Part 14 (2/2)
When he felt the inrush of air on his hands, which were then above his head, Jack reached forward He encountered no wall at all But, about a foot above his head, instead, his fingers encountered the edge of an opening in the end wall and under the roof tree Tree fro was more than two feet across
Not a word had been said,down, and in a voice barely audible, Jack whispered to the anxious group at his feet:
”Fellows, there's an opening up here under the roof tree I can't tell yet what it is, but if you hand ht I'll have a look at it”
Frank passed the little electric torch upward, flashi+ng it once to aid Jack in locating it in the darkness Again Jack straightened up carefully Holding the flat little flashlight between his teeth, he gripped the edge of the opening and chinned hi on with one hand, with the other he lance was sufficient It revealed a tunnel-like passage under the roof tree This passage was triangular in shape, with the bea, unplastered sides of the roof and a flat, solid floor It extended soht did not reveal any wall across it The floor was solidly planked, probably a yard wide, instead of two feet-plus of Jack's original estiht from floor to roof tree was all of two and a half feet
Laying down the flashlight, Jack drew hi cautiously forward in the darkness, not daring to throw the light ahead of hi his presence, he crawled on hands and knees The draught of air through the passageas strong, and he had not proceeded far before he saw ahead faint bars across the passage, not of light but of lesser darkness
He decided there was soine what it ht be When he came up to it, however, the solution was simple Immediately under the peak of the roof tree, in a side wall, was an opening in which was set a slatted shutter This ad in
And in a flash, Jack realized to what ingenious lengths the original owner of the house had gone in order to provide for his prisoner a cell that would be virtually soundproof, yet have a supply of fresh air So high, too, was the opening of the passage in the cell that one person could not reach it unaided
Jubilant at his discovery and with a plan for putting it to use as a means of escape, Jack, unable to turn about in the narrow passage, worked his way backward until the projection of his feet into emptiness warned him he had reached the room Then he let himself down and, when once more with his companions, explained the nature of his discovery
”We can lift that shutter out,” he added, ”and swing upward to the roof tree There is a cupola, an old-fashi+oned cupola, on this house, as I remember it Once we are on the roof, we can work our way to that cupola and probably find a trapdoor leading down into the house If we decide that is too dangerous, we utters Anyhow, once we are in the outer air and on the roof, we'll be in a better position than here Coo up first, and then help Captain Folsohtest, he ought to come last The last man will have to be pulled up with our belts, as he will have nobody to stand on”
CHAPTER XIII
THE TABLES TURNED
Negotiation of the entrance of all into the passageasuntil next to last and then, with a nuain the opening
Meanwhile Jack, as in the lead, found on closer investigation that the slatted shutter obscuring the air port was on hinges and caught with a rusted latch To open the latch and unhinge the shutter and then, by turning it sideways, pull it back into the passageway and place it noiselessly on the floor, was a co to Captain Folso that all should stay in the passagehile he investigated the situation outside, Jack squirood clutch on the shi+ngled edge of the rooftree and gradually drew his body out and over the edge of the roof When, finally, he lay extended on the roof, clutching the saddle for support, he was of the opinion that Captain Folsootiate the exit in siles to see whether they could be torn up sufficiently to adh
The hts in any s No sounds of any huables that prevented Jack froe of the roof, he called in a low voice to Captain Folsom who looked up from the littleJack told hi to try to rip off a nules
”But the crosspieces to which the shi+ngles are nailed are close together,” Captain Folso through And, while they are light andso and ive the alarm”
Jack considered a moment
”That's true,” he replied ”But, if I break off the shi+ngles around the peak of the roof, here at the very end, you will have a better chance to climb out, then, because you will have the exposed crosspieces to cling to”
Working rapidly, Jack les over a space of several square feet, in short order By the exercise of extre other than very slight noise
”Now,” he said, speaking through the bars made by the crosspieces, ”come ahead, Captain Put your head backward out of the , and place your hand just where I tell you I shall hook my feet under these crosspieces to brace myself That will leave both hands free to aid you”
Captain Folso his support, he ain the roof Then Bob, Tom Barnum and Frank followed in quick succession To make roo the rooftree, which was not the main rooftree of the house, they had discovered, but that of one of the side gables, hich, as Jack phrased it, ”the house was all cluttered up”
This particular rooftree was blocked ahead by the cupola, to which Jack earlier had referred It was a square, truncated toith a breast-high wooden balustrade around it Jack climbed up this balustrade, and Captain Folso him a hand in front, followed
Then, while the others were cla up, Jack cast a quick look around frorove cut off any view of the beach But he was enabled to see the grill-like towers of the radio station some distance to the left of the house With satisfaction, he noted not a light was shown, and apparently the place was deserted
Still not a sound of human activity of any sort reached him, and Jack was puzzled Had their captors departed, and left thenable cell, to die? He could not believe it No, surely they were not to be killed Either the house was to be abandoned by the slers, and their friends and faglers intended to return for them presently