At least it’s cooler down here!
In the dim light at the bottom of the steps Ben could see the huge granite blocks that formed the outer foundation of the building. Everywhere else, it was dark. They had come down nine steps to the basement floor, and the glow filtering from the small window in the door didn’t reach very far into the blackness.
Ben clicked his LED headlamp on to low power, and it threw out a narrow shaft of white light. As he looked around, the beam jumped from one unfamiliar object to another. Jill and Robert also turned their lights on, and the beams began poking about randomly. He felt like the area was mostly open, but he wasn’t able to get much sense of the whole space.
“Hey, guys,” he called in a loud whisper, “let’s stay together and try to map things out a little. We’ve got to get our bearings. Hey—listen!”
The school’s bell was ringing above them—four clangs, which meant the last bus was leaving. It reminded Ben of a channel bell buoy on a foggy day, muffled and distant. He heard footsteps above them too, on the hallway floor. But again, the sounds seemed faint and far away.
In the quietness, they all heard something else, off in the darkness—little rustlings and scurryings.
“Rats!” squeaked Jill. “Why do we always have to hang out with the rats!”
Ben had to smile. It took a lot to get Jill flustered, and he sort of enjoyed it.
He said, “The ancestors of those rats might have sailed here from England with Captain Oakes’s ancestors. They’ve got just as much right to be here as we do.”
Robert said, “How fascinating. And don’t forget that rat rhymes with Pratt.”
Another wisecrack, but Ben ignored Gerritt and pulled out a pencil and the clipboard he’d used during social studies. “We know the janitor’s room is on the south side of the school, so if I stand here with the doorway on my right, it means I’m facing east—toward the ocean.”
On a blank piece of paper he drew a large rectangle, and then marked a directional letter on each side—E, N, W, S.
“Okay,” he said, “so let’s walk to the east wall and work our way around to the left from there. Tom said he thought the entrance to the sub-basement was near the boilers—but I don’t really know what we’re looking for.”
Ben stood still, drawing evenly spaced little squares to indicate the placement of the massive wooden posts that supported the building above them.
“C’mon, move it, Pratt,” said Robert. “You don’t have to create a masterpiece.”
“Yeah, I know,” Ben said, but he stayed hunched over his clipboard.