The Panda Puzzle (5 page)

“Should we open it?” Josh asked.

Without answering, Dink grabbed the handle and pulled. The door came up easily. Beneath it were stone stairs leading down. They heard something skittering about in the darkness below.

“Yuck, rats!” Josh said. “If you think I’m going—”

“Shhh, I heard something else!” Ruth Rose said.

Then they all heard it. It was a squeaking, crying noise.

“That’s Winnie!” Ruth Rose said.
She ran down the stairs. Dink and Josh were right behind her.

The air at the bottom of the steps was filled with some kind of dust. It stung their eyes. The only light came through the open trapdoor.

“Guys, I think we’re in an old coal cellar,” Josh said. “My grandfather has one, and it’s just like this!”

Dink could feel the coal dust in his eyes and nose and on his lips. He began to cough.

“Look, there’s Winnie!” Ruth Rose whispered. Across the room glowed a pair of eyes.

Suddenly the trapdoor slammed shut. Instantly they were in total darkness. Then they heard the sound of metal on metal.

“Someone locked us in!” Josh said. “I can’t see anything!”

“Let’s not panic, okay?” Ruth Rose said.

“Let’s just sit down where we are,” Dink suggested.

“But I can’t see!” Josh complained. “This place is disgusting!”

Dink sat down. Underneath him, he felt a few lumps of coal. He brushed them aside.

“I’ll bet Flip locked us in,” Ruth Rose said. “He must have figured out where we went.”

Dink heard 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 of
here?” 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 over
something. 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 said. He swung the shovel with all his might. This time, the wood shattered.

“You got it!” Josh said, pulling broken wood away. “Oh, gross, there’s something slimy on me!”

As he spoke, a pile of wet stuff fell into the room. It smelled worse than the coal dust. A beam of sunlight fell through the chute. At Josh’s feet was a pile of rotted leaves.

“You did it, Dink!” Ruth Rose cried. Then she started to laugh.

“What?” Josh asked.

“Our legs and feet are black! We look like pandas!”

The kids stared up at the sunlight. The chute was slanted. It was easy to see how coal would come sliding down into the cellar.

“We need something to climb on,” Josh said.

“All we have is the coal,” Ruth Rose said.

“And my handy-dandy coal shovel!” Dink added. “What if we make a pile right under the opening?”

“But how do we climb out?” Ruth Rose asked. “The chute is steep and looks slippery.”

“We can boost each other up,” Josh said. “The first one out can pull up the next one. The ones on the inside can push.”

“But how about the last person?” Ruth Rose asked. “Who boosts him up? And what about Winnie?”

“I guess somebody has to stay here while the others get help,” Dink said.

The kids stood and thought, with the sunlight streaming down through the chute.

“How’s this?” Josh said after a
minute. “Ruth Rose, you’re the smallest. What if Dink and I boost you through the chute? We can stay here with Winnie while you run to the police station.”

“Are you sure?” Ruth Rose asked. “Maybe you should go. You’re a faster runner.”

“Nah, I have to stay to protect Dink,” Josh said. “He’s afraid of the dark.”

“Okay, let’s get to work,” Dink said. “We’ll take turns shoveling.”

Ten minutes later, Ruth Rose stood on a small mountain of coal. She stuck her arms into the chute, then her head and shoulders. “Okay, push, you guys!”

Dink and Josh pushed Ruth Rose until only the bottoms of her feet were sticking out of the chute. “More!” she said, her voice sounding hollow. “I can’t reach the other end.”

As the boys pushed the bottoms of her feet, Ruth Rose inched up the chute. “Okay!” came her faraway voice.

Dink could hear her scrambling to pull herself out. When he and Josh looked up the chute, they saw her face at the other end. “Try to find Winnie,” she said. Then she was gone.

Dink and Josh sat on the coal they’d piled up. Neither wanted to leave the comforting shaft of sunlight.

“How do we find a black-and-white panda who’s now all black?” Josh asked.

“Maybe if we’re real quiet, we’ll hear her,” Dink said.

They sat totally still on their hill of coal. The sunlight fell between them, bouncing off the shiny black chunks.

Dink heard his own breathing and Josh’s. But try as he might, he couldn’t hear anything else.

Then Josh giggled.

“What’s funny?” Dink asked, glancing over at Josh.

A coal-black baby panda had crawled onto Josh’s lap. It was snuggling up against him.

“Winnie must think you’re her mama,” Dink said. “Boy, do I wish I had Ruth Rose’s camcorder now!”

Dink and Josh sat and cuddled with Winnie. The sunlight coming through the chute warmed them up.

Dink heard something over his head. “Listen,” he whispered.

“Sounds like someone walking,” Josh said, holding Winnie tighter.

Suddenly they heard the trapdoor opening and more light fell into the room.

“Dink? Josh?” It was Ruth Rose’s voice. “I brought Officer Fallon!”