“Ah!” the girl exclaimed in an audible whisper.
“Ah—ah—ah,” came echoing back.
“Like some terrible cellar!” she whispered. “Let’s—let’s go back.”
Futile suggestion. This unusual door had locked itself automatically both within and without.
“We will go to the light,” Curlie said. “This way. We’ll find our way out.”
Straight toward the staring red eye they marched. Twice they bumped into stone pillars and were obliged to detour. But at last they reached the spot directly beneath the light.
“A door!” the boy exclaimed tensely.
“And not locked!” Grace Palmer had tried it.
The door opened and they passed beyond. Once more darkness confronted them, darkness and a stairway.
Up the stairway they went on hands and knees.