asked.
“Yeah. There’s more than one way to get in and out of here. All you need to do is get through there,” he said pointing to the slit.
“No one could get through there, it’s too narrow.”
“Trust me – it’s okay once you know how, although it may be even more of a squeeze for you. I reckon it’s about five metres long, but you have to keep as flat as you can
and watch that you don’t hit your head on the rock. I lie on my front and push myself along using my hands and feet. Once you’re in, there’s no space to turn around. Just make
sure that you stop before you fall out the other end.”
“Why, where does it lead to?”
“The lake of course. I don’t reckon they found any slate in this chamber because they didn’t bother blasting it right through to the main quarry, but they did leave this
tunnel. It comes out just above the water level, behind all those reeds.”
“But I was looking right down at those reeds and didn’t see any opening in the rock.”
“I know, it’s magic, isn’t it?” Sol said. “You can’t tell it’s there; the reeds provide cover for it and the opening has moss hanging over it, so
it’s completely camouflaged. Once you reach the end of the tunnel, you can just push yourself out and into the water. Why don’t you just see if you can fit in?”
“I wouldn’t put myself in there if my life depended on it,” she said, bristling at the very thought of it. “I can’t even go in lifts without having a panic
attack.”
Sol sighed. “I thought you wanted some excitement in your life.”
“Yeah, excitement, not terror,” she answered.
“Okay then. How about a race? I’ll go through the slit and you go up and around. We’ll see who makes it back to the slabs first.”
“You’re on!” Celia shouted, heading for the bottom of the shaft. She looked behind and saw the soles of Sol’s feet disappearing into the wafer-thin tunnel. She climbed as
fast as she could, quickly gaining in confidence and surprising herself with her nimbleness. She heaved herself out of the hole and sprinted through the cliff-top forest. She caught glimpses of Sol
through the trees, cutting through the water with an elegant stroke. She skidded down the slope and towards the slabs just in time to see Sol pulling himself out of the water, breathless but
victorious.
“I seriously need to get fit,” Celia panted, the gloopy suncream sliding down her face.
“You look like you’re melting,” Sol laughed. “Why don’t you get in the water and cool down. You can stand up in this bit.” He slid back into the lake and
stood, head and shoulders above the surface. “See, you’ll be fine, it’s fairly shallow here.”
Celia wiped the dripping cream away from her eyes, looking apprehensively at the water.
“My first dip in this lake wasn’t exactly fun,” she said.
“You’ll just have to be careful; stick around this part. After a few metres the ground suddenly disappears – it shelves right down, so deep you can’t even see the
bottom.”
“Thanks, that’s reassuring,” she said sarcastically.
“Oh, come on. It’s great once you’re in. You’re not going to go out of your depth.”
Celia took off her trainers and socks and inched herself in. She felt like a red-hot horseshoe being plunged into a blacksmith’s icy water, but once she felt the solid ground beneath her
feet and the coolness of the water sucking the uncomfortable heat from her body, she started to relax.
“See, I knew you’d like it – but you still need cooling down,” Sol said, using both hands to push a wall of water up at Celia.
She screamed as the cold water hit her full in the face. Grabbing hold of the slab sides, she declared, “This means war!” Her long legs kicked with such ferocity that a tidal wave
enveloped Sol.
The surface erupted as they both pummelled the water. Celia suddenly shouted above the roar of their splashes. “Sol, do you think you could teach me how
“Yeah. There’s more than one way to get in and out of here. All you need to do is get through there,” he said pointing to the slit.
“No one could get through there, it’s too narrow.”
“Trust me – it’s okay once you know how, although it may be even more of a squeeze for you. I reckon it’s about five metres long, but you have to keep as flat as you can
and watch that you don’t hit your head on the rock. I lie on my front and push myself along using my hands and feet. Once you’re in, there’s no space to turn around. Just make
sure that you stop before you fall out the other end.”
“Why, where does it lead to?”
“The lake of course. I don’t reckon they found any slate in this chamber because they didn’t bother blasting it right through to the main quarry, but they did leave this
tunnel. It comes out just above the water level, behind all those reeds.”
“But I was looking right down at those reeds and didn’t see any opening in the rock.”
“I know, it’s magic, isn’t it?” Sol said. “You can’t tell it’s there; the reeds provide cover for it and the opening has moss hanging over it, so
it’s completely camouflaged. Once you reach the end of the tunnel, you can just push yourself out and into the water. Why don’t you just see if you can fit in?”
“I wouldn’t put myself in there if my life depended on it,” she said, bristling at the very thought of it. “I can’t even go in lifts without having a panic
attack.”
Sol sighed. “I thought you wanted some excitement in your life.”
“Yeah, excitement, not terror,” she answered.
“Okay then. How about a race? I’ll go through the slit and you go up and around. We’ll see who makes it back to the slabs first.”
“You’re on!” Celia shouted, heading for the bottom of the shaft. She looked behind and saw the soles of Sol’s feet disappearing into the wafer-thin tunnel. She climbed as
fast as she could, quickly gaining in confidence and surprising herself with her nimbleness. She heaved herself out of the hole and sprinted through the cliff-top forest. She caught glimpses of Sol
through the trees, cutting through the water with an elegant stroke. She skidded down the slope and towards the slabs just in time to see Sol pulling himself out of the water, breathless but
victorious.
“I seriously need to get fit,” Celia panted, the gloopy suncream sliding down her face.
“You look like you’re melting,” Sol laughed. “Why don’t you get in the water and cool down. You can stand up in this bit.” He slid back into the lake and
stood, head and shoulders above the surface. “See, you’ll be fine, it’s fairly shallow here.”
Celia wiped the dripping cream away from her eyes, looking apprehensively at the water.
“My first dip in this lake wasn’t exactly fun,” she said.
“You’ll just have to be careful; stick around this part. After a few metres the ground suddenly disappears – it shelves right down, so deep you can’t even see the
bottom.”
“Thanks, that’s reassuring,” she said sarcastically.
“Oh, come on. It’s great once you’re in. You’re not going to go out of your depth.”
Celia took off her trainers and socks and inched herself in. She felt like a red-hot horseshoe being plunged into a blacksmith’s icy water, but once she felt the solid ground beneath her
feet and the coolness of the water sucking the uncomfortable heat from her body, she started to relax.
“See, I knew you’d like it – but you still need cooling down,” Sol said, using both hands to push a wall of water up at Celia.
She screamed as the cold water hit her full in the face. Grabbing hold of the slab sides, she declared, “This means war!” Her long legs kicked with such ferocity that a tidal wave
enveloped Sol.
The surface erupted as they both pummelled the water. Celia suddenly shouted above the roar of their splashes. “Sol, do you think you could teach me how
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