Read Online Mystery of the Ivory Charm by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online Page B

coughing before they reached the cooler interior of the underground passage.
    The woman went directly to a secret corridor that branched off the main passageway. Using her flashlight, she located a rectangular stone set high in the wall. Her hand moved deftly over it to touch a hidden spring.
    Nancy and her father heard a faint click. Then the woman tugged at the block and it slipped out of its place in the wall. In the cavity were several small boxes.
    “Your treasures seem to be safe where they are,” Mr. Drew commented. “I doubt that anyone would ever suspect there was such a clever hiding place.”
    “I can’t leave the boxes here,” Mrs. Allison declared. “They must be taken to a bank vault.”
    “That is the best thing to do,” the lawyer agreed. “It shouldn’t take us long to remove the boxes.”
    He pulled several boxes out and put them on the floor of the passageway, noticing their weight. He and Nancy wondered what the contents might be, but Mrs. Allison offered no information and they tactfully refrained from asking her.
    Nancy bent down to pick up a small package, only to have Mrs. Allison say quickly, “No, I’ll take that one.”
    As Nancy selected another box, her father lifted one of the heavy cartons. With Mrs. Allison bringing up the rear, the three started to carry their burdens along the tunnel.
    Carson Drew, who was in the lead, suddenly halted. A loud, rumbling noise thundered through the tunnel, and a few loose stones overhead clattered down dangerously near their heads.
    The lawyer pushed his daughter and Mrs. Allison back against the wall, saying sharply, “Don’t move!”
    The three huddled there for several minutes until the stones stopped falling. A thick cloud of dust filled the passageway.
    “There’s been a cave-in somewhere ahead,” Mr. Drew said tensely. “Let’s get out of here before we’re buried alive.”
    “We can’t leave my treasures behind!” Mrs. Allison cried in distress as she saw that Mr. Drew intended to abandon the boxes. “They represent a fortune!”
    Considering the emergency, Nancy and her father thought that the woman was selfish to place her own interests above their lives. They knew, however, that it would take less time to carry out the boxes than to make Mrs. Allison understand the need to hurry. They picked up the boxes and rushed down the tunnel.
    They were able to go only a short distance. Rounding a slight turn in the passageway they were dismayed to find it blocked by a pile of dirt, rock, and overhead beams that had given way.
    “I was afraid of this!” Mr. Drew exclaimed. “We’re trapped!”
    “Oh, what shall we do? What shall we do?” Mrs. Allison wailed. “We’ll never get out of here alive.”
    Sinking down on one of the boxes of treasure, she sobbed hysterically.
    “The situation probably isn’t as serious as it appears,” Mr. Drew said with forced cheerful-ness. “If we’re unable to dig our way out, Bess and George may soon realize that something is wrong and send help.”
    Meanwhile, Nancy had been pulling and tugging at one of the half-buried timbers. “The cave-in doesn’t extend far!” she cried. “We’re near the main tunnel entrance. I can see a faint streak of light.”
    “You’re right, Nancy,” Carson Drew agreed jubilantly. “We may get out of here by our own efforts yet!”
    The two started to work through the debris, succeeding after some backbreaking labor in enlarging the aperture slightly. But beyond that point they could not budge the heavy beams.
    “If I only had a few tools,” the lawyer said dejectedly as he sank down on the floor of the tunnel to rest. “I fear we’re trapped. We must wait for a rescue.”
    Nancy measured the opening with her eye. “I believe I could crawl through, Dad. If you’ll help a little, I’m sure I can make it. Let me try, anyway.”
    Before her father could protest, Nancy thrust her head and shoulders into the yawning hole. Midway through she became wedged