The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One) (20 page)

They quickly ran over to her.

Jessica pointed at the binding
.
“Look at how loose the binding is, and it’s definitely unglued. Here
…
take a look if you don’t believe me
.
”

Gabrielle excitedly took the book from Jessica’s trembling hands. She ran her fingers along the worn back cover. “Look, there’s a bulge under the back cover. Does anyone have something sharp that I can use to pry it up?”

“Wait, I do,” Rosalinda said excitedly as she pulled a nail file from her bag and handed it to Gabrielle. “The end of my nail file is sharp enough to pry it up.”

“Awesome, this will work,” Gabrielle said gratefully as she pressed the end of the nail file along the outer edges of the cover, piercing the paper. She quickly scratched at the corner, prying it up with her nails. Her hands trembled excitedly as she peeled the gold lining back, revealing an old yellowed envelope
,
which fell to the floor with a soft clanking sound.

They looked at each other anxiously as Gabrielle reached down and picked
up the envelope. She tore it open with excitement and they all gasped as she pulled
out a piece of paper
,
which she carefully unfolded
to
reveal a small gold key nestled in the center.

Gabrielle cleared her throat as she read aloud,

Now finding the answer to this second clue will be quite easy for the four of you. It has a back, supports four legs, it’s made for one
,
and rests the arms when they get weary. When you have found the answer you seek, just plant your arms and then your feet.

Jessica gave Gabrielle a confused look
.
“Gosh, what in the world does that mean?”

“Hmmm. Gabi, can I see the clue?”
Zora
asked.

Gabrielle quickly handed over the clue and then plopped down on the floor with frustration, closing her eyes and resting her head against the bookcase. “Think
,
Gabi, think. After all, this is not rocket science,” she muttered tiredly.

As if in a trance, she pulled out a lollipop from her ponytail, unwrapped it
,
and popped
it into her mouth
. The
lollipop rolled loudly from side
to
side in he
r
mouth while she mumbled,

Now finding the answer to this second clue will be quite easy for the four of you. It has a back, supports four legs, it’s made for one
,
and rests the arms when they get weary. When you have found the answer you seek, just plant your arms and then your feet.

She sighed and opened her eyes
.
“Okay
,
Gabby Girls, we’ve got to figure this out. If we don’t, the Gabby Girls Adventure ends right here, right now. And I
,
for one
,
can’t live with failure.” She glanced around the room wildly, looking for something,
anything
,
that
could help them out of their dilemma. Suddenly
,
a slow smile spread across her face and she jumped to her feet.

“Gabby Girls, I got it! I know what the clue means
.
I
t’s a chair. It’s the only thing in here that has four legs and a back. Quick
,
everyone, go back to the table,” Gabrielle screamed happily.

She quickly ran over to the table with Rosalinda,
Zora
,
and Jessica following with doubt written all over their faces.

Gabrielle’s face pinched with annoyance
.
“Okay, why are you just standing there? Sit down.”

They nervously pulled the chair
s
back and sat down, their bodies tensed with expectation.

Zora
anxiously adjusted her glasses
.
“Wait a minute, this is all wrong.”

Rosalinda angrily threw her hands up in the air
.
“
Bastantes
—
enough
!
I’ve had about enough of this Gabby Girls Adventure gibberish. I just want to go back to our nice comfy room right now
.
”

Jessica bit her bottom lip as she squirmed nervously her chair
.
“What do you mean
,
Zora
? Why is this all wrong?”

Zora
looked at them tiredly
.
“Okay, first of all, we’re sitting in the wrong chairs. I think we have to sit in the chair that matches the symbol on our pendant
s
,” she stated.

“Okay, that’s no biggie
.
L
et’s just move to the correct chair,” Gabrielle said.

Rosalinda huffed with frustration as she stood
up.

They walked over to the correct chairs
,
sat down
,
and waited silently for something to happen.

Rosalinda wailed, “Great, just like I thought
. N
othing is—”
S
he squealed with surprise as their chairs quickly spun around sideways and then abruptly stopped.

Jessica gripped her armrest so tight that her knuckles turned a deathly white
.
“Oh
,
my goodness!
Oh
,
my goodness! What’s happening? I’m getting off this chair,” she screamed nervously.

“No, don’t move,”
Zora
instructed.

The chairs spun around again
;
this time
they
stopped to face the bookcase.

Zora
looked around nervously. Rosalinda’s eyes were squeezed tight with fear.
Jessica’s chest heaved in
and
out
,
and Gabrielle gripped her armrest tightly. They looked at each other nervously.

“I think it’s all right to get off the chair now,”
Zora
said breathlessly.

 
Rosalinda opened her eyes slowly
.
“This is crazy; I’m getting out of—”

“Quiet
,
Rosalinda
. D
id anyone else hear that?”
Zora
asked as she looked around
the
room anxiously.

Jessica’s eyes bulged nervously
.
“Hear what?”

“There it goes again. Can’t you hear it? It’s faint but I definitely hear something clicking,”
Zora
whispered as she looked around the room uneasily.

Rosalinda looked at her angrily
.
“I don’t hear a thing
.
I think that this—”
S
he jumped nervously at the loud clicking sound.

Unexpectedly, a small section of the bookcase slowly swung open, revealing a dark entrance.
Their mouths dropped open with shock.

“Yeah!
That’s what I’m talking about,” Gabrielle exclaimed happily. She clapped her hands excitedly
.
“Awesome
!
I knew it. It’s some sort of secret passageway,” she screamed as she jumped
up from her chair. She ran over and peered boldly into the secret passageway. Turning around, she looked at them with an excited sparkle in her eyes
.
“Isn’t this great? Wow, I knew it, I just knew it
...
”
 

Rosalinda,
Zora
,
and Jessica sat paralyzed with shock, looking at the secret passageway from afar.

Gabrielle tapped her foot impatiently
.
“What’s the deal
,
Gabby Girls? Why are you still sitting there?”

Incredulously, they looked at her.

Gabrielle p
r
opped her hands on her hips and gave
Zora
an annoyed glare
.
“Come on
,
Zora
, this is what we’ve been looking for.”
She turned back around and peered excitedly into the passageway
.
“
Zora
,
take out your flashlight because I think we’re going to need it. It’s real dark in there,” she stated matter-of-factly
,
h
er voice echoing as she leaned in.

Zora
snapped out of her stupor, shrugged her shoulders with defeat
,
and hopped
up from the chair. She quickly dug through her backpack as she walked over to the dark passageway.

Gabrielle looked over her shoulder
,
giving
Zora
an excited smile.
Zora
smiled back as she handed the flashlight over to Gabrielle.

“Here
,
Gabi
,
take the flashlight,” she said elatedly.

“Thanks,
Zo
,” Gabrielle said as she shined the flashlight through the doorway. “This is definitely the way; I can just feel it in my bones,” she mumbled. She turned around and smiled
.
“Let’s go
,
Gabby Girls
.
”

Rosalinda and Jessica just sat in their chairs
,
gawking nervously.

“Um
,
I-I don’t know about this
. I
t might be dangerous,” Jessica stuttered nervously.