Follow me, but watch where you step, in case any of my snakes got loose.” Gabriel led him to the far end of the old hunting lodge, into a small room that had a beat-up, rusted water heater. Gabriel pushed away a bunch of bottles and trash, then shoved the water heater to one side. There was a trapdoor underneath. “Watch this, Uriel.” Gabriel pulled up on a metal ring and when the door was up, he sat down and dangled his legs over the edge. He jumped down and disappeared, and when Uriel looked down into the dark hole, he saw Gabriel standing about ten feet below. “Sit on the edge, Uriel, and I’ll lift you down.” When they stood together in the dark tunnel, Gabriel picked up an old oil lantern and lit the wick with a match. He started off down the slanted dirt passage holding the lamp out in front to illuminate their way. “There’s a natural cave under the hunting lodge. I found it one day when I caught a mouse under the water heater. I think they used it to keep the rooms cool in the summer, ’cause I found vents in each room that lead down here.
