AMORY ELLINGTON IS IN a dark Mole hole.
All around him, the kingdom of the Mysterious Mole People stretches away, a million miles of tunnels that go everywhere in the world: through the ancient tombs of Egypt, to the diamond mines of South Africa, past the buried warriors of China, into the ice caverns of Antarctica.
Amory needs to escape if he expects to continue his investigation of the complicated and confusing Mole civilization. Also, he needs to set himself straight with the Mole People themselves, who have so mistakenly taken him prisoner. So far, they’ve been too frightened to come close enough to even TRY to communicate with him.
The Mysterious Mole People aren’t really that hard to figure out, of course. They’re good creatures who were driven underground by the evil practices of human beings in the world above. Amory believes he could be friends with them if they’d give him a chance. There are a lot of things he doesn’t agree with in the human world, too—for instance, how people don’t respect other people who are young, or poor, or who can’t stand up and fight for themselves.
If only Amory could talk to the Mysterious Mole People. If only he could talk to anyone! He misses Alphonse desperately. The old turtle has been gone for days. Who knows where or what is happening to him.
A terrible sinking feeling comes into Amory’s heart. He believes he is lost and defeated. He believes he is forgotten and unloved.
ABANDONED.
Suddenly: A match strikes in the dark.
A flame flares up.
A voice whispers, “Sh-sh! Don’t make a sound. I’ve come to rescue you.”
“Who are you?” Amory asks. By the light of the match, he sees a girl with really short hair.
“Come on,” she whispers. “My name is Raven and I know a way out.”
Amory is suspicious.
“Who says I can trust you?” he whispers back. “How do I know you won’t get me in deeper trouble than I already am?”
Raven laughs. “You can trust me,” she says. “Look, I’m in the same fix as you. I’ve been down here investigating the Mysterious Mole People for a year. It’s hard working alone. We could join forces. What’s your name?”
“Amory Ellington.”
“Well, come on, Amory. Our first job is to get you out of here.”
“But how did you get in? I’ve been over this whole Mole hole. There’s not a crack or a loose stone anywhere.”
Raven points upward and Amory sees a slim rope, knotted at intervals, hanging down almost invisibly into the room. It’s attached to something high above, out of sight, in the dark. As he watches, Raven begins to climb it.
“I’ll go up first,” she says. “When I get there, I’ll call back to you. Then it’s your turn.”