"We'll have to find out," said Hortense. "Dear me, this is a most
mysterious house."

Andy put one foot on the ladder and began to descend. Soon his head
disappeared from sight.

"It goes down and down, probably to the basement," he called. "Come
on."

Hortense obeyed, and down and down they went. It was very dark, but now
and then a little chink beside the chimney let in a ray of light.

"Maybe it goes to the middle of the earth," said Andy from below. "No,
here's the bottom at last."

Soon Hortense stood behind him. Gradually, as their eyes became
accustomed to the dark, they could see a little.

"Here's the way," said Andy at last.

"But here's another passage," said Hortense.

"We'll try mine first," said Andy.

They had walked only a few steps when they came to a wooden panel.

"It's like the one that I crawled through the other day," said Andy.
"Help me to move it."

It moved slowly, but finally they raised it until they could crawl
through.

"I believe this is the chute I came down when you found me," said Andy.

He stood up.

"There's the basement window," he said, "and here's the little door I
crawled through. Now we can get out."

"We must see where the other way goes first," Hortense reminded him.

"I'd forgotten," said Andy.

Back they went to the foot of the ladder and then down the other way
which grew smaller and smaller and suddenly stopped.

"Let's go back, there's nothing here," said Hortense.

Andy stood still, absorbed in thought.

"It can't end in nothing," said he. "Who would dig a tunnel to
nowhere?"

He felt the end of the passage with his hands.

"It's wood," he announced. "It must be a door. Yes, here's a little
latch."

He opened the little door and, lying on his stomach, looked down the
tunnel beyond. It was neatly fashioned and quite light but curved away
in the distance so that the end was not visible--only a shining bit of
the wall.

Hortense spoke the thought of both.

"If we were only small enough to go down it and see where it leads,"
said she.

But alas, it was far too small for that.

"Probably Jeremiah goes through it," said Hortense. "Where do you
suppose it goes?"

"Perhaps to the middle of the earth, or to a cave filled with diamonds
and gold," said Andy.

"Or maybe to the home of the fairies."

"Well, we can't know, so there's no use thinking of it."

"Still, if we watched it sometimes, we might see who goes down it,"
Hortense suggeste