer of light in the distance. As they drew nearer they saw that it was the end of the tunnel and led out into the open air.

Jack and Molly moved cautiously when they came to the end. They crept out, and found themselves in the middle of a thick tangle of bushes. Through the bushes they struggled and forced a way until they at length came out on to a narrow footpath which threaded its way in and out of a host of bushes and trees. They began to run as soon as they were on the footpath, though they did not know where they were or where it would lead them: but they ran, and continued to run, until they reached a wider path, and saw that they were on a big open heath. They paused to regain their breath and take their bearings.

It was night-time, but the moon which sailed overhead in a clear sky made everything almost as light as day. They were certainly on a heath of some sort.