Meanwhile, as their parents conversed in the garden, Sabina and Matthew had been running from one end of the cellar to the other, laughing and still in full flight of the chase.

Sabina had flown up out of the garden, across the courtyard, through the kitchen door, through the long corridors, into the south parlor, down the stairs into the cellar, and all the way along the narrow corridor—Matthew on her heels every step of the way—and into the empty cellar room at the far north side of the house. There she collapsed on the stairs that led up to the guest Stube, laughing harder than she ever had in her life. He had just caught up with her, and now he leaned back against the stone wall next to her, laughing equally hard himself.

“How can you run so fast?” Matthew asked breathlessly.

“I know the house like the back of my hand,” Sabina replied.

“I’ll have to get you back outside in the open!”

“I used to pretend I was escaping from bad people trying to get me,” Sabina went on, recovering her breath. “Actually,” she laughed again, “I used to pretend I was escaping from Gustav—I’d forgotten all about that, till just now!”

“Does he know about all this down under here?”

“Oh no, I never brought him here to play.”

“Why not, if you used to play down here?”

“I don’t know, something just told me I shouldn’t. I guess I never thought about that either. I just… didn’t bring him down here. He knows nothing about it.”

“How about all the secret places upstairs?”

“What secret places?”

“Up on the top floor?”

“They’re not all that secret, just mysterious.”

“Did you and Gustav used to go up there together?”

“No, not much… I don’t know, I can’t remember—that’s been so long ago. I’m sure he’s been on the balcony, but I don’t recall ever going through the rest of the second floor with him. We mostly played outside when we were small. My parents liked to be around when we played together.”

They were silent, both still breathing deeply. Then Matthew began to wander around the small room.

“Just like I remember it,” he said. “Even the earthy smell…”

He glanced around the small room, eyes falling on the stone or brick indentations on the interior wall where a few broken pots stood.

“Hey,” he said, “look up there! A great place to hide a key to a secret room or hidden dungeon!”

“Matthew, your imagination is running away with you!”

“No, come on—I want to look.”

He strained on his tiptoes but still could not see over the top of the ledge.

“Come here,” he said. “Stand in my hands.”