it. Alongside her, the rock was steamy with moisture, and it was twenty degrees colder here than it had been in the open air.
Nellie found that the wall was a long way off. Just before she got to it, she stopped abruptly and listened. She had a hunch she was listening for her life. Chills crept up and down her spine.
She heard, very faintly, a kind of heavy snuffling, shuffling sound, as if a blind giant with asthma were nearby! For some reason, the sound was perfectly horrible. It was a thing to haunt you.
She couldn’t see where it was coming from. It seemed to be sounding at her right. She went to the wall there: rough, irregular, solid rock.
It did seem as if the noise was slightly more audible close to this wall, as if whatever made it was just on the other side. But that might have been imagination.
Her fingers felt lonesomely at her belt for the little radio. It wasn’t there. She’d found out this dismal fact when she got out her flashlight, kept right next to the radio. There was no way to call for help.
She was at the end wall, now. It looked as solid as the others. But there had to be at least one way into this amazing cave. Otherwise, how could she have found herself here?
She began tapping at the wall. There wasn’t much of a cross-section at the end to cover.
In less than a minute, her fingertips hit something that wasn’t rock at all, though in the light of the flash it looked remarkably like it. Probably, though, in a real light, she’d have seen that it was not stone like the rest.
It was thick fabric of some kind. Probably canvas.
Nellie pushed this up and crawled through the resultant hole. Something touched her ankle, and she stopped and trained the flash downward. She bit down a yelp.
The something that had touched her ankle was a man’s rib! At least, Nellie assumed it might have been a man’s. It could have been part of the remains of a woman, too, for that matter. The central fact was that a skeleton lay on the floor and she had almost stepped on it.
It wasn’t as fearsome as it seemed at first, because it was a very old skeleton. It was yellowed and crumbling. The skull lay a few feet away, and there was a round hole in the back. Nellie had seen skulls like that before in museums. Ancient flintlocks, or other primitive muskets, with power enough to send a ball through bone but not clear through and out the other side like a modern slug, made holes like that.
She stepped over the skeleton, picked her way around debris from several more, and went toward a hairline crack of light in still another wall. She saw that it came from a kind of crude door of ancient oak, set into the rock. She looked through the crack.
There was some kind of lighted area in there, but that was all she ever had time to see.
Something made a slight noise behind her. She turned fast, and her flashlight played for just a second on a stalwart figure in a nursemaid’s white garb. The face seemed heavy for a feminine face, though, and the voice that came from it was a male voice.
“Never satisfied, huh? Better for you if you’d stayed tied up where you were.”
Ferocious as a little wild cat, Nellie started it. Her arm flashed out for the throat over the white fabric. The figure ducked and she half tore off the white cap, revealing yellow hair.
Somebody grabbed her shoulders from behind. Somebody from the lighted compartment beyond here.
Nellie put up a fight that had to be seen to be believed. She threw the rear attacker forward over her bent shoulder as if he’d been a sack of meal. He thudded on the floor. One or more of his buddies back of her crooked an arm around her neck and one around her waist.
Her hand shot up, found just the right place over a main nerve in the forearm and pressed hard. There was a howl of agony and the arm disappeared.
But the arm around her middle tightened and twisted, and she fell. At least two fell with her, and her head banged against the floor. She clutched out and
Nellie found that the wall was a long way off. Just before she got to it, she stopped abruptly and listened. She had a hunch she was listening for her life. Chills crept up and down her spine.
She heard, very faintly, a kind of heavy snuffling, shuffling sound, as if a blind giant with asthma were nearby! For some reason, the sound was perfectly horrible. It was a thing to haunt you.
She couldn’t see where it was coming from. It seemed to be sounding at her right. She went to the wall there: rough, irregular, solid rock.
It did seem as if the noise was slightly more audible close to this wall, as if whatever made it was just on the other side. But that might have been imagination.
Her fingers felt lonesomely at her belt for the little radio. It wasn’t there. She’d found out this dismal fact when she got out her flashlight, kept right next to the radio. There was no way to call for help.
She was at the end wall, now. It looked as solid as the others. But there had to be at least one way into this amazing cave. Otherwise, how could she have found herself here?
She began tapping at the wall. There wasn’t much of a cross-section at the end to cover.
In less than a minute, her fingertips hit something that wasn’t rock at all, though in the light of the flash it looked remarkably like it. Probably, though, in a real light, she’d have seen that it was not stone like the rest.
It was thick fabric of some kind. Probably canvas.
Nellie pushed this up and crawled through the resultant hole. Something touched her ankle, and she stopped and trained the flash downward. She bit down a yelp.
The something that had touched her ankle was a man’s rib! At least, Nellie assumed it might have been a man’s. It could have been part of the remains of a woman, too, for that matter. The central fact was that a skeleton lay on the floor and she had almost stepped on it.
It wasn’t as fearsome as it seemed at first, because it was a very old skeleton. It was yellowed and crumbling. The skull lay a few feet away, and there was a round hole in the back. Nellie had seen skulls like that before in museums. Ancient flintlocks, or other primitive muskets, with power enough to send a ball through bone but not clear through and out the other side like a modern slug, made holes like that.
She stepped over the skeleton, picked her way around debris from several more, and went toward a hairline crack of light in still another wall. She saw that it came from a kind of crude door of ancient oak, set into the rock. She looked through the crack.
There was some kind of lighted area in there, but that was all she ever had time to see.
Something made a slight noise behind her. She turned fast, and her flashlight played for just a second on a stalwart figure in a nursemaid’s white garb. The face seemed heavy for a feminine face, though, and the voice that came from it was a male voice.
“Never satisfied, huh? Better for you if you’d stayed tied up where you were.”
Ferocious as a little wild cat, Nellie started it. Her arm flashed out for the throat over the white fabric. The figure ducked and she half tore off the white cap, revealing yellow hair.
Somebody grabbed her shoulders from behind. Somebody from the lighted compartment beyond here.
Nellie put up a fight that had to be seen to be believed. She threw the rear attacker forward over her bent shoulder as if he’d been a sack of meal. He thudded on the floor. One or more of his buddies back of her crooked an arm around her neck and one around her waist.
Her hand shot up, found just the right place over a main nerve in the forearm and pressed hard. There was a howl of agony and the arm disappeared.
But the arm around her middle tightened and twisted, and she fell. At least two fell with her, and her head banged against the floor. She clutched out and
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