Lessons from Underground (Master Diplexito and Mr. Scant Book 3)
I The Smugglers Caves The caves were pitch black but Mr Scant insisted we use the dimmest light possible The thieves would have their lamps lit brightly he said and he wanted to see them before they saw us But our smudge of light did next to nothing to show the way and I was finding it hard to breathe with all that darkness pressing down on me We were in the St Clement’s Caves in the seaside seaside resort town of Hastings Apparently the caves were pleasant during the summer months and even attracted royalty for candlelit strolls But just now it was a cold April night and the cave was dark silent and more than a little creepy I pressed closer to Mr Scant trying not to imagine stepping on an adder or feeling a spider fall down the back of my neck but he only moved away from me I had confidence in 1
my mentor of course but found myself wondering what I’d do if he rushed off and left me here in the nothingness We were in pursuit of a gang of thieves who had broken into the Royal Pavilion in Brighton two or three hours away by motorcar They had stolen many of the fine vases and fixtures that the former queen had put on display there Mr Jackdaw our contact at Scotland Yard said his trusted sources spotted the gang going into what they called the old smugglers caves These sources apparently weren’t capable of doing anything about it though which is where Mr Scant and I became useful If we can clear up this little problem without too much kerfuffle the higher-ups will take my intelligence intelligence network more seriously Mr Jackdaw had told me on the telephone And there’s a reward from the mayor of Brighton in it for you so I’d call that worthwhile Wouldn’t you And so here we were late at night in the chilly caves At times like this Mr Scant’s gift for stealth only made things worse because I all too easily pictured pictured myself alone but for a ghostly lantern floating beside me Every time I turned my head I silently begged the darkness not to spew forth whatever 2
terrifying things it was concealing The entrance to the caves had made them seem almost civilized with graceful arches carved into the rock Now all I could think about were spiders and bats and scorpions and the vengeful ghosts of dead smugglers That was a bad frame of mind to be in when Mr Scant’s lantern caught something in the darkness a hideous face a vision of the Inferno I stifled a yell but realized a second later it was just a carving in the soft rock something some fanciful artist had hewn in years past Still I’d let out a sort of hiccup I could sense Mr Scant stop dead beside me and though there was no way to see his face I knew it was far scarier than the stone one I wondered whether to whisper an apology but before I could make up my mind I heard the scuff of Mr Scant’s feet and a small clatter from his lantern and then the little pool of light got smaller and smaller Mr Scant had taken off and left me I was stuck If I started to run I’d make so much noise we’d be given away I had practiced but I didn’t have Mr Scant’s ability to move silent as an owl That left me in the middle of the darkness surrounded surrounded by smugglers ghosts and possibly the thieves themselves I felt unsteady on my feet as though my 3
