The Secret of the Crooked Cat - Arden William (читать онлайн полную книгу .txt) 📗

They crawled into the narrow tunnel. It was short, and they emerged into a room. Light filtered through wide cracks in the ceiling.

Except that it wasn’t the ceiling above them — it was the floor!

“Juuuuupe!” Pete’s voice quavered.

They seemed to be upside down in the dim, silvery room. The floor with its chairs, tables, and rug was above their heads. A ceiling light fixture stood straight up in front of them, and upside-down paintings floated in front of their startled eyes.

Jupiter whispered, “Another trick, Pete. They probably used lighting effects to make it better when they were operating.”

“You’re sure we’re not upside down?” Pete said doubtfully.

“Of course I am,” Jupiter insisted. “There’s another round tunnel ahead leading out of here. Come on.”

The new tunnel was much larger. As they stepped through, it moved and rocked. They realized that it had once been a revolving barrel. Though it no longer turned, it was still unsteady, and they stumbled through holding on to the rocking sides.

“Listen,” Jupiter warned.

Somewhere ahead was a faint noise, like someone stepping very quietly.

“There,” Pete whispered, and then gasped, “Oh —!”

They were in a longer and wider room than the other. It’s ceiling was badly rotted, and bright moonlight filled it, casting deep, moving shadows. But it wasn’t the shadows that had made Pete gulp. Jupiter stared in fright.

A strange shape moved near the wall to the right. A monstrous apparition that looked straight at the boys. It was tall, horribly thin, with an enormous swollen head and arms as long and thin as tentacles. Its whole weird body seemed to flow and shift in the silver light like a giant, human snake.

“Wha… what… is it?” Pete stammered, moving close to Jupiter.

Jupiter gulped, “I don’t know… I… ” and then began to laugh nervously. “It’s mirrors, Pete! We’re in the crazy hall of mirrors! We’re seeing ourselves in twisted mirrors!”

“Mirrors?” Pete swallowed, “then why do I hear walking?”

“I don’t hear — ” Jupiter began.

“Oh, no! Is that a mirror?” Pete wailed very low. Directly ahead, away from the mirrors, a shape! — crouched in the dim moonlight as if listening, watching. A broad-shouldered shape, bare to the waist, with wild black hair and a black beard.

“Khan!” Pete cried louder than he had intended. The strong man became alert “Come out of there!”

Jupiter gripped Pete’s arm. “He can’t see us.”

Khan growled. “I hear you! I’ve got you now!”

“That way!” Pete whispered “A door!” They slipped through the door Pete had seen among the mirrors. They found themselves in a narrow corridor with no ceiling. Ten feet inside it branched into two passages. Behind them, they heard a sharp oath as Khan found the door.

“Left, Jupe, that’s the way out!” Pete urged. The Second Investigator led them racing along the passages that branched every ten feet or so, always taking the left turn. Somewhere behind them Khan pounded along, banging into walls. The boys at last reached a door, tore it open, and came out — into the hall of mirrors again!

“It’s a maze!” Jupiter realized in dismay. “Another fun house trick. We’ve gone in circles.”

“Khan’s coming behind us!” Pete groaned.

Jupiter chewed his Up. “There’s always a key. That way got us nowhere. We’ll go the other way each turn!” They hurried back through the same door they had started with, and this time they took each right turn when the passages branched. For a time as they ran through the passages they heard Khan floundering behind them. Then his noises faded, and they reached a double door. They tumbled through it — and stood in the open between the side of the fun house and the entrance to the tunnel of love. “It worked, Jupe!” Pete said.

“Yes, it did.” Jupiter preened. “Now we’ll find Mr. Carson, and tell him that Khan — ”

There was a sudden tearing crash of wood. As the two boys stared in fright, the massive figure of Khan smashed through a wall of the fun house, his eyes gleaming wildly!

17

A Black Shape

Jupiter and Pete crouched low in the shadows, holding their breath as Khan stood listening where he had smashed through the wall of the Fun House.

“He doesn’t see us yet,” Jupiter whispered, his voice shaky, “but he will soon, Pete.”

“We can’t get to the fence,” Pete said. “He’s between us and the fence. But if we don’t get out of here, he’ll see — ”

Jupiter whispered, “The tunnel of love! Crawl, Pete!”

The entrance to the tunnel of love was close, and they could crawl all the way to it in the shadow cast by the towering roller coaster. Water gleamed like black lead in the channel that vanished inside the covered building of the abandoned ride. The boys crawled into the entrance unseen by Khan and stood up some yards inside.

“I don’t hear him following,” Pete said.

“He didn’t see us,” Jupiter agreed. “He’ll look soon, and he’ll stay out there. He knows we’re around, and he knows that we saw him. We’ll have to find another way out of this tunnel.”

They moved carefully along the edge of the sluggish water of the channel. Deeper inside the building the path became a narrow, wooden catwalk. It was wet and slippery, intended only for emergency exit and for access to the platforms where startling objects had once jumped up to frighten the tunnel-of-love patrons. The platforms were empty now, and the only thing they saw as they walked was an old rowing boat tied to the catwalk.

“Jupe! I feel some wind,” Pete said. “There must be an opening up ahead.”

“Near the ocean, Pete. Be careful, Khan might know — ”

They both heard the noise — a sharp creak of a loose board somewhere ahead of them!

It came again, as if someone was stepping softly between them and the opening ahead.

“Gosh, he must have gone round to cut us off!” Pete said.

“Don’t move, Pete,” Jupiter warned nervously.

They stood paralyzed on the narrow catwalk. Far ahead, in a patch of the moonlight through a hole in the roof, they saw something move.

“He’s coming at us!” Pete whispered.

“Back the way we came! Hurry,” Jupiter urged.

The ghostly figure ahead of them moved again, and both boys heard the unmistakable click of a pistol being cocked! Pete touched Jupiter.

“First!” Pete hissed. “If we go back we have to cross moonlight! He’ll see us for sure! He’ll shoot!”

“The boat!” Jupiter said desperately.

The old rowing boat was tied up close to them. A heavy canvas tarpaulin covered the front end. Careful to make no sound, they slipped down into the boat and slid under the tarpaulin. They lay motionless in the dark, even trying not to breathe. Minutes passed.

Then they heard soft steps on the catwalk above them. There was the faint squeak of soft rubber soles against wood, and a clink of metal against wood, as if the man’s pistol had struck against a wall. They heard nothing more. Silence.

The boat rocked on the sluggish water of the narrow channel, and scraped against the wood of the catwalk.

The unseen man above them moved again, softly, his rubber soles squeaking directly over their heads for a time. The boat began to rock more, as if the unseen man had touched it. Then the rocking became gentler, lighter, with the sound of the man’s soft shoes moving close alongside. Under the canvas the boys could only wait, holding their breath. And after some more minutes, they no longer heard the shoes above them. They heard nothing but the slap-slap of water against the boat “He’s gone!” Pete whispered.

Under the tarpaulin in the rocking boat, Jupiter didn’t answer. Pete peered at his companion and saw dimly that the First Investigator was staring into empty space, his thoughts miles away.

“Pete,” the stocky leader said suddenly, “we must get back to the carnival at once! I think I’ve solved the puzzle!”