James hurried across the polished hardwood floor to join them.
He knelt down beside Sarah and gripped the heavy iron latch handle firmly.
He pulled upward with all his strength, but the mechanism groaned loudly.
The old metal lock was wedged tight in its antique frame.
James: Clara, are you hurt down there at all?
Clara: I am fine, James, but it is very cold and dark.
Clara: The flashlight on my telephone stopped working a few minutes ago.
Lily: Mommy, do not worry!
Lily: Mr. James is going to pull you out right now!
James wiped his hands on his dark trousers and pulled again.
The metal mechanism shifted slightly, but the thick door remained shut.
James: The security bolt jammed when the top hatch slammed shut.
Sarah: Is there a spare brass key in the manager office downstairs?
James: The master key stays in the grand study on the top floor desk.
Lily looked up at James with wide, tearful eyes.
Lily: I know where the big brass desk keys are kept!
Lily: Mommy showed me the antique key box near the library window yesterday.
Sarah: Go get it quickly, sweetheart!
Lily stood up and ran down the hallway as fast as she could.
Her small shoes tapped rhythmically against the long runner rug.
Sarah leaned down closer to the tiny air holes in the wood.
Sarah: Lily went to get the key right now, Clara.
Clara: She is such a brave little girl.
Sarah: How did you end up down in the cellar alone?
Clara: I was looking for the original property deed documents from sixty years ago.
Clara: My late father mentioned an old metal box kept near the stone wall.
James: That old cellar has not been used in almost twenty years.
James: The hinges were damaged during the big winter storm last season.
Below the floor, Clara took a slow, deliberate breath to stay calm.
Clara: I stepped down the top two stairs to reach the shelf.
Clara: The floorboard gave way under my foot and the hatch swung closed.
Sarah: Do not worry, we are standing right above you.
James: I will get a crowbar from the utility closet if needed.
James stood up and hurried down the corridor toward the back room.
Sarah stayed right next to the opening so Clara would not feel lonely.
Sarah: Talk to me, Clara. Tell me what you see down there.
Clara: Just old wooden furniture covered in white cotton dust sheets.
Clara: And a few locked metal trunks sitting along the brick wall.
Sarah checked her wristwatch while listening carefully to her friend's voice.
Only five minutes had passed, but every second felt like an hour.
Lily came running back down the hallway carrying a shiny silver key ring.
She was breathing fast from running up and down the main staircase.
Lily: I found the keys on the wooden desk!
Sarah: Good job, Lily! You did amazing!
Lily handed the silver key ring directly to Sarah's waiting hands.
James returned at the exact same moment carrying a long metal pry bar.
James: Let me try the key first before we force the wood frame.