Enchanting World of Garden Irene McGeeny Read Online Free Page B

covering the three-story-high ceiling. The brownish-gray color was everywhere except for the bright yellow castle that had touches of purple on its very high steeples.
    For a moment, they both stood still. Garden Irene was kind enough to realize that this was a bit astonishing for Peter, so she let him swallow the panoramic view for a few minutes before she once again told him that there was too much to see to waste time.
    â€œThis is a limestone cave, Peter, found by my Grand-daddy McGeeny when he fell through the hole in the ground and disappeared a long time ago.” She continued “Great-grand-daddy and Uncle Jess yelled for him and heard him call back. Once they knew that he was okay and able to get himself out, they ran to get raincoats, flashlights, ropes, and picks. They never called for any other help, though. This was their secret.
    â€œThe hole,” she continued, “was where grand-daddy put the steps. For five years, the three men dug and explored the cave. This is our special lake,” she said, pointing to the body of water. “Anyway, once they knew that it was safe here and not much water was coming from the earth’s surface, they knew that the stone formations would not crumble anymore.”
    She followed his gaze upward. “Those are called stalactites, Peter.”
    Now they were both standing still, looking up. Peter already knew they were stalactites. They definitely looked like fangs or teeth that probably would come crashing down at any minute.
    â€œThey look like giant icicles, don’t they?” she asked.
    â€œThose ice things, aren’t you afraid they’ll fall on you, Garden Irene?” Peter swallowed.
    â€œNo. They haven’t fallen for millions of years, and at least not since our castle was built, so why should we worry?” she answered in a reassuring voice. “Now come on into the castle.”
    Peter was still gathering his thoughts over the big icicles that he was doubtless were ready to fall on him. It was difficult for him to tear his attention from those dreadful possibilities to the greatest tour of all—the castle.

CHAPTER
    8
    Peter was still in awe. Garden Irene continued her long dissertation about her underground home. The look on his face was still fixed from when he’d begun the surprise ride on the elevator.
    He walked very slowly to catch up to his personal tour guide, but nothing could make him rush this event.
    â€œGarden Irene,” he asked, suddenly rushing to catch up when he found that she was pulling away, “do you realize that you could be known all over the country for this? Or even the world, for that matter! I mean, you could take people on tours, and you could be rich . . .”
    â€œStop right there, Peter!” she scolded. “If you are planning on telling a single soul, then we’ll stop right now, and you can go. You see, I promised my parents that I wouldn’t tell anyone about our home. So if you even think of telling anyone, I’m dead meat. I might as well pack my bags and leave right now. They don’t want any publicity.”
    Garden Irene’s tone was so convincing, that Peter said, “Look, I promise I won’t tell anyone. How about I give
    you my very valuable bug collection if I tell? Or my new trail bike that my dad just got me?”

    With this, Garden could see that he was desperate to see the castle or he would never have promised her his most valuable possessions should he squeal.
    Now that they had this understanding in place, she continued. “Okay then. This is where they started to build the castle until the ground didn’t seem too secure; then they bridged the gap from here to the front walk. The columns you see were already in place from thousands of years; they’re natural formations due to water flowing through the rocks.”
    Peter was sure he was dreaming. He was also trying to figure out when she got so earth smart. “This