“We must clear this ivy away，” said Peter.
“Oh， do let’s leave it alone，” said Susan. “We can try it in the morning. If we‘ve got to spend the night here I don’t want an open door at my back and a great big black hole that anything might come out of， besides the draught and the damp. And it‘ll soon be dark.”
“Susan！ How can you？” said Lucy with a reproachful glance. But both the boys were too much excited to take any notice of Susan’s advice. They worked at the ivy with their hands and with Peter‘s pocket.knife till the knife broke. After that they used Edmund’s. Soon the whole place where they had been sitting was covered with ivy； and at last they had the door cleared.
“Locked， of course，” said Peter.
“But the wood‘s all rotten，” said Edmund. “We can pull it to bits in no time， and it will make extra firewood. Come on.”
It took them longer than they expected and， before they had done， the great hall had grown dusky and the first star or two had come out overhead. Susan was not the only one who felt a slight shudder as the boys stood above the pile of splintered wood， rubbing the dirt off their hands and staring into the cold， dark opening they had made.
“Now for a torch，” said Peter.