The other two nodded in agreement.
“If you look at the face of these boards, you can see they’re worn, and the nail heads are shiny.” He pointed to some of the nails. “Normally they would be rusty or dull, unless they came in contact with something - like being opened against a wall, but there isn’t enough room on either side to open it fully.”
The act of speaking it out loud had an instant effect on Adam. He realized how the door would move, but still didn’t know how it was latched.
Jimmy spoke. “If I had a secret society and a secret room with a secret door, I wouldn’t just want to have a handle hidden somewhere to open that door. I’d want a key to give to the members, wouldn’t you?”
Adam thought about it for a moment. “Do you think this pin is a key?” He pulled the pin from his pocket and held between his fingers.
“Sure, why not. Try and stick it in the one on the wall. What’s there to lose?” said Jimmy.
"Stand back,” said Adam as he walked to the side of the panel. He placed the pin in the depression and immediately heard a click. The door fell open like a drawbridge, but not fast enough that you would get hurt by being in the wrong place. Adam noticed a pair of large springs in the lower corners of the opening that took the weight off the door. They were fastened to the large lower bolts. The upper door bolts were fastened to cables that ran through pulleys at the top of the door frame and disappeared into the wall.
Jimmy’s jaw dropped, and his eyes were wide in amazement. Kevin was smiling and looking at Adam.
“George is looking less crazy by the minute,” he said.
Adam laughed. “At least you didn’t scream when the door opened!” he said, referring to the incident earlier that day.
Kevin shook his fist at Adam with mock anger.
“Well, now we know why the top of the door is smooth here,” said Adam pointing to the top, “You grab it here to close it when you leave, I assume.” He demonstrated in the air.
“I know you like knowing how it works, but we don’t really care. We see a secret room that’s just been opened. Much more interesting, don’t you think?” Jimmy elbowed Kevin as he spoke.
“Ok ok…but I’ll go in first. We don’t want something to scare Kevin.” Adam grinned as he spoke.
Kevin shook his fist at Adam again, smiling.
Adam stepped onto the door and stopped just before the opening. He pointed the flashlight at the latch on the top of the door frame, then followed a cable from it to a hole in the wall. The hole opened up behind the symbol in the cement and inside looked like a ball of steel at the end of a lever.
The pin must be a magnet! thought Adam. He couldn’t wait to test it on something.
“…remember…secret room behind secret door…” Kevin tapped Adam on the shoulder to get him to keep moving.
Adam pointed the flashlight into the room. It was long and narrow, just like the storage room that led up to the drawbridge door, but lacking the Christmas decorations. It smelled like damp paper, and was cold. The walls and ceiling seemed to be carved out of rock. Filing cabinets lined the left wall, and a strange door was carved into the rock wall at the far end.
“Do we look through the files or check out the door?” asked Adam
“Let’s think. We could read a bunch of boring old paperwork, OR we could check out another secret door that happens to be in a secret room. Hmm, so difficult to choose,” said Jimmy, full of sarcasm.
Adam shook his head while Kevin laughed.
Adam walked to the end of the room and shone the light on the door. It was made of metal, had a big handle, and seemed larger than the opening it sat in. He shone the flashlight around the frame and stopped on another bowtie symbol. It was in the wall on the right side of the door. He pulled the pin from his pocket and maneuvered it into position. The sound of mechanisms moving came from the wall. With his other hand he slid the door into the door frame.
“Cool, retro Star Trek door!” said Kevin.
The door slid easily on its track, even though it was very heavy. Adam shone his light down and saw a row of large ball-bearings. They looked as if they had just been greased. The door itself was thick and heavy, but slid easily on the track. The tunnel on the other side looked as if it had been carved out of rock, the same way the file room was carved, although it was only wide enough for two people.
Adam stepped through the doorway and shone the flashlight back toward the door frame. As he suspected, there was another bowtie symbol next to the door on the other side.
Although he wanted to inspect the mechanism, he knew his friends wouldn’t let him stop. He shone his light straight ahead and walked toward what looked like a dead end. When he reached it, he found that it was just a visual trick and the tunnel turned sharply right.
A loud bang from behind startled them all. Adam shone the light back at the sliding door and saw that it had slammed shut behind them.
“I sure hope we aren’t locked in here!” said Kevin. “I really should have used the bathroom too.”
Adam had a nervous chuckle. “Let’s just check ahead a little further and then we’ll go back. Maybe there’s more storage here, or it’ll come out at the Fire Hall.”
Adam led the way down the tunnel. It curved slightly so that in the distance you couldn’t tell if it continued on or ended. After a short walk, Adam stopped when he came to an intersection. The tunnels now led forward, right and left.
“What do we do?” asked Kevin.
“I say we keep going straight,” said Adam.
“Sounds good,” said Jimmy. “Lead on.”
Adam continued through the intersection. The tunnel switched and now curved the opposite way, but they still couldn’t tell if it continued or ended ahead.
A short time later an open area appeared in front of them. When they reached the clearing, they stopped and looked around. Eight tunnels branched off from the clearing including the one they had just exited.
“Jimmy, stay there so we know which tunnel we came from,” said Adam. Jimmy nodded and stayed just inside the tunnel.
Adam shone his flashlight into each of the tunnels, noticing something strange. Each seemed to have the same curve to the right, giving the illusion that they ended in a short distance. There didn’t seem to be any differences between them, so whoever was using them had better know where they led or have had a map to guide them.
Adam looked at the others. “I think this is where we stop for now. I don’t want to get lost.”
“Agreed,” said Jimmy. “Besides, we need to start making our way back home.”
Jimmy led them back the way they came. When they reached the sliding door leading back to the file room, Adam placed the pin in position. He listened to the mechanism working and tried to slide the door. It wouldn’t move. He looked at the other two, concerned, and tried once more. It still didn’t move.
“You just hold that pin in there and let me open the door,” said Kevin, being the strongest of the three.
Adam placed the pin in position and heard the mechanism. Kevin pulled with all his strength. It didn’t even budge.
The boys looked at each other and thought the same thing - We’re trapped!
CHAPTER SEVEN
"That sucks," said Jimmy. "We've gotta get out of here, lock up Town Hall, and get the keys back to my place before my parents get home."
"We won't be going through that door to get out. I pulled as hard as I can and it didn't even budge,” said Kevin
Adam was thinking. He pulled the pin out of the impression and put it back in again. He heard the distinct sound of mechanisms working, but not quite the same as when it was activated on the other side of the door.
"Something isn't the same when I try it from this side. It sounds different. That’s strange because the track looks well-maintained. I would think that whoever does the maintenance would have fixed that problem."
"Regardless," replied Jimmy, "we need to get out of here somehow, so we’ll have to fo
llow the tunnels. There has to be another exit somewhere.”
“Jeff said that they had the same door in the Fire Hall. Maybe we could go that direction?" asked Kevin.
"Good thought, but even if we could get into the Fire Hall we don’t know the code for the alarm," said Adam.
"Well, I say we go right," suggested Jimmy, "unless one of you has breadcrumbs or a really long string."
"Why right?" asked Kevin.
"Ok, then left. I don't care, as long as we can make it back here somehow. If we always go one way, we just do the reverse so we don’t get lost if we can’t find an exit."
Adam nodded. "If we get to any intersections where we can turn or go straight, I say we just go straight. It’ll be less confusing."
Kevin and Jimmy agreed.
"Lead on." Jimmy motioned for Adam to go first.
Adam led them to the opening where all the tunnels met. He pointed the flashlight down the first tunnel on the right and continued. The others stayed close behind.
After passing another intersection, Kevin spoke.
"These tunnels are bothering me."
"In what way?" asked Adam.
"Well, some of our farmland is around here. We pick stones that are baseball sized and larger and put them on piles. Once in a while, when the piles get too big, Dad hires Ron Nagy to dig a big hole and bury them with his excavator. He digs a hole that's 10 to 15 feet deep, and I've never seen him hit bedrock."
Adam and Jimmy weren't following Kevin's logic.
“We aren’t 10 feet underground, so these caves aren't in natural bedrock. They were built, not chiseled out of rock, is what I think. How do you make this rock,” he patted the wall, “in dirt and sand mixed with clay? Plus, you have to have it seal enough to keep the water out.”
Adam stopped and looked at Kevin. "That's pretty observant of you! I am honestly surprised by you right now."
Kevin wasn't sure if Adam was mocking him or paying a genuine compliment, so he replied indignantly, "I'm not as dumb as you think I am!"
"I'm not kidding. I think that's a great observation. These tunnels have been bothering me too, and I couldn't figure out why, but you figured it out faster than we did."
Kevin's expression changed to one of pride.
Adam continued, "Just look at this wall," he shone his flashlight to his right. "It's not like concrete, and it's not like solid rock either. I've never seen anything like it, have either of you?"
Jimmy and Kevin both shook their heads, indicating they hadn’t.
Jimmy looked at the other two and tapped his watch, reminding them that they needed to get moving.
The tunnel continued on its curve to the right for a while, switching to curving left for about the same distance. It curved back to the right once more before straightening out for a short stretch. In the straight section they reached a tunnel branching to the left, but they kept walking straight.
"How far do you think we've gone?" asked Jimmy.
"I haven't got a clue. It seems like 10 blocks, but might only be one," replied Adam, "this place makes it hard to judge."
Jimmy tripped and hit the ground with a hard slap. As he fell, he let out a loud scream that echoed through the tunnels. Adam whipped around and shone the flashlight at him.
"You ok man," asked Kevin.
"I'm ok, just tripped on my shoelace."
Adam felt strange, suddenly remembering the advice Aggie had given Jimmy near the Fire Hall earlier.
“I guess you should have listened to Aggie after all,” said Kevin. He obviously remembered Aggie’s advice as well, but it didn’t bother him the same way.
After helping Jimmy to his feet once his shoe was tied, Adam started down the tunnel at a faster pace. "Let's make some time. If anyone’s down here with us, they know we're here now."
After one more curve in each direction, the tunnel straightened out and they could see another sliding door in the distance. It seemed like it was a mile away, but only took them a minute to get there.
Adam shone the light at the door, then around the sides and bottom. It appeared the same as the other sliding door they had come through. Even the impression of the pin was in the same spot.
"I hope this works," said Adam, feeling in his pocket for the pin.
"I hope this door leads out and nowhere else," added Kevin.
They pondered the possibilities as Adam placed the pin. The sound of mechanisms moved in the wall for a second and then stopped.
"Here goes," said Adam, as he pulled sideways on the handle.
The door slid open easily. Cold air rushed past their feet.
Adam shone the flashlight down and saw that the rollers the door travelled on were freshly greased, just like the first door. As he shone the light through the doorway, it revealed a small room on the other side. The room was stacked with boxes, all about the same size and shape. They were beer boxes.
“The hotel!” exclaimed Jimmy. “This has to be the cooler for the bar!”
No sooner had he finished his sentence when they heard a loud bang echo in the tunnel behind them. It sounded the same as the sliding door slamming shut earlier, but much closer.
"Someone's coming! Go!" said Kevin, quiet, but with panic in his voice.
There wasn't a clear path to the main cooler door, but they climbed carefully and stepped quickly. Thankfully, the cooler wasn't locked from the outside, probably because it was Friday night and the hotel bar would be busy.
The three boys ran down a short hallway and sprinted up the stairs. The sight at the top stopped them immediately as they realized they had entered the bar. It was only luck that no one had noticed them.
Jimmy moved slowly toward the exit door. There were no people or tables in the way, so they walked as inconspicuously as possible. They were going to get out without being noticed.
"Hey, you're not allowed in here!" The voice of the hotel owner boomed as he stepped through the door connecting the bar to the hotel. All heads turned to look after hearing the outburst.
Lorne Argue was a large man with a large voice. Some of his size was from being overweight, but most of it was purely genetic. He rarely had trouble in his bar because his size intimidated even the bravest drunk patron.
Lorne stared at the boys, chasing them out the door with his eyes.
Jimmy spoke in a timid voice, "We...we were hoping to buy a couple of bags of Doritos. This is the only place open in town right now, and we were just walking past."
Jimmy's cover story sounded pretty reasonable, at least to Kevin and Adam. Lorne continued staring at them, making those few moments seem like hours to the three boys.
"You're all underage. You can not be in here, understand?" Lorne’s voice had dropped in volume, but was still powerful.
They shook their heads in agreement and walked toward the door. The only thing they wanted was to get out before whoever was chasing them in the tunnel caught them.
"So, what kind do you want?" asked Lorne.
They stumbled to a stop, surprised. "Uh, just nacho cheese?" Jimmy managed to say.
"How many bags?"
They fumbled through their pockets and found some money.
"Whatever this buys," said Jimmy, handing over a couple of bills and some coins, "and keep the change."
Every second they stood there felt like a minute. Lorne turned, then paused and turned back again.
"You go wait outside," he pointed to the side door, "I'll bring them out to you."
The three nodded and made their way out through the side door like speed walkers in a race, each one trying to get out first.
"Wow, that was too close for me," said Kevin once the door closed securely behind them.
"We're not safe yet. Whoever followed us might be in the bar looking for us right now," said Adam, his heart still pounding.
"They won't know it was us. They didn't see us. We were just walking past and went in to buy some Doritos, right?" Jimmy repeated the sentence slowly.
"Y
eah, and we're going back to Jimmy's after," Kevin replied. Adam nodded in agreement.
They waited in silence. When the door finally opened, it startled the boys. They had so much adrenaline in their veins that none of them would sleep well that night, if at all.
Lorne stepped out, holding 3 bags of Doritos.
"Next time, just call first and someone will meet you at the side door," he said. "That way I don't get in trouble if the police are here. I'm sure one of you has a phone, right?"
The boys nodded their heads.
Lorne paused and examined them. "So...did you happen to see anyone leaving here in a hurry? You did come in this door, right?"
"Nope, no one. Not since we came in and left again," replied Jimmy. Jimmy wasn't really lying, as they hadn't seen anyone leave.
Lorne watched them for another few moments. "Ok...now go." He waved them away, and they moved without hesitation.
They walked south toward the old Lumber Yard and stopped just past Ben Casey's.
“Let’s not do that again,” said Kevin.
“Yeah, that was too close,” said Adam.
Jimmy looked at his watch.
"10:47," he said in a quiet voice, "we need to keep moving. My parents will be home soon."
"I'm more worried that whoever was in the tunnels will be waiting at Town Hall," said Adam, with Kevin nodding in agreement, "but you'll just have to risk it."
Jimmy looked like he was going to reply, but realized they were right. Normally, that comment would have been a jab at Jimmy, but at that moment it was merely a fact - it was better if he went alone. It would be easier to talk his way out of trouble if it was only him and not the group.
"You two are so gonna owe me for this."
"No way. You suckered us into fixing your bike. This makes us square," said Kevin standing firm.
Jimmy muttered a quiet, "Yeah, I guess."
"If we run, we'll draw attention, so let's just walk fast," said Adam.
With that, they started off toward Town Hall.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Minutes later they neared Town Hall.
"You guys keep going and meet me by the Fire Hall," said Jimmy. "I'll give you a minute head start."
Town Secrets (The Book of Adam 1) Page 5