HEARTS OF STEEL
like there’s one in here,” he said. He flicked it on just as the first overhead bulb died out. Warner and Cal thankfully put down their still sleeping burdens, which Kim tucked lovingly one against the other near the front door while the rest explored their surroundings further. A short ways down the hallway they encountered their first door, which opened into a grimy storage room. The entire back wall of the room was lined with pipes and wires, but there didn’t seem to be anything else in the room at all. Cal was already pressing onward. “There’re two more doors up ahead,” he said, shoving one of them open. It jammed a little, but a hearty kick took care of that. Inside, the room was no different than the first they had looked in, except there were no wires and twice as many pipes, plus a large stack of empty, nondescript envelopes. “So where’s this treasure?” War ner asked suspiciously. “I hope someone didn’t beat us to it.” “Don’t worry,” Kim said. “It will be here.” The third door proved equally fruitless, opening into a small bedroom equipped with modest toilet facilities and a small, dirty sink. The six were left puzzled and scratching their heads. “What’s going on here?” Julian asked. Then he suddenly narrowed his eyes. “Hey, wait a minute!” he said. He ran quickly back and stuck his head into the first room, then the second, then the third. “I thought so,” he said exultantly. “There’s a room missing!” “My dear Watson,” Alana said mockingly, “you’ve outdone yourself.” Julian threw her a scathing glance then turned to the others, continuing, “Look—the size of the rooms doesn’t measure up. The first room—it ends almost two-thirds of the way down this hallway. And 106