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“Really?” asked Zero.
“I think so,” Stanley said.
The hole was wide enough for him to hold the shovel lengthwise and dig sideways into the wall. He knew he had to dig very carefully. He didn’t want the side of the hole to collapse, along with the huge pile of dirt directly above it.
He scraped at the dirt wall, until he exposed one entire side of the box-like object. He ran his fingers over it. It felt to be about eight inches tall, and almost two feet wide. He had no way of knowing how far into the earth it extended. He tried pulling it out, but it wouldn’t budge.
He was afraid that the only way to get to it was to start back up at the surface, and dig down. They didn’t have time for that.
“I’m going to try to dig a hole underneath it,” he said. “Then maybe I can pull it down and slip it out.”
“Go for it,” said Zero.
Stanley jammed the shovel into the bottom edge of his hole, and carefully began to dig a tunnel underneath the metal object. He hoped it didn’t cave in.
Occasionally he’d stop, stoop down, and try to feel the far end of the box. But even when the tunnel was as long as his arm, he still couldn’t feel the other side.
Once again he tried pulling it out, but it was firmly in the ground. If he pulled too hard, he feared, he’d cause a cave-in. He knew that when he was ready to pull it out, he would have to do it quickly, before the ground above it collapsed.
As his tunnel grew deeper and wider—and more precarious—Stanley was able to feel latches on one end of the box, and then a leather handle. It wasn’t really a box. “I think it might be some kind of metal suitcase,” he told Zero.
“Can you pry it loose with the shovel?” Zero suggested.
“I’m afraid the side of the hole will collapse.”
“You might as well give it a try,” said Zero.
Stanley took a sip of water. “Might as well,” he said.
He forced the tip of the shovel between the dirt and the top of the metal case and tried to wedge it free. He wished he could see what he was doing.
He worked the end of the shovel, back and forth, up and down, until he felt the suitcase fall free. Then he felt the dirt come piling down on top of it.
But it wasn’t a huge cave-in. As he knelt down in the hole, he could tell that only a small portion of the earth had collapsed.
He dug with his hands until he found the leather handle, and then he pulled the suitcase up and out of the dirt. “I got it!” he exclaimed.
It was heavy. He handed it up to Zero.
“You did it,” Zero said, taking it from him.
“We did it,” said Stanley.
He gathered his remaining strength, and tried to pull himself up out of the hole. Suddenly, a bright light was shining in his face.
“Thank you,” said the Warden. “You boys have been a big help.”
45
The beam of the flashlight was directed away from Stanley’s eyes and onto Zero, who was sitting on his knees. The suitcase was on his lap.
Mr. Pendanski was holding the flashlight. Mr. Sir stood next to him with his gun drawn and pointed in the same direction. Mr. Sir was barefoot and bare-chested, wearing only his pajama bottoms.
The Warden moved toward Zero. She was also in her bed clothes, wearing an extra-long T-shirt. Unlike Mr. Sir, however, she had on her boots.
Mr. Pendanski was the only one fully dressed. Perhaps he had been on guard duty.
Off in the distance, Stanley could see two more flashlights bobbing toward them in the darkness. He felt helpless in the hole.
