The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer Page B

Matt felt around until he found a light switch.
    It was a disappointing place. Sheet music was stacked against the walls. A heap of folding chairs filled up one corner. And it was so covered with dust and spiderwebs that Matt sneezed again. He rolled up a sheet of music and began sweeping off the inner wall, more for something to do than from any real curiosity.
    On the inner wall, under a knot of webs that would have made Dracula happy, Matt found another light switch. He flipped it on.
    He recoiled against a heap of music when part of the wall slid open and threw up a cloud of dust that made him choke. He reached for the asthma inhaler Celia insisted he carry at all times. When the dust had settled, Matt saw a narrow, dark hallway.
    He peered around the corner. An empty passage stretched both to the left and to the right. By now Felicia had stopped playing the piano. Matt held very still, listening for the clink of ice in glass. After a while he heard the maids carry Felicia away.
    Matt flipped the switch once more and saw, to his great relief, that the wall closed up again. He slipped out of the closet, leaving dusty footprints across the carpet, and was scolded by Celia when she saw the state of his clothes and hair.
    This was even better than an episode of El Látigo Negro, Matt thought, hugging the secret to himself. This was a place that belonged to him alone. Not even Tam Lin could find him if he wanted to hide.
    Slowly and carefully over the next few weeks, Matt explored his new domain. It seemed to snake between the inner and outer walls of the house. He found peepholes in the wall but saw only empty rooms with chairs and tables beyond. Once he saw a servant dusting furniture.
    A few of the peepholes looked into dark closets like the one in the music room. Matt didn’t understand until one day, while feeling his way along the passage, his hand struck against another switch.
    He flicked it on.
    A panel slid open just like the one in the music room. Matt’s heart beat wildly. He could walk right into the closet! It was full of musty clothes and old shoes, but if he pushed them aside, he could get to the door on the other side. He heard voices. The doctor and Mr. Alacrán were pleading with a third person whose replies were muffled. The doctor spoke harshly, bringing bad memories back to Matt. “Do it!” Willum snarled. “You know you have to do it!”
    “Please, Father,” said Mr. Alacrán, gentler than Matt had ever heard him be.
    “No, no, no,” moaned Mr. Alacrán’s father.
    “You’ll die without chemotherapy,” his son begged.
    “God wants me to come.”
    “But I want you here,” Mr. Alacrán pleaded.
    “This is a place of shadows and evil!” The old man was clearly becoming irrational.
    “At least get a new liver,” Willum said in his harsh voice.
    “Leave me alone,” wailed the old man.
    Matt retreated to the passageway and closed the opening. He didn’t understand what the men were arguing about, but he knew what would happen if someone caught him listening. He’d be locked up. He might even be given back to Rosa.
    Matt made his way to the music room, and for a long time he didn’t venture into the secret passage. He did, however, keep listening to Felicia’s music. It was something that had gotten inside him, and no matter how dangerous it was, he couldn’t go long without hearing it.
    One afternoon Matt was alarmed to see the doctor arrive with Felicias drink instead of a servant. “Oh, Willum,” she moaned as he mixed in the ice. “He doesn’t talk to me anymore. He looks right through me as though I weren’t there.”
    “It’s all right,” soothed the doctor. “I’m here. I’ll take care of you.” He opened his black bag and took out a syringe. Matt held his breath. The doctor had given him a shot when he was sick and he’d hated it! Matt watched, fascinated, as Felicia’s arm was swabbed and the needle jammed in. Why didn’t she cry out? Couldn’t she feel