“I, Eric Stone, have found and discovered a most strange thing. But for fear of the ancient curse which brings dreadful mishap I have not told any person. I will write it here for him to read, who doth find this book. I have found the Secret Room. It is on the oak gallery, in the left wing of the Castle. The manner of the hiding of the spring is this. The oak panel is carved and ornamented with roses. The twenty-seventh rose from the end of the passage contains a hidden spring. If the rose be pushed upwards it will slide up, and also four inches of the panel. Below this lies a picture, engraven upon steel, of a horse’s head. If his right eye be pressed the spring will be released, and a panel of the wall will slide away. The room is empty.”
Donald’s heart beat fast as he read this message, come down to him through the ages from another boy. So he had the clue to the secret! He determined to lose no time in making the mysterious discovery, and ran quickly up the stairs.
Pushing open a heavy baize door, he found himself in the deserted left wing of the castle. The long corridors were bare and uncarpeted. Mounting a creaking staircase, he found himself in the Oak Gallery. He felt terribly alone and just a wee bit frightened; but, repeating the Second Cub Law to himself, he ran to the end of the passage. He was breathless with excitement. “One—two—three—four—five—” he counted the carved roses, “25—26—27—” Here he paused and, following the instructions on the paper, shoved the rose upwards. It moved away easily, and, sure enough, revealed a metal plate engraved with a horse’s head! With a trembling finger Donald pressed the great round eye of the horse. Instantly a wide piece of the oak panel slipped away, and, looking through the opening, Donald saw before him a dim-lit room. He was half afraid, but remembering he was a Cub he braced himself and entered.
He found himself in a long and very narrow room. But it was not empty as it had been when, three hundred years ago, another little boy had stood in that same doorway and looked in. From floor to ceiling the room was piled high with petrol cans, small tanks, and barrels. In one corner of the room a small door stood open.
Thoughts whirled through Donald’s brain. He had come on more than an old, dead secret, here! Peering down through the little door into the darkness he could just make out a flight of steps leading down in the form of a spiral staircase, in the thickness of the wall.
III
“A PRIVATE CONVERSATION”
That little, low door; the dusty steps leading down into the unknown darkness; the strange, musty smell—all this was too much for Donald. If only Eric his Sixer were there, he would not be afraid. But alone!—no, he dared not venture down. Turning round, he let himself out of the secret room, and carefully closed the panel. Standing on the bare, deserted landing, he looked about him. Was he dreaming? Had he somehow walked into a fairy tale? The oak-panelled wall showed no signs, now, of the secret lying behind it. Suddenly Donald felt a great longing to see the other Cubs. Turning round, he ran as fast as he could along the passages, and down the stairs. Once through the green baize door that separated the left wing from the rest of the castle all was familiar and reassuring. His footsteps no longer echoed as he ran; in fact, you could not hear them as he stepped on the thick, soft carpet. It was warm, here, and he could hear the friendly crackle of the great log fire down in the hall. And then—welcome sound!—the front door opened and the Cubs came in, talking cheerfully of their game out on the hills. Tea in the old dining-room was a noisy meal: but Donald did not join in the noise. He was thinking of the extraordinary thing he had discovered.
As soon as tea was over he called his Sixer aside.
“I say,” he whispered, “I want to speak to you privately—very privately.”
“Right-o!” said Eric, “come on—we’ll go into the library, no one will hear us there.”