第28节

hing.

Shit...

Steve sagged against the wall bent-legged, still unable to straighten

up. The pain that began at his knees had now spread all the way up his

spine and out through his shoulder-blades.

Fucking horses...

He eyed the foam-flecked animal as it returned to scrape a hoof against

the end wall, tossing its head impatiently. Just you wait, fella. If

we get through this and clear of whatever's behind it, I'm gonna turn

your ass into beefburgers...

The horse snorted dismissively.

Steve mastered his frustration and tried reasoning with himself. Come

on, Brickman! A smart guy like you should be able to figure this

out.

These dinks may know how to join two pieces of wood together but their

technology is still in the stone age. There are only so many ways this

stone can move and you can bet your last meal credit they've gone for

the simplest solution. If this is a secret entrance then you've got to

be able to open it in a hurry.

The first glimmerings of a possible solution came into Steve's mind.

Elbowing the horse out of the way, Steve re-examined the rock face inch

by inch. The fact that the passage was in semi-darkness didn't help,

but he eventually discovered something he'd missed first time

around.

The rock face was made up of irregular terraced layers whose edges ran

mainly in a vertical direction.

About eighteen inches from the right-hand wall his fingertips

encountered an edge that was a little deeper than the others and

appeared to be undercut at chest height.

Tingling with excitement, Steve probed the undercut section with his

knife. With the handle laid flat against the rock face, the blade

slipped in easily. By working it around he quickly discovered a

V-shaped slot which narrowed as it went in. The sides of the V were

angled at roughly ninety degrees. As he pushed the blade all the way

in, Steve heard the sound of metal on metal. He moved the tip of the

knife around the obstruction in an effort to divine its shape and

function. It was rectangular and hollow. Some sort of tube or ...

socket - that pointed downwards at the same angle as the bottom edge of

the V-shaped slot.

Sockets had only one function- they were made to have things stuck in

them. This was it.

Scarcely daring to breathe, Steve found the opening and tried to insert

the blade of his knife. The point went in and then stuck fast. Held

flat, the main part of the blade was too wide to go in. Steve pulled

it and tried inserting it on the diagonal. It fitted perfectly,

leaving only the handle protruding from the V. There was only one way

it could go - and that was up. Steve wriggled his fingers between the

handle and the rock face, got as firm a grip as he could, took a deep

breath and pushed. It took some effort and removed the skin from his

knuckles but, as the knife handle cameinto line with the top edge of

the V, Steve felt the right-hand side of the rock face move.

The horse dug his nose between Steve's shoulderblades.

He leant back and tried to brush it aside. The horse persisted, this

time sticking its muzzle under the rim of his helmet, pushing it

forward over his eyes. Steve turned and threw a punch but the horse

jerked its head out of the way.

Bloody animals...

He threw his weight against the door. The massive slab swung away from

him on groaning timbers and came to rest against the left-hand wall,

revealing the passageway on the other side. It was still roofed in but

the jagged ceiling of boulders didn't get any lower. And it wasn't

dark any more.

Ye-ess... it's all so simple when you know how...

As he stood there, hands on hips, admiring his handiwork, the horse

brushed past him and trotted on up the narrow cleft and out into the

daylight beyond.