Lost in the Tunnel of Time Read Online Free PDF Page B

okay?”
    Ziggy, trying very hard to find his lost sense of adventure, was too scared to crack a joke. At the endof the short hallway was a door. “Let’s try it, mon. What have we got to lose?”
    The door was unlocked. It opened into a small room, empty except for a broken chair. Near the floor on the far wall, a hole had been dug. It was about three feet high. “I think we should see where it leads,” suggested Rashawn.
    Rashawn crawled through first. The hole led to a tunnel made of hard-packed earth. “Should we try it? It looks really long. I can’t see the end of it.”
    â€œSuppose there’s monsters or rats or dead things?” asked Rico fearfully. “Or ghosts?”
    â€œWe’ll just tell the monsters and ghosts to gobble up the rats and dead things, okay, mon?” Ziggy said, trying to cheer Rico.
    â€œSo how will that get rid of the monsters and ghosts?”
    â€œI don’t know, mon, but at least they won’t be hungry!”
    Rico smiled a little and said, “Let’s go for it.”
    In single file, on their hands and knees, theBlack Dinosaurs crawled through the dirt tunnel, their flashlights the only gleam in the darkness. They were frightened, dirty, and starting to get hungry. They moved slowly, bumping each other and feeling the sides of the tunnel against their bodies.
    â€œIsn’t this ever gonna end?” moaned Rico. “I know we’ve been in here an hour or more!”
    Finally Rashawn, who was in the lead, exclaimed, “We’re coming to the end of the tunnel!”
    â€œAt last!” cheered Rico.
    One by one they crawled into a large, earthen room. “Where are we?” asked Jerome.
    â€œYou know what, mon?” said Ziggy. “I think we really have found one of those secret hiding places from the Underground Railroad!”
    The walls of the room were made of hard-packed dirt, as the tunnel had been. It was tall enough for the boys to stand up in, and big enough for the four of them to move around comfortably. It was very quiet and smelled of old wood and rich earth.
    â€œI think you’re right, Ziggy. Look at this!” criedRashawn. He had found a small bundle of what at first looked like rags.
    â€œWhat is it?” asked Rico, shining his flashlight in that direction.
    Rashawn looked closely at the bundle. “It’s not rags—it’s a shirt of some kind. And look—I think this is a cooking pot!”
    â€œThis might have been a weapon,” Ziggy said dramatically, holding up a rounded wooden stick.
    â€œIt looks like a slingshot. It was probably used to kill more rabbits than enemies,” added Jerome.
    â€œBut an escaped slave would have had lots of very bad enemies, right, mon?” Ziggy insisted.
    â€œSure, Ziggy,” agreed Jerome.
    â€œDo you think this stuff belonged to a real escaped slave?” asked Rico.
    â€œI think so,” replied Jerome as he touched the bundle gently. “Look! What’s this?” Tied in a smaller bundle were seven smooth stones.
    â€œAwesome, mon,” whispered Ziggy. “I bet these stones belonged to a kid like us. I wonder if his grandmother had told him stories about seven special stones, like mine did, or was this just all he had to play with.”

    â€œEither way, I hope they brought him good luck,” Rico said thoughtfully.
    â€œThis is so cool!” said Ziggy, his fears momentarily forgotten. “We’ve found a real live tunnel of the Underground Railroad!”
    â€œDo you think this stuff could have belonged to Mr. Greene’s grandfather?” asked Rashawn.
    â€œIt’s possible,” Rico replied. “I don’t feel so scared knowing that this stuff belonged to someone who’s like a friend to us.”
    â€œWon’t this be cool to tell Mr. Greene when we get out of here, mon?” suggested Ziggy.
    â€œYou mean if we get out of here,” Rico said,