Free The Hotel Under the Sand by Kage Baker

ears.”
    “That doesn’t sound very safe,” said Emma.
    “Unless you had some proper earplugs,” said Winston. He snapped his fingers. “Wait a minute! I know the very thing.” He turned and ran down to the Lobby. A moment later he came running up again, carrying a small pasteboard box.
    “Here we go! There were some in the shop.” He read from the label on the box. “‘Acme Ear Plugs! Made of Purest Beeswax. For the Comfort and Convenience of the Traveler. Positively Guaranteed to Block Out All Distressing Noises Such as Snoring, Cats, and Immoderate Neighbors.’“
    “I’ll try them,” said Emma. Winston opened the box and handed her a pair of little wax plugs. She fit them into her ears. At once all sound went away, except for the pounding of her own heartbeat.
    Winston looked at her and said something. She supposed he was asking if the plugs worked. She nodded, and then opened the landing door and peered around it.
    Now Emma could hear the siren, just a little. She drew a deep breath and ran down the hall. By the time she got to the mermaid window, she could see the dust vibrating in the air and the doors all along the corridor rattling. The sound was beginning to cut through even the earplugs, making them vibrate in her ears, which tickled dreadfully. A glass dome fell from one of the hall lights, narrowly missing her. She reached out and pressed the vase carving again. Instantly, the siren stopped.
    A tiny drawer, no more than three inches long, popped out above the vase. Emma reached in with two fingers and found a slip of paper. She pulled out her earplugs and ran back to the others, waving the slip of paper. “Here’s the next clue!”
    They had to coax Shorty out from under one of the divans in the Lobby, and Captain Doubloon had to go catch his parrot before they were ready to see what the next clue said. Emma read it out:
    “‘The Queen of the Moon, on melodious sea
    Keeps safe the key
    With vain regret and misery.’“
    “A key!” said Captain Doubloon. “Well, now we’re getting some-wheres. Only, where would we find the Queen of the Moon?”
    “What does
melodious
mean?” Emma asked.
    “It means musical,” said Winston. “And there’s only one place Mr. Wenlocke can have meant. Follow me!”
    He led them down to the second floor, where above a big set of double doors was painted the word BALLROOM .

12
T HE S HIP
    T HEY ALL WENT in and stopped in surprise.
    Emma blinked. She seemed to be standing on a flat moonlit sea. Above her was a starry night sky, where little stars winked on and off. Bearing down on her was a big, square-rigged ship all made of silver. It was only one of Mr. Wenlocke’s clever illusions, of course.
    They were actually standing in a vast, echoing room, empty except for a row of silver chairs along two walls. The bare floor was made of wood, bleached gray and inlaid with ebony ripples. The high windows along one wall had a stained-glass design of white waves and stars. The ceiling was painted to look like the night sky, starred and spangled with electric lights. And the ship…
    The ship was painted on the wall, a gigantic mural two storeys high, so cleverly done that Emma felt she could almost hear the wind in its rigging. Only its silver-painted bow was real, projecting into the room ten feet above the dance floor. There was a figurehead on the prow. It was a silver lady, with a crescent moon on her forehead.
    “That must be the Queen of the Moon,” said Emma, running down the length of the room. The grownups followed more slowly. As she got close, Emma saw that the bow of the ship concealed a balcony, which was reached by a small flight of stairs.
    “That was the orchestra gallery,” said Winston. “Mr. Wenlocke meant for musicians to go up there and play, so the dancers would have the whole floor for themselves. If we’d ever had a dance here,” he added with a sigh.
    “Well, we’re
going
to have dances some day,” said Emma. “You’ll