Forest Kingdom Trilogy 3 - Down Among the Dead Men

open, and stepped quickly away. The trapdoor fell back onto the floor with a crash, but the dark opening was still and silent. The Rangers waited tensely, but nothing stirred in the darkness, MacNeil took his lantern and lowered it cautiously into the opening. For as far as he could see, the tunnel was empty. He looked back at the others.
    “Nothing. No sign they were ever there.”
    “I told you,” said Constance. “They’re gone.”
    “Looks like it,” said MacNeil. “But I’m not going down into the tunnel to check.” He started to close the trapdoor, and then stopped and looked closely at its underside. The heavy wood had been split and splintered by savage blows from giant fists. MacNeil shivered once, and then closed the trapdoor and bolted it. He thought for a moment and then looked at the others. “Help me move some of those heavy barrels on top of the trapdoor. I want this opening blocked off completely.”
    Between the four of them, they were able to manhandle two great casks stuffed with rusting ironwork onto the trapdoor. The wood creaked loudly under the weight of them. The Rangers leaned two more barrels against them, just to be sure, and then stepped back and admired their handiwork while they got their breath back.
    “That should hold them,” said MacNeil.
    “That would hold a rabid elephant,” said the Dancer. “And I should like at this stage to point out that I am a swordsman, not a laborer.”
    “Would you rather the giants got out and we had to fight them again?” asked MacNeil.
    The Dancer thought about it for a moment and then nodded eagerly.
    The trouble is, he probably means it
, thought MacNeil.
    “We have a problem,” said Flint suddenly.
    “We have several,” said MacNeil. “Which did you have in mind?”
    “Well,” said Flint, “what if the gold is down there in the tunnels somewhere? How the hell are we going to get it out?”
    “We’re not,” said MacNeil firmly. “I’m damned if I’m going back down there armed only with a sword; they don’t pay me enough to do that. In fact, they couldn’t pay me enough. There isn’t that much money in the world. We’ll wait till the reinforcements get here, and let them figure out a way to get down there in force.”
    Flint and Dancer nodded soberly. Constance frowned but said nothing. MacNeil sighed quietly and stretched his aching muscles. He never used to get this tired after a sword fight. He must be getting out of condition; it was time to start dieting again. MacNeil scowled. He hated diets.
    “All right,” he said wearily, “let’s get out of here. You know, times are changing. I can remember when deserted forts just had rats in their cellars.”
    “Yeah,” said Flint. “Next time, let’s just put some poison down.”
    The Rangers laughed and left the cellar. In the darkness below, something stirred in its sleep.
    Hammer, Wilde, and Scarecrow Jack crowded into the reception hall and pulled the door shut behind them. The roar of the rain died away to a loud murmur, and they could hear themselves think again. They stopped to shake off the worst of the rain and then looked around them in the pale glow from Hammer’s lantern. Wilde produced flint and steel and lit a torch he took from a wall bracket. The flaring light filled the hall with an amber glow and unsteady shadows. Four horses regarded the newcomers with grave suspicion. The outlaws looked around them, taking in the bloodstained surroundings and the four empty nooses hanging from the overhead beam.
    “What the hell happened here?” said Wilde. “Hammer, you never told us it would be like this.”
    “Everything was normal here when I delivered the gold,” said Hammer slowly. “I knew something pretty bad must have happened when the fort fell out of contact, but this … I don’t know. It doesn’t matter anyway. Whatever happened here, it’s over now; those bloodstains have been dry for some time. Unless it interferes with us, it’s none of our business. Let’s just get the gold and get the hell out of here.”
    Wilde glowered uncertainly about him. “I don’t know, Hammer. I never banked on anything like this.”
    “Is that right?” said Hammer. “What did you think, that we could just walk in and out again, as easy as that? If you want to get rich, you have to be prepared to take a few risks.”
    “Calculated risks are one thing, Hammer. This is … different.”
    “Not going soft on me, are you, Edmond?” said Hammer.