The Mansion in the Mist by John Bellairs Read Free Book Online Page B

reached in under the collar of her blouse and pulled out a small silver key on a beaded chain.
    Emerson looked at his two friends. Then he heaved a deep weary sigh and shook his head. "Oh, all right!" he said staunchily. "But if one of you gets turned to stone, don't come whining to me about it!"
    That evening the three adventurers got ready to go. They put on warm sweaters, because the air of the otherworld was always clammy and cold. Anthony brought a flashlight, and Emerson carried a crowbar, in case there was a door that had to be forced. Once again Emerson wore the tube of Gobi desert sand, and Anthony used the tiny Russian icon. Miss Eells picked a Joachimsthaler, a huge German coin from the sixteenth century. It hung from a handsome braided gold chain and had been blessed by the Bishop of Cologne. Stepping out onto the porch of the cottage, Emerson saw that the sky was clear and clustered thick with stars. Arcturus burned clearly in the south.
    "Here goes nothing," whispered Emerson to himself, and he stepped back inside the house. The other two were waiting at the foot of the stairs, and up they went, single file. When they reached the room at the back there was the chest waiting for them. Emerson walked bravely forward and lifted the heavy lid.
    "One at a time," he said in a voice that trembled slightly. "I'll go first, and if I'm not back in five minutes, I'll send the empty chest for you, and that will mean that it's nighttime in Ghastlyland and that you can follow me. Okay?"
    Miss Eells and Anthony nodded. They both swallowed hard and watched anxiously as Emerson stepped into the chest, squatted down, and pulled the lid shut. His muttered words could hardly be heard, but after a short pause the chest shimmered and vanished. Miss Eells turned to Anthony. A thought had just occurred to her.
    "Anthony?" she asked. "How do you get the chest to come back here empty?"
    Anthony grinned. "Mr. Eells figured that out the night the two of us went together. You stand in the chest and say the words, and then you get out real quick and shut the lid. It's kind of tricky, but it works."
    Miss Eells gave Anthony a sidelong glance. "I must be nuts to be doing this," she said to herself. "But then, I've known for years that I was off my rocker. Oh, well. At my age, I haven't long to live anyway."
    After this cheerful remark, Miss Eells fell silent. The two of them waited in the empty room for what seemed like ages. Then, with a slight whispering sound, the chest reappeared. Anthony and Miss Eells looked at each other. Neither of them wanted to go, but they knew they had to. Finally Anthony took a deep breath and stepped forward. He opened the lid and climbed in.
    "I'll... I'll send it back for you, Miss Eells," he said in a high-pitched nervous voice. "It... it won't take long." And with that Anthony squatted down, closed the lid, and muttered the magic formula. Again a pause, then a shimmer in the air, and the chest vanished once more. Miss Eells chewed her lip and paced up and down. In a few minutes the chest came back for her.
    "I feel like a paratrooper getting ready for his first jump," she said to herself as she climbed into the chest. It took a while before she got up the courage to kneel down and pull the heavy lid back into place. Auro est locus in quo conflatur, she said quietly, and then she closed her eyes tight. In a few seconds the terrifying drop began. Then her fall slowed and she landed with a soft bump. Emerson jerked the lid open and peered in.
    "Did you have a nice ride, Myra?" he asked wryly.
    Miss Eells gave her brother a dirty look and clambered out of the chest. With an awestruck look on her face, she peered around at the strange, misty moonlit world. She was frightened, but she fought down her fear and grinned weakly. "So where do we go from here, brother?" she asked. "You don't have a map, so it'll have to be done by guesswork. Right?"
    Emerson nodded glumly. "Right. Off to the left there is a forest, and I