Secret of the Underground Room

by John Bellairs

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  For a long time Johnny and Fergie stood staring at the grim scene that lay before them. The mummies were crumpled on the floor near the table with swords still clutched in their clawlike hands. Bits of green glass were scattered all over the room, and Father Higgins stood in the middle of the floor, tottering and swaying. He was wearing his usual black clerical pants and jacket and stiff white Roman collar. His face was deathly pale, but he smiled when he saw the boys.

  "Greetings, gentlemen!" he said. "You meet the strangest people in the strangest places, don't you?" And with that he began to cry and stretched out both arms to the boys, who rushed forward to hug him.

  It was quite a while before the three of them could pull themselves together. Father Higgins seemed a little woozy, but otherwise he acted like himself. After a short while he wiped his eyes clumsily with his sleeve and looked around at the corpses. "Where are we?" asked Father Higgins as he shook his head in wonderment.

  "We're on a little island off the coast of England," answered Johnny. "The professor and the two of us followed you and... "

  "The professor"?" exclaimed Father Higgins. "Where is he?"

  Johnny and Fergie looked at each other. They didn't know how to explain the awful thing that had happened in Ilfracombe, and they didn't feel like trying now.

  "We'll tell you later, Father," said Johnny quietly. "Right now I think we all ought to get out of here."

  The priest nodded and followed the boys to the archway. But as they were about to leave, the three of them turned. Something odd and wonderful was happening: Bits of dust were falling out of the air, like flakes of snow. This enchanted room had been spotless before, but now the dust of centuries was sifting down to cover the bodies of the evil knights. Father Higgins made the sign of the cross, and then he and the boys left the room and began climbing the worn stone steps.

  When they reached the top and stepped onto the floor of the ruined chapel, Johnny and Fergie heaved a deep sigh of relief. They gulped the salty-smelling night air into their lungs and looked up at the starry sky. Directly overhead a bright star burned, and as he watched it, something stirred in Johnny's mind.

  "Father?" he asked, pointing up. "What's that star?"

  Father Higgins peered up. Astronomy was one of his hobbies, so it didn't take long for him to come up with an answer. "That would be Vega, I think," he said. "Yes... at this time of year that's what it would be. Why?"

  Johnny smiled. Another piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. When Vega is high in the sky, said one of the mysterious notes. Masterman had to wait for Vega before he could do his dirty work. "Oh, no particular reason," murmured Johnny. "I was just curious."

  There was an awkward silence, and then Fergie spoke up. "Father," he asked, "do you mean you don't remember anything about smashing that green glass?"

  Father Higgins looked bewildered. "Do you mean that piece of stained glass that I found in the church in Rocks Village? Is that what all those little fragments of glass were doing down there? Tell me... did I do the right thing?"

  Fergie grinned broadly and patted the priest on the shoulder. "You sure did, Father. You sure did. But tell us: What's the last thing you remember? Before you woke up down in that room, I mean."

  Father Higgins thought for a bit. "I was getting ready to go to do an emergency baptism. A newly born child was dying in St. Margaret's hospital, and so... " Father Higgins's voice trailed away, and he reached into the left-hand pocket of his jacket. What he pulled out was a small plastic squirt bottle with a symbol stamped on it. The symbol looked like this:

  "Holy water!" exclaimed Johnny. "I'll bet that helped to save you—from Masterman, I mean."

  Father Higgins scratched his chin and looked even more puzzled than he had before. "Somebody is going to have to fill me in on a lot of things," he said as he gazed around at the ruined walls. "But I guess that can wait till later. Right now I am unbelievably tired, and I hope there's a hotel on this island. You folks are going to have to lead the way—I still feel like someone who is walking in his sleep."

  With Father Higgins's help, the boys got the stone slab back in place over the opening. Then Johnny and Fergie led their friend across the island and down the path to the inn. The innkeeper would be surprised the next morning when he found that the boys had an extra guest in their room, but they would make up some story to explain why he was there. When they were all back upstairs safe and sound, Johnny offered Father Higgins his bed. But the priest wouldn't hear of it.

  "No, gentlemen," he said, yawning sleepily. "I slept on rocks and roots in the jungles during the Second World War, and that floor looks very inviting to me. Wake me about noon tomorrow, if you would be so kind." After another yawn Father Higgins threw himself down on the rough boards, and in a few seconds he was sound asleep.

  The next morning at breakfast the boys introduced the innkeeper to their friend. They explained that he was their uncle, who had come out on the late ferry the night before. Since the inn was closed, Father Higgins had spent the night sitting on the rocks by the harbor, and then near dawn one of the boys had let him in. The little tale seemed reasonable enough, and the innkeeper accepted it. After they had eaten, the boys paid their bill and asked if they could make a phone call to the Admiral Hood Inn in Ilfracombe. The innkeeper was a generous sort, so he let them do it, and they were overjoyed to find that the professor and Humphrey were back, safe and sound. Johnny gave them the arrival time of the next ferry, and said that he and Fergie would be on it. He added—somewhat mysteriously—that they were bringing a friend.

  The three travelers said good-bye to the innkeeper and thanked him for his hospitality. Then they made their way down to the pier to wait for the steamboat. The trip back to Ilfracombe was a quick one on a calm sea, and when the ship came gliding into the harbor, two figures could be seen on the dock, waving cheerfully: the professor and his brother Humphrey. They were both grinning from ear to ear, and tears were running down their cheeks. When Father Higgins and the boys strode down the gangplank, the professor rushed forward and gave them each a big hug and told them how wonderful it was to see them again. Then he introduced Humphrey to Father Higgins and led them all to Humphrey's car. Johnny and Fergie looked at each other. They both wanted to know what had happened to the professor and Humphrey when they were imprisoned by Masterman's sorcery. But it was pretty clear from the way the professor was behaving that they weren't going to find out much—not now, anyway.

  As it turned out, the professor and Humphrey were still staying at the Admiral Hood Inn. They had whipped up some sort of tale to explain why they had disappeared for twenty-four hours, and they actually told the truth about the two boys: When he was miraculously returned to this world, the professor guessed that the boys had gone out to Lundy. So he told this to the hotel's owner, a short, irritable man named George Greedy, and the owner believed it. When the boys came back, it seemed to prove that no one had been lying.

  Later that day, everyone sat down to a big lunch in the dining room of the hotel. After they ate and chatted for a while, the professor coughed loudly and lit one of his stinky Russian cigarettes. This meant that he had an announcement to make, and from the look on his face he wasn't happy about it.

  "Tom," he said, turning to Father Higgins, "I've told you that you were possessed by an evil spirit, but there's something else you should know. I don't know how to tell you, but... "

  Father Higgins gazed at the professor. "Yes? But what?"

  "Uh... just this," said the professor uncomfortably. "You... you broke into a church in Glastonbury and you, well, you ripped up the floor and stole your mother's ashes."

  Father Higgins stared in amazement. "I what?"

  "You did it while you were possessed," put in Humphrey with a kind smile. "Don't you have any memory of it?"

  Father Higgins sighed. "Mercifully, no. I suppose Masterman made me think I was going to raise my mother from the dead, although he really had something more
sinister in mind. But I don't understand why I didn't go through with it and let him complete the magic circle. Maybe the holy water I had in my pocket really helped, but I seemed to be completely in his control. Was I?"

  The professor smiled. "Not quite. You're a strong-willed, stubborn person, and some part of your mind still belonged to you even when Masterman was calling the shots. So at the last moment you figured out what he was doing and wrecked his nice little plan. If his spirit is still hovering somewhere, I'll bet he is furious!"

  Johnny squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "Professor?" he asked in a faltering voice. "You don't think Masterman could come back, do you?"

  The professor frowned and pursed up his lips. "I honestly don't know," he said slowly. "His spirit was strong enough to hang around on earth for centuries and haunt that fragment of glass that Higgy found in his church. But now that the glass has been shattered, I am hoping that Masterman has returned to the outer darkness, which is where he belongs."

  Father Higgins toyed with a bit of food on his plate, and then he frowned. "Rod," he asked suddenly, "what has happened to my mother's ashes?"

  "That's a good story all by itself," said the professor. "It seems that Masterman was staying at another hotel here in Ilfracombe—I believe it's called the Royal Britannia. Well, this morning the owner of the hotel reported him to the police as a missing person. So his luggage is probably down at the police station. Eventually it'll be examined, and they'll find the urn with your mother's ashes in it. There must be some kind of inscription on the urn, so it'll be returned to St. John's church in Glastonbury. Besides, the police down here must have heard about your little grave-robbing stunt. It was reported in the English newspapers."

  There was an awkward pause. Johnny nibbled at a piece of sausage.

  "Professor?" he said hesitantly. "How did you and Humphrey get away from Masterman?"

  The professor coughed. "Well, to begin with," he said slowly, "I gather from what you and Fergie told me that it looked as if the two of us were inside a pair of bottles. To us it didn't seem that way at all. It was as if we were trudging along over an endless sandy desert. The hot sun was beating down on our heads, and we wanted to collapse, but we couldn't. After what seemed like a very long time, we were suddenly dumped down in the street in front of the Admiral Hood Inn. I imagine that happened at the very moment when Higgy smashed those two hunks of glass." He turned to Father Higgins and bowed politely. "My thanks to you, Tom," he said, with a grin. "I wouldn't have enjoyed being a desert rat forever and ever."

  Humphrey asked his friends if they wanted to stay in England and travel for a while. But everyone agreed that some other time might be best—after the experience they had had, they were anxious to get back home as soon as possible. However, Humphrey insisted that they spend a night at his house in Bristol before traveling to London to catch a plane. Besides, he said, it would take a little time to make travel arrangements. In the end, Humphrey didn't have to do any arm twisting. Everyone was delighted with a day to rest before their journey, and the professor enjoyed having a little more time to chat with his long-lost brother. So they packed their bags, paid their bills, and climbed into Humphrey's Bentley and roared off down the winding back roads that led to Bristol.

  That evening Humphrey took his friends to Harvey's, an expensive and very nice restaurant in the downtown part of Bristol. Then, after a twilight walk across the Clifton Bridge, everyone settled down in Humphrey's house for a long, quiet evening. The three men gathered before the fireplace in Humphrey's living room, sipped sherry, and smoked some of Humphrey's excellent cigars. Johnny and Fergie played pool and pinball until they were sleepy and then dragged themselves off to bed. Quiet descended on the house, and Johnny stretched out in the roomy bed he had slept in just a few days before. The sheets smelled faintly musty, and the electric fire with its flickering red light still seemed homey and reassuring. Johnny sighed contentedly and rolled over to face the wall. For some reason, however, he couldn't go to sleep. He was beginning to get tense again, and he could hear his heart beating fast. He stared at the wavering red light that hovered on the wall. Creak, creak. Someone was walking along the hall outside his room. Surely it was Humphrey or one of the other two men. But then why did Johnny feel panic rising inside him? The creaking sounds died away, and then they came back. They halted outside Johnny's door. A knocking sound began... faintly. Johnny thought of his silver crucifix, but suddenly he realized that it was lying on the floor of the stone chamber where the De Marisco knights were entombed.

  Knock, knock. Johnny forced himself to sit up and swing his legs out of bed. Probably his fears were foolish—he was having after-effects of the hideous experience he had gone through out on Lundy. Quickly Johnny got up and padded barefoot to the door. Gripping the large bronze knob, he pulled the door inward. There in the lighted hallway stood the ghostly figure of Masterman. He was bodiless now, and his shape shimmered and hovered in the air. But his lips were curled into an inhuman grin, and his eyes burned with the feverish glow of madness.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Johnny stood dead still, watching the evil, nightmarish face of the creature who stood before him. His lower jaw trembled and he wanted to scream, but he found that he couldn't. He wanted to close his eyes and faint, but he couldn't do that either. Masterman's lips did not move, but Johnny heard an angry, sneering voice that echoed inside his brain:

  "Good evening, young man! Are you prepared to receive visitors? No? Then you must come out and join me. You may not enjoy the darkness I am sending you to, where every hour will seem like a year of sleepless pain, but my poor fellow knights must be avenged somehow. Come along. I will not take no for an answer!"

  With that, Masterman motioned for Johnny to step forward, and Johnny found that he had to obey. Stumbling stiffly out into the hall like a robot, he began to follow the beckoning, eerie shape.

  Suddenly a door slammed. Father Higgins stood in the hall, glowering angrily, the holy-water bottle in his hand. With a quick twist he unscrewed the cap and flung the liquid into Masterman's face. An inhuman howl arose as the creature writhed and twisted. His face turned to a melting horror and his body sagged and ran like water. In a few seconds there was nothing there at all except a faint scorch mark on the hall rug.

  Johnny rushed to Father Higgins and threw his arms around him. Humphrey and Fergie and Professor Childermass came rushing into the hall in their pajamas. They looked frightened and wild-eyed.

  "What in the name of heaven is going on?" raved the professor as he stuck his glasses crookedly onto his nose. Johnny turned his tear-streaked face toward the professor, and in a flash the old man guessed. "Masterman!" he roared. "He's come back!"

  Father Higgins nodded solemnly. "At least he isn't using my body this time," he growled. "But poor John here almost got dragged away to... to God knows where." Father Higgins turned to Humphrey. "See here now!" he said. "Roderick tells me that you know something about magic. Can you figure out how that fiend managed to return?"

  Humphrey shook his head. "Offhand, I couldn't say," he replied. "Unless... unless... " Suddenly he turned to Johnny. "Would you let me examine the clothes you were wearing the day you were in the underground room?" he asked excitedly.

  Johnny was startled, and he couldn't imagine what Humphrey was driving at. But he led him into his room. Except for underwear and socks, the clothes he had been wearing at bedtime were the ones he had worn in the tomb chamber: a red plaid shirt and brown corduroy pants. They lay draped over the chair next to the bed. Carefully Humphrey examined the shirt. He peered into the pocket and put his hand inside the cuffs. Sighing, he put the shirt aside and went to work on the pants. Meanwhile, Father Higgins, Fergie, and the professor crowded into the room and stood watching curiously.

  "What in blazes do you expect to find?" snapped the professor.

  "Just be patient, brother," muttered Humphrey as he began running his forefinger inside one of Johnny's pant cuffs. "If I'm right, then...
Hah!" With that, Humphrey reached into the cuff and pulled something out. He turned to the others with his palm open before him. On it lay a tiny golden fish.

  "One of those!" gasped the professor. "I don't believe it! It must have landed in Johnny's cuff when Higgy broke one of the pieces of glass!"

  Humphrey nodded. "I expect that that is what happened. I remember now that you told me the piece of glass Father Higgins found had little golden fish embedded in it," he said.

  "What do we do with it?" asked Johnny. He was afraid that this would turn out to be one of those awful cursed objects that couldn't be gotten rid of.

  Humphrey smiled in a secretive way. "Let us all go downstairs to my basement laboratory while I unmagic this widget."

  Since he dabbled in alchemy and sorcery, Humphrey had a basement workshop that looked as if it belonged to a mad scientist. Bubbling retorts, racks of test tubes, spiraling glass tubes, and liquids of various colors dripping into beakers were everywhere. And on one marble-topped table was a small metal smelting furnace. The fire inside had been banked, but it was not out, and as the others stood watching, Humphrey used a pair of bellows to get the coals glowing. When the fire was going again, Humphrey picked up a pair of tweezers and used it to drop the tiny fish into the hole in the top of the furnace. Then he put the iron lid on the hole and stood humming quietly. Gold melts at a fairly low temperature, so he didn't have long to wait. Finally he opened up the furnace again and peeked inside.