[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Hey, you guys, look at this. He stepped hesitantly forward
and the others followed him into a small round or to be precise,
a decagonal room. Sàere was a cot against the opposite wall,
piled with blankets and a cowboy sleeping bag. Under the cot was
a row of shoes. Billy wasn t sure, but it didn t look like there were
any actual pairs, as no two shoes looked the same.
Next to the cot was a small end table bearing stacks of yel-
low-spined magazines. Sàey were copies of National Geographic,
which his Dad subscribed to. He kept boxes full of them in the
basement. He couldn t seem to throw them away, but he never
looked at them again after he d read them.
Against another wall stood a large cedar chest. Its lid was open,
and piles of clothes were spilled out and scattered on the floor
around it. More clothes hung from hooks on the wall above it.
Other walls displayed what appeared to be blueprints or plans
for furniture. Some were in frames, others were merely pinned to the
wood with thumbtacks, their yellowed edges curled and ripped.
And one entire wall was filled with rows upon rows of little hooks
from which dangled keys of every shape and size. Instinctively,
Billy s hand went to his pocket where he felt the skeleton key still
safely tucked away. It was one of the few things left from their house.
A dining table was scattered with miscellaneous plates, cups,
and silverware, and in the midst of the dishes was a chess set. Be-
hind the table was a set of shelves containing boxes of cereal,
canned meat, and other imperishables.
Sàat was one of Mom s favorite words imperishables. Sàose
were foods that didn t need to be kept in the refrigerator. She used
192
Escape from Zobadak
to take frequent mini-shopping trips to buy perishables, like milk
and eggs. But when she shopped big, she d call out something
like, Henry, I m going for the imperishables! I ll be back in a cou-
ple of hours!
Mom would have never approved of this little room. In gen-
eral it was a filthy, disorganized mess. Sàe garbage can was over-
flowing. A plunger stood next to the dining table. Various tools
and other odds and ends were scattered everywhere.
Sàis must be Krandall s room, guessed Sophie.
It smells like old cheese, Maggie observed. Or dirty gym
socks. Or socks full of old cheese.
Sàat s gross, said Chris, who was then forced to admit, but
you re right. It kind of does smell like that.
Billy approached one of the large sheets of paper hanging on
the wall. At first, he thought it was a plan for some kind of strange,
complicated desk. He saw legs and drawers and little numbers
with arrows all over the place. But there seemed to be too many
extra lines running back and forth, up and down across the paper.
Moving closer, he saw a circular shape that looked very familiar.
Hey, he said, mostly to himself, this isn t a furniture plan.
I think this is a map.
A what? said Sophie, coming over to stand next to him.
A map. Look at this. I think we re right here in this room.
See? And the steps go down here to this bigger circle. Sàe round
hallway.
Hey I think you re right, said Sophie, tilting her head.
Chris and Maggie joined them.
And look, Billy continued, tracing a set of lines down the
map with his index finger, here s the other stairway going down
to the Main Hall.
Boy, that Main Hall doesn t look like much of a main hall,
said Chris.
193
Brad Gallagher
Yeah, you re right. Billy scanned the map with dismay. He
saw the area they had explored so far and it was only one small
corner of the map.
Sàis place must be huge, said Sophie. How are we going
to find anything in here?
And this is only one map, added Maggie. She sniffled and
wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Look there must be
ten more maps in here.
Sàe others were similar. At a glance, they could have been
mistaken for furniture blueprints. One looked almost like a
dresser. Another looked like a tall china cabinet or something.
Billy wondered if they were purposely disguised to look that way
so that no one would suspect they were maps. Sàere were even
little notes handwritten on them, indicating what type of joinery
to use, or the direction of grain.
AaaCHHOOO! sneezed Maggie. Ugh. Allergies.
Billy, this is too much. Sophie said. What are we going to
do? We don t even know how these maps connect to each other
or anything. It could take a year to search this whole place.
I don t know. Let me think.
It s not in here!
What? What s not in here? Billy turned to Sophie, confused.
I didn t say that, Sophie replied, wide-eyed.
No, it s not!
Sàey both turned to Maggie, who looked back at them and
shrugged.
I didn t say anything.
Shut up! I m not talking to you!
It was definitely a young girl s voice sounding muffled but
close by. Sàe voice had an English accent. Sàe four of them
looked around the room for any clue as to where the voice was
coming from.
194
Escape from Zobadak
I thought you said you put it back in here!
On the wall near the foot of the cot was a cupboard door. It
was close to the floor and Billy hadn t noticed it until now. Sàe
voice seemed to be coming from behind that door.
Billy held a finger to his lips and mouthed, Be quiet.
He approached the cupboard door and cautiously opened it
a scant inch. Peeking through, he saw a hallway beyond. But there
was no sign of another person.
Well, it s not! shouted the girl s voice.
Billy opened the cupboard door all the way and poked his
head through, looking right and left. Sàe hallway went in both
directions, but the voice came from the right. Looking back, he
said, Come on, you guys. Let s check it out. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
Hey, you guys, look at this. He stepped hesitantly forward
and the others followed him into a small round or to be precise,
a decagonal room. Sàere was a cot against the opposite wall,
piled with blankets and a cowboy sleeping bag. Under the cot was
a row of shoes. Billy wasn t sure, but it didn t look like there were
any actual pairs, as no two shoes looked the same.
Next to the cot was a small end table bearing stacks of yel-
low-spined magazines. Sàey were copies of National Geographic,
which his Dad subscribed to. He kept boxes full of them in the
basement. He couldn t seem to throw them away, but he never
looked at them again after he d read them.
Against another wall stood a large cedar chest. Its lid was open,
and piles of clothes were spilled out and scattered on the floor
around it. More clothes hung from hooks on the wall above it.
Other walls displayed what appeared to be blueprints or plans
for furniture. Some were in frames, others were merely pinned to the
wood with thumbtacks, their yellowed edges curled and ripped.
And one entire wall was filled with rows upon rows of little hooks
from which dangled keys of every shape and size. Instinctively,
Billy s hand went to his pocket where he felt the skeleton key still
safely tucked away. It was one of the few things left from their house.
A dining table was scattered with miscellaneous plates, cups,
and silverware, and in the midst of the dishes was a chess set. Be-
hind the table was a set of shelves containing boxes of cereal,
canned meat, and other imperishables.
Sàat was one of Mom s favorite words imperishables. Sàose
were foods that didn t need to be kept in the refrigerator. She used
192
Escape from Zobadak
to take frequent mini-shopping trips to buy perishables, like milk
and eggs. But when she shopped big, she d call out something
like, Henry, I m going for the imperishables! I ll be back in a cou-
ple of hours!
Mom would have never approved of this little room. In gen-
eral it was a filthy, disorganized mess. Sàe garbage can was over-
flowing. A plunger stood next to the dining table. Various tools
and other odds and ends were scattered everywhere.
Sàis must be Krandall s room, guessed Sophie.
It smells like old cheese, Maggie observed. Or dirty gym
socks. Or socks full of old cheese.
Sàat s gross, said Chris, who was then forced to admit, but
you re right. It kind of does smell like that.
Billy approached one of the large sheets of paper hanging on
the wall. At first, he thought it was a plan for some kind of strange,
complicated desk. He saw legs and drawers and little numbers
with arrows all over the place. But there seemed to be too many
extra lines running back and forth, up and down across the paper.
Moving closer, he saw a circular shape that looked very familiar.
Hey, he said, mostly to himself, this isn t a furniture plan.
I think this is a map.
A what? said Sophie, coming over to stand next to him.
A map. Look at this. I think we re right here in this room.
See? And the steps go down here to this bigger circle. Sàe round
hallway.
Hey I think you re right, said Sophie, tilting her head.
Chris and Maggie joined them.
And look, Billy continued, tracing a set of lines down the
map with his index finger, here s the other stairway going down
to the Main Hall.
Boy, that Main Hall doesn t look like much of a main hall,
said Chris.
193
Brad Gallagher
Yeah, you re right. Billy scanned the map with dismay. He
saw the area they had explored so far and it was only one small
corner of the map.
Sàis place must be huge, said Sophie. How are we going
to find anything in here?
And this is only one map, added Maggie. She sniffled and
wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Look there must be
ten more maps in here.
Sàe others were similar. At a glance, they could have been
mistaken for furniture blueprints. One looked almost like a
dresser. Another looked like a tall china cabinet or something.
Billy wondered if they were purposely disguised to look that way
so that no one would suspect they were maps. Sàere were even
little notes handwritten on them, indicating what type of joinery
to use, or the direction of grain.
AaaCHHOOO! sneezed Maggie. Ugh. Allergies.
Billy, this is too much. Sophie said. What are we going to
do? We don t even know how these maps connect to each other
or anything. It could take a year to search this whole place.
I don t know. Let me think.
It s not in here!
What? What s not in here? Billy turned to Sophie, confused.
I didn t say that, Sophie replied, wide-eyed.
No, it s not!
Sàey both turned to Maggie, who looked back at them and
shrugged.
I didn t say anything.
Shut up! I m not talking to you!
It was definitely a young girl s voice sounding muffled but
close by. Sàe voice had an English accent. Sàe four of them
looked around the room for any clue as to where the voice was
coming from.
194
Escape from Zobadak
I thought you said you put it back in here!
On the wall near the foot of the cot was a cupboard door. It
was close to the floor and Billy hadn t noticed it until now. Sàe
voice seemed to be coming from behind that door.
Billy held a finger to his lips and mouthed, Be quiet.
He approached the cupboard door and cautiously opened it
a scant inch. Peeking through, he saw a hallway beyond. But there
was no sign of another person.
Well, it s not! shouted the girl s voice.
Billy opened the cupboard door all the way and poked his
head through, looking right and left. Sàe hallway went in both
directions, but the voice came from the right. Looking back, he
said, Come on, you guys. Let s check it out. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]