“What do you see?” Louise called softly from above. “Anything?”
Reminded of the work before her, Penny clung with one hand to the swaying ladder, while with the other she directed the flashlight beam about the circular walls. The sides were cracked in many places and covered with a slimy green moss.
“What do you see, Penny?” Louise called again. “Are any of the bricks loose?”
“Not that I can discover,” Penny answered, and her voice echoed weirdly. Intrigued by the sound she tried an experimental yodel. “Why, it’s just like a cave scene on the radio!”
“In case you’ve forgotten, you’re in a well,” Louise said severely. “Furthermore, if you don’t work fast, Mrs. Marborough will come out here!”
“I have to have a little relaxation,” Penny grumbled.
Descending deeper into the well, she resumed her task of examining the walls. There were no loose bricks, nothing to indicate that anything ever had been hidden in the cavern. Reaching the last rung without realizing it, she stepped not into space, but water.
Surprisingly her foot struck a solid foundation.
Hastily pulling herself back on the ladder, Penny shouted the information to her chum.
“Lou, the water isn’t more than a foot and a half deep! There’s an old boot or something of the sort floating around. You don’t catch me drinking any more of this water. No sir!”