Secret of the Underground Room Read Online Free PDF Page A

lately."
    Silence. Johnny toyed with the crumbs on his plate, and then he spoke up. "Do you think my gramma and grampa will let me go?" he asked.
    The professor grinned slyly. "They will if I pretend that this is an educational trip, something that will help you get better grades in school. Leave that part to me. And it's my treat, in case you were wondering. Are there any questions?"
    Johnny hesitated. There was something he wanted to ask for, but he didn't know how to put it. "Professor?" he said hoarsely. "Can... I mean, would it be possible... could Fergie come with us?"
    The professor stared for a while at the burning tip of his cigarette, and then he laughed loudly. "This is turning into an expedition, isn't it? Well—hrmph! I suppose we could take young Byron along. Do you think his parents would let him go?"
    Johnny stared hard at the tabletop. He was beginning to feel embarrassed. "I think they would if you paid his way," he said in a low voice.
    "Hmm... " said the professor as he scratched his chin. "You know, Byron is pretty strong, and if it turns out that Higgy is off his rocker, then it might take three of us to hold him down. All right, let's include Byron too."
    Johnny was very busy for the next two weeks. He bought new clothes, read guidebooks, and talked a lot with Fergie about the trip. Finally, on a sunny, warm day, they all went down to Boston in the professor's car. The professor drove to the airport parking lot and left the car so he could use it on his return. The three of them flew across the Atlantic on a big four-engine plane, and when they landed at an airport, they took another taxi to Paddington Station in London. There they caught a train for the city of Bath, which is a double-decker-bus ride away from Glastonbury. The professor had reserved rooms for them at a Glastonbury hotel called the Cross Keys, and by the time they arrived in the evening, the travelers were very tired.
    After they had been shown to their rooms, Johnny Fergie, and the professor went down to have a cold supper in the dining room of the hotel. Then they went outdoors and walked in the mild June air. Although it was after nine-thirty, it was light enough to read a newspaper on the street. In the distance the gaunt ruins of the abbey loomed, and towering over the town rose a high steep hill called Glastonbury Tor. On top of the Tor stood a stone building called St. Michael's Tower—it looked as if it belonged to a church that had somehow mysteriously disappeared. They wandered around for only a short time and then headed back toward the inn and their nice soft beds.
    The next morning, after breakfast, the professor led his two friends down the main street of the town to an old church named for St. John the Baptist. Before entering the church, the professor stepped back and peered up at the tower. Then he reached into his jacket pocket and took out a folded sheet of paper. As he opened it, the two boys crowded in next to him and peered over his shoulder. Fergie was thoroughly puzzled, but Johnny knew the professor had copied down all the mysterious notes that had been sent to Father Higgins. Smugly, the professor explained to Fergie how he had sneaked into Father Higgins's house while policemen were roaming around upstairs.
    "... and so I copied the notes down as fast as I could and scrammed," said the professor. "And I was just looking up at the tower to see if there are any faceless images on it. But there aren't." He paused and folded up the paper again. "Well, gentlemen? Shall we go in?"
    The boys followed the professor into the cold, dank gloom of the old stone church. Their voices rose and echoed as they walked along, looking at the worn stones on the floor. The professor explained that this was the church where Father Higgins's mother was supposed to be buried. Many of the square flint slabs were gravestones with names and dates on them, but none mentioned Mrs. Higgins. Finally they came to a wide space in front