The Panda Puzzle Read Online Free PDF Page A

Josh standing up. “What’re you doing, Josh?”
    “This building is old, so maybe the lock is, too,” Josh said. “I might be able to force it.”
    “I’ll help you,” Dink said. He and Josh stumbled up the steps and shoved against the trapdoor. It didn’t move.
    “Well, it was a good idea, Josh,” Dink said.
    They found their way back down the steps and sat next to Ruth Rose.
    “How are we supposed to get out ofhere?” Josh asked in a shaky voice.
    “Maybe there’s a window,” Ruth Rose said. “Don’t basements have windows?”
    “But it’s not a basement,” Josh said. “It’s just a room where they kept the coal in the old days.”
    “I bet no one ever comes down here anymore,” Dink said. “It was a good place to hide Winnie.”
    “Where is she, I wonder?” Ruth Rose said.
    “She’s probably hiding,” Dink said. “If only we had a light.”
    “Gee, if I’d known I was gonna be trapped underground,” Josh said, “I’d have brought my flashlight.”
    “Don’t worry,” Ruth Rose said. “Flip will let us out after he collects his money at midnight.”
    “Well, I’m not sitting here till midnight,” Josh said, standing up again. “I have a plan!”

    “You do?” Dink said.
    “Yeah,” Josh said, sliding lumps of coal out of the way with his bare feet. “Let’s hold hands and try to find the walls. Then we can feel around the whole room.”
    “What’re we feeling for?” Ruth Rose asked.
    “The coal chute,” Josh said.
    “The coal shoot?” Dink said. “Like in a gun?”
    “The coal
chute,
Dinkus. C-H-U-T-E,” Josh said. “My grandfather told me how coal used to get delivered. They slid it down a chute right into the basement.”
    “So you’re saying there’s one of those slide things here somewhere?” Ruth Rose asked.
    “Yeah, and it’ll lead to the outside!”
    The kids held hands, with Ruth Rose in the middle. Dink and Josh reached out and groped for the walls.
    Seconds later, Dink tripped oversomething. He landed on his knees in a pile of coal.
    “I found a shovel,” Dink said, running a hand over the metal shape.
    He used the shovel to help him stand. He lost his balance and fell against a wall.
    “Okay,” he said, rubbing his elbow. “I found a wall. Now what?”
    “Feel along for some kind of opening,” Josh said. “It might be kind of high up.”
    All three kids moved along the wall, feeling their way. Dink used the shovel like a cane as he shuffled along.
    Once Dink heard a whimper. “It’s okay, Winnie,” he said into the darkness. “We’re the good guys.”
    Suddenly Ruth Rose shouted, “I FOUND SOMETHING!”
    “What’s it feel like?” Josh asked.
    “Like a window frame,” she said.“But there’s no glass—there’s a piece of board or something where the glass should be.”

    “That must be the chute,” Josh said. “How high up is it?”
    “A little above my head,” Ruth Rose said. “But I can reach it.”
    Dink and Josh felt their way along the wall until they were standing next to Ruth Rose.
    “I think you found it, Ruth Rose,” Josh said. “But how do we get it open?”
    Dink lifted the heavy metal shovel. “Will this do?” he asked.

CHAPTER 10
    Dink felt the wood that covered the chute. “It feels old,” he said. “Back away, you guys. I’ll smack it with the shovel.”
    “How will you hit anything?” Ruth Rose asked. “I can’t even see you!”
    Dink felt the chute again, judging its distance. He raised the shovel over his head, swung, and missed.
    “Pretend you’re blindfolded and you’re swinging at a pinata,” Josh said. “It’s filled with candy, money, cookies …”

    THWACK!
    Dink’s second swing struck something solid. Now that he had the right location, he was able to hit it every time he swung.
    “See if it’s loose,” Dink said, out of breath.
    “Wait a minute,” Ruth Rose said. She stepped forward and felt for the wood. “I think you cracked it!”
    “Okay, get back again,” Dink