Without hesitation, the girls stealthily infiltrated the furnace room. They hunkered low in order to reduce the visibility of their profiles, and they were confident the ample noise created by the furnace would cover whatever small sound their sneakers might create.
“Gears and sprockets!” Maria whispered, extending her index finger toward the floor at the base of the furnace. “I know we use that as a general declaration fairly often, but this time I actually mean it - look, there’re gears and sprockets!”
Sara followed the direction of her sister’s pointed finger, and she was immediately able to see what Maria was referencing. Upon the concrete floor of the furnace room, there lay gears and sprockets, as well as a few bolts, springs, and other mechanical doodads. Based on their close proximity to the furnace itself, it seemed they had come free from the vast machine and fallen out - or been forcibly removed.
“You’re right,” Sara whispered, as she continued to cautiously tread farther into the room, swiveling her head to search for dangers. “Do you think this is the work of Jasper?”
“I don’t know, but this could very well explain why the temperatures in the school have been so erratic as of late,” Maria said.
“True… but what would be the point of damaging the furnace?” Sara wondered.
There were pools of oil on the floor, forming dark circles that were slowly soaking into the concrete. The furnace sporadically spurted hot streams of the stuff from its innards as it rattled and hissed and hummed.
It didn’t take a mechanical genius to see that the school’s furnace was in rough shape. Though it was still running, it was far from operating at its nominal levels. Anybody could deduce that the thing was in desperate need of a major tune up.
Based on all the parts that were lying helter-skelter on the floor, as well as the alarming pools of loosed fluids, it seemed there were two possibilities as to what had occurred. The furnace had either been sabotaged, or it had been neglected so badly that it was literally falling apart.
Neither of these prospects was particularly appealing, but the sisters had a theory as to which was more probable. After the carnage they had witnessed in Jasper’s supply room, they thought the likelihood of intentional destruction outweighed any chance of random deterioration.
But who would do such a thing, they wondered? What could be gained by tampering with the school’s furnace, and causing the temperatures to become so wacky?
The building’s thermostat had been rendered useless in recent days, but nobody really knew why. Now, the reason became clear to the sisters - the furnace was on the fritz, most likely due to somebody monkeying around with it.
Suddenly, a loud clanging rang out, reverberating around the furnace room. It was a jarring noise, and it made the sisters flinch in surprise. It sounded like two pieces of hard metal clashing against one another. There was a pause, and then it came again, followed by several more occurrences in rapid succession.
“It’s coming from the other side of the furnace… somebody must be in here with us,” Sara hissed.
“Let’s check it out,” Maria whispered.
Fortunately, the humming and thrumming of the huge furnace had thus far hidden their presence - or so they hoped. If there was somebody else in the room, they presumed the loud noises of the machine would cover their voices.
Slowly, they began creeping around the furnace, which was tall and long and rectangular in shape. Its height concealed them from whomever might be on the other side of it, clanging away and making such a ruckus.
When they reached the corner of the furnace, they pressed close to it, doing their best to avoid the occasional jets of oil that spurted out. They felt the warmth of the great machine radiating into their bodies as they peered around the edge, trying to stay as concealed as possible.
When they saw what was happening on the other side, they gasped in surprise.
“It’s him,” Maria whispered. “The Phantom is here.”
“What on earth is he doing?” Sara wondered.
The Phantom was turned toward the furnace, and had not yet noticed the girls. Therefore, they had an opportunity to observe him, and they took in his bizarre appearance.
He wore a black, hooded, knee-length cape over trousers of a matching color. Thin, white gloves covered his hands. His shirt was a white, loose fitting blouse, with billowy, ruffled sleeves. Black boots rose to the middle of his calves, and they were of a narrow width that indicated rather petite feet within.
Most curious of all, he wore a white mask that partially concealed his face. It was the type of accessory worn at masquerades, covering only the area immediately around his eyes, his nose, and part of his forehead. With the combination of the hood from his cape, the mask made his identity impossible to determine.
“Do you think it’s Ebenezer Widget-Bocker? That nut job is awfully fond of capes and costumes, you know,” Sara whispered as they watched from around the corner of the furnace.
Maria considered the possibility. “Nah… he’s too tall. Although Ebenezer has proven to be pretty good, when it comes to disguises… so I guess it could be him, if he had lifts in his boots.”
Though the Phantom was not particularly tall, measuring at about five and a half feet, he would have positively towered over the diminutive Ebenezer.
Even more curious than the Phantom’s wardrobe was his current activity. In one hand, he wielded a hammer, which he periodically struck against seemingly random parts of the furnace. This was the source of the clanging noise the sisters had heard.
In his other hand, the Phantom held a large adjustable wrench, which he would occasionally use on a bolt, twisting it a time or two before desisting. If there was any rhyme or reason to the application of the Phantom’s tools, it was lost upon the sisters.
“I have no idea what he’s up to, but I say we confront him,” Sara whispered.
“I’m ready,” Maria assured her sister.
Once decided, they wasted no time. As one, the pair of them leaped forward, jumping into view of the Phantom.
“Stop right there!” Sara shouted.
“What are you up to?” Maria demanded.
Clearly having been startled, the masked miscreant dropped both tools, and they clattered upon the concrete floor.
“Oh, hello there,” the Phantom said, looking them over. “You took me by surprise! Say - did you happen to bring any pizza with you?”
Chapter Sixteen
Accusations and Illusions
The Green Beans, Volume 5: The Phantom of the Auditorium Page 15
