Going down the tunnel would be a real adventure , Hazel said. We had tp be prepared for anything.
"But why take a rope?" I asked.
"This is my lasso. I can rope steers with it. I can do tricks too."
She spun the rope in a big loop and jumped in and out of it while it was moving. I had to admit, that was kind of neat.
"And I've got a real Native American Good-luck piece ."she showed me a turquoise and silver charm. "What did you bring?"
"My Swiss army knife, a pack of matches , a canteen, my Walkman, candy bars."
"Aren't you forgetting something partner?"
Hazel said. "Like maybe the flashlight?"
We certainly needed the flashlight. I went and got it.
We went down into the the cellar and pulled open the trapdoor. It made the creaking sound again that was almost like a scream. It reminded me what was waiting for us.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"Hazel said.
"I'm sure. Are you?"
"Sure, I'm sure. You aren't afraid , are you?"
I climbed right down the ladder and pulled the boards away from the tunnel. A draft of air blew out, like the breath of some monster.
"Ladies before gentlemen" I said when Hazel reached the bottom.
I thought maybe she would chicken out, but she said "Fine,Ill go."
She got down on her hands and knees. As she started to crawl into the tunnel, her cowboy hat fell off.
"Ill have to leave this behind,"she said.
I set the hat on the shelf of her .She crawled into the tunnel and soon disappeared. I bent down and crawled after her.
After we went a little ways , we couldn't even crawl through there. We had to lie flat on our stomachs and creep, using our elbows and knees.
The tunnel seemed to go on and on.At one point I had to duck down and press my face to the ground to make it through.
I started thinking what would happen if it caved in . There must have been tons and tons of dirt above us. We would be crushed , buried alive.
