The last room was the most surprising of all. Dr. Kenton opened a heavy door, and Ted, standing in front of it, gasped as a blast of frigid air hit him. He saw his father grinning. “That gives you an idea of how cold the ground is,” Dr. Kenton said. “This is a natural deepfreeze. It never varies more than a few degrees all year ’round.”
His shivering companions took a moment to look inside. Ted saw a room as large as the upstairs living room. It was empty.
“When they bring our food, this place will be a third full,” Dr. Kenton said.
“Do you mean to say I have to come downstairs and go into that cold place every time I want a stick of butter?” Mrs. Kenton asked unhappily.
Dr. Kenton merely grinned at her. He led them back upstairs and into the kitchen. He opened one of several doors built right into the wall. Frigid air seeped out of the compartment just as it had downstairs.
“This is our regular refrigerator,” Dr. Kenton said. “It connects by pipe to the basement freezer.”
“I’m glad to know that,” Mrs. Kenton returned, with a smile of relief. “I thought I’d have to trot myself to death going up and down those basement steps.”
Ted thought what fun it was going to be living in their very own home on this distant planet. Wouldn’t he have exciting things to tell the kids back on Earth when he returned?
