The Hayloft. A 1950s Mystery

told us about the wonders of topology.
    One of the more interesting demonstrations he gave was to take off a vest he was wearing while keeping his jacket on. Then he said, “The same principle can be used by a girl who wants to take off her bra without taking off her sweater.”
    That sounded like something I might have said—once. I looked around to see whether Dr. Graves or another adult would shut him up, but he talked so casually that he was getting away with it. He looked as if he expected one of the girls to volunteer to demonstrate, but of course none did. The idea was to slip a strap off one arm and then to shove the whole bra through the other sleeve. I wondered whether there was a practical application.
    I asked Veronica about that after the talk was over. She laughed and said that the information might be useful next year when she was in college. I felt a strong urge to get out of high school and into college.
    Ten of us wanted to go on the tour, including Ed and me. Veronica went to the house and procured the key to the padlock that secured the sturdy wooden door at the entrance to the shelter. The door was set into the side of a small hill, and as Veronica opened it, she started her lecture. From the confident sound of her voice, she had given the lecture before and was probably qualified to act as a docent for bomb shelter tours.
    “You’ll notice that the shelter is built of concrete a foot thick,” she said, indicating the doorframe. “Perhaps not thick enough to withstand a direct hit, but certainly thick enough to keep out the harmful fallout. In any case, if we get a direct hit out here, somebody’s aim is seriously off.”
    This statement produced nervous giggles. We were beginning to wonder whether we all needed bomb shelters.
    Veronica turned on a large flashlight that she had brought from the house and said, “If you’re going to be in a shelter for several days, what do you need to survive?”
    Was this a pop quiz? She stepped through the doorway while we contemplated that question. We followed her. The room we entered was high enough for me to stand and perhaps six feet wide. It was too dark for me to see exactly how long it was, but it appeared to extend for at least twenty feet. Cans of food and other items were stacked along one of the walls.
    “You’ll notice that when the door is shut, the space around it is sealed airtight to prevent anything radioactive from getting inside.”
    Veronica closed the door and turned off her flashlight. It was suddenly pitch black. Several people gasped. I felt disoriented.
    “If everything is sealed, how do you breathe?” somebody asked. “Won’t the air run out?”
    “Good question,” Veronica said, opening the door again, to the relief of all of us. “So the first thing you need to survive is breathable air. There is a hole in the roof of the shelter to provide ventilation.”
    She shone the flashlight along the ceiling. I saw a hole in the concrete that presumably led to the outside world above. Ed walked over and looked directly up through the hole. I was curious as to what he saw, but not curious enough to go over to it.
    “But if you bring in air from outside, won’t the fallout come in with it?” I asked.
    “The gamma rays produce the most dangerous kind of radiation. They are emitted from dirt and dust sucked up into the nuclear cloud. Once they reach the earth, they shouldn’t penetrate the concrete and the dirt surrounding the shelter. The hole is covered to prevent radioactive rain and other debris from falling into the shelter. Fresh air comes in from under the cap.”
    She certainly spoke as if she knew what she was talking about. I wondered how much of what she was saying made scientific sense and how much was the result of wishful thinking.
    “Now, what else do we need to survive?” Veronica asked.
    “Food.”
    “Water.”
    “Protection against the cold.”
    “Human waste disposal. Where do you pee?”
    The last statement produced some giggles.
    “We have all of that, including enough food and water for six people to survive for two weeks. And a chemical toilet.”
    Veronica shone her flashlight along the floor of the shelter. There were large bottles of water and stacked cans of food. I saw blankets and what looked like folded up army cots that my family had used when we went camping.
    “In addition, there is a first aid kit and a tool kit.”
    “How do you light the place when the door is closed?” a girl