"And then what did you do?". Hazel asked me. I was telling her about my caught under the trapdoor.
Hazel lived right up the street from us. We would be in the same grade when school started. She was sort of neat.
She was a little taller than me,but that was because wore cowboy boots. She also had a cowboy shirt and a cowboy hat. She liked to tell stories about the outlaws and cattle rustlers who used to live around Yucca. She was always reading books about the old West.
"I tried to get out,but the trapdoor wouldn't open. I pushed against it. Then my flashlight went out again."
"Wow,you must have been scared ",she said. "Me? I wasn't scared. Why would I be sacred? " Yeah , right . My knees were shaking,my teeth were chattering. But I wasn't about to admit that to a girl.
"So how did you get out?"
"I found an old piece of wood to pound against the bottom of the door . I loosened it and it finally came open."
"But who slammed it shut?" She asked. It just fell on its own, I guess. It came down so hard it got stuck."
" Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." But was I sure? I hadn't mentioned to Hazel the whispering I'd heard in the hole. It seemed silly, sitting there in broad day light. There couldn't have been anybody whispering down there. It was just my imagination,I knew that now.
"I think your house probably belonged to outlaws," Hazel said. "They dug that tunnel down in the basement so they could escape."
"You've been watching too many old movies," I said.
"No ,its all true. There used to be outlaws and gunfighters all over this area. Haven't you ever heard Belle Starr?"
"Who's that?"
"Read your history books,Mr.know-it-all."
"History's boring."
"Not to me it isn't. Belle Starr had her own gang. They used to rustle horses and rob stage coaches and everything. She lived around here, back when this was Indian territory. "
"Really?" It did sound sort of interesting. "Not just her. There was Pat Parker, the famous bank robber. They captured him right here in Yucca. I love to read about those days. I wish I lived back then,back when the West was still wild."
"I thought that Wild West stuff was just on television, " I said
"A hundred years ago outlaws lived right in this very town . Let's go look at that tunnel. I want to see it."
