As soon as little Suzette's arm was properly healed, she began running wild through the little apartment causing Erik to have alternating fits of panic and amusement. It seemed to him that she was nearly equal in her desire to explore and her inclination to fall flat on her face. He gave her liberty to search through his boxes and shelves and to play with everything she liked. She took great care to be gentle with his collections and not to drop them for even at her young age, she could tell that many of the things were valuable and not for children. Even so she managed to break the leg of a very handsome deer that was carved from a richly colored wood. Erik was somewhat upset but the girl looked so distressed and nervous that he was unable to do anything but assure her that he hadn't liked it so very much anyway.

At this point, Erik suggested that she examine the outside walls and the floors as he said they were full of surprises. Suzette did as she was advised and was delighted to find hidden doors and cupboards throughout the apartment. Erik had to show her how to open most of them, for they were very tricky doors and even after he explained their devices several times, Suzette often couldn't get them to work herself. She crawled inside the spaces and found storage areas and connections to other rooms. Through one doorway she found an enormous library, filled to such an extent with books and papers that there was no available space to sit and read them.

"So many books!" Suzette exclaimed.

"Yes, I like to read about things," Erik explained to her.

"What kind of things?" she asked.

"Lots of things, things that I can't know about here. Sometimes I wish I could go about and see all sorts of things happening. But I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just can't," he said sadly and Suzette was quite sorry for him.

They reentered the house and Suzette discovered a trap door on the smooth floor near the little table where they took their meals. She found that it came open quite readily and about a foot beneath the little door, water was bubbling and gurgling away.

"What is this for?" she asked him. Erik showed her some hooks on the underside of the door and explained how he could hook something onto the door and the water would keep it cool. Suzette noticed a little switch on a pipe that seemed to run under the floor and asked if she could flip it. Erik nodded and she leaned in carefully and turned on the switch. To their right, several sprays of water shot up mysteriously from the floor and then seemed to disappear back through the floor. Suzette stuck her hands into the fountain and felt about the floor, trying to discover how the illusion worked, only to rise several minutes later, sopping wet and still befuddled.

Through another passageway she found a large workroom, filled with wires, gears, and tools used for carpentry. In the center of the room, was a large table that was covered with masses of gears and coils that were connected and interconnected by cables.

"What are these things, Erik?" Suzette asked.

"They are locks and pulleys for opening and closing doors."

"Hidden doors like these?"

"Some of them."

"But all your doors are already fixed with them."

"Ah! The doors in the house are all fixed with them, but there are other doors that must be tended as well."

"What doors, Erik?" Erik knelt down beside her and lowered his voice as if he were afraid that someone might hear.

"You see, Suzette. I am not the only one who knows of this dark place. There are others."

"Who?" Suzette asked in wonder.

"The Daroga…and the Ratcatcher…and Joseph Bouquet, though he is dead now."

"The Ratcatcher?" squeaked Suzette, wide-eyed.

"Yes, he is the worst. He caught me off guard once and nearly had me." Suzette shivered and Erik continued.

"They have their own quarters, their own doors and passageways. They know I am here and they are constantly searching for a way to trap me when I venture out. If they should ever discover my house I am done for. That is why it is absolutely necessary that the doors open and shut only for myself, so that I may disappear behind them and they may not follow me. Sometimes, they find my locks and tear them away and break their way into my passageways and I must wait for them to leave before I can leave the house safely and go and replace them." Erik straightened himself and began arranging his tools as he spoke to her.

"And there are the people, the men and women who dwell above us, who must never suspect that I am any more then a ghost. The ordinary people of Paris, like you, they are, at times, even more dangerous to me then the others, and I am horribly dangerous to them. So there are doors to keep them out as well." He was silent for a moment, but then he added, "Sometimes I am careless, and I leave those doors open."

"Hasn't anyone been in here before except for me?" the child asked. Erik went quite stiff and said in a nearly choking voice, "Yes, I have entertained on a few occasions. Oh yes! Once I had four visitors in one night. It was a regular birthday party."

"Did you get any presents?" Suzette asked innocently, but Erik was no longer listening.

"What is behind this door?" she asked, attempting to change the subject. Erik looked at the door and laughed shortly.

"There's nothing back there anymore, my dear. It's a passageway to what is left of the first house I built. I haven't been over there for at least ten years."

"Then let's go and see it!"

"No, Suzette. You don't want to go over there. Who knows what sort of state it's in? It's probably infested with rats." Erik turned to leave the workroom, but Suzette pulled at his sleeve and was adamant that she see the old house. Erik sighed and opened the door for her. He took a lantern from a hook on the wall and they walked through a passageway so small that Erik had to bend down to fit. He chuckled coldly to himself and said, "I suppose I was smaller once." Suzette ran her hand along the walls of the tunnel and dust and hunks of plaster came away. The passage seemed to have been dug through several layers of plaster, and brick. They had only gone a few yards when suddenly Erik caught hold of her shoulder and pulled her back.

"Careful! I didn't realize how much higher the new house was than the old when I dug this." He held the lantern out and Suzette saw what he meant. They were on the edge of a twenty-foot drop.

Suzette looked down at the old house, which was little more than a large room with makeshift furniture and a few poorly made cabinets. The room was in a shamble, furniture smashed, papers thrown about. There was a corner that had clearly caught on fire at one point, and a dark stain on the floor. Erik's breathing became heavy and he grasped the wall as he slowly lowered himself to the floor.

"What happened here?" Suzette asked him.

"I'd nearly forgotten. . ." he whispered as he tried to catch his breath.

"What?"

"This was where I built my first house. I was so young then. . .I thought that no one would ever cross the lake to find me. . .and I used tools and lumber which I had to sneak about to steal. It wasn't long before the others noticed me and began to search for my hiding place…"

"Did they find you?" Erik couldn't answer but he nodded and gestured toward the mess below them.

"But how did you get away?" He covered his mask with his hands.

"I don't remember exactly…somehow I pulled away…there was fire, I think…I got out of the house…Or perhaps the Daroga found me inside…I don't remember anymore."

"Who is the Daroga?" Suzette asked, but Erik had already risen and was dusting himself off.

"Never mind," he told her, "It hardly matters now. Come on. Lets go back into the house. I shall seal this passage up. It's no good anymore." Suzette followed him inside, wondering what a daroga was.

Once they were safely inside the house Erik shut the door firmly.

"I should seal this up for good," he said to no one in particular and to Suzette he said, "That's enough exploring for now. Let's have some dinner and go to bed."

During their dinner, it seemed to Erik that Suzette began acting very foolishly. She told him that she hated her food and she refused to eat it. When he suggested to her that she just have a little so she wouldn't be hungry, she crossed her arms, tightened her lips, and blinked her little eyes at him in a most unattractive manner.

"Little girls are such funny things," he said, more to himself then to her.

"No, you're funny!" she retorted, "And you're mean, too. I'm not eating this!" With that, she picked up a roll and threw it at him. Erik was quite confused. Moments ago, this had been a seemingly enchanting little child, but now she seemed to have been possessed by a food-throwing demon. His confusion turned to frustration and he said,

"I don't know what has gotten into you, mademoiselle, but if you are going to be pelting me with bread, perhaps it's time we went to bed." Suzette scrunched up her face even more and banged her little fists on the table.

"I don't want to go to bed!" she screamed. Erik rose so abruptly that the table nearly capsized and Suzette pulled back, afraid that he might strike her.

"We are going to bed right now!" Erik bellowed in a voice that seemed to shake the whole lake. He grabbed Suzette and lifted her over his shoulder like a heavy bag and carried her into her bedroom, where he dumped her unceremoniously onto the bed.

"I want some water first!" Suzette demanded.

"Are you going to throw that at me too?" he asked mockingly.

"I only threw the bread at you because I was mad that you won't take off that mask!"

"That's ridiculous and I'm not taking it off, nor am I bringing any water or anything else!"

"Then I'm not going to sleep!" the child insisted and she got up and began to bounce about on the bed. She watched Erik watching her. His arms were crossed and he leaned against the doorframe and glared at her through the eyeholes of his mask.

"You're a bad girl!" he informed her. But she stuck her nose in the air and bounced to the floor. She ran over to the locked door and began tugging at it and pounding on it.

"I want to go in this door!" she demanded.

"I'm not opening anymore doors for you, mademoiselle. And even if I did, I would never open that one."

"I want to go in!" she screamed again and again as she stomped her feet. Erik had had enough. He sprang into the room like a cobra, picked up the little girl and tossed her onto the bed. She was screaming and she moved to get up again, but Erik pointed a bony finger at her and said, low and dangerously, "You are going to be quiet right now and stay on this bed." The girl stopped shrieking and began to hiccup as tears rolled down her face. Erik turned and left the room and the little fiend cried out, "I hate you, Erik! You're not my friend anymore!" And Erik was convinced that little girls were the most hateful of creatures and he resolved that in the morning he would tie her up in the communists' dungeon, a very dark and secluded place of which he knew and where he doubted even the rats would find her.

When Erik opened his eyes the next morning, Suzette was standing before him in the oversized nightdress. There were salty streaks beneath her eyes but she was smiling at him. Erik instinctively put his hand to his mask and straightened it as he sat up.

"Good morning, Erik," she chirped. Erik blinked beneath his mask.

"What are we going to do today?" she asked cheerfully as she sat beside him.

"What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously, "You said that weren't friends any longer." Suzette seemed to be confused for a moment but then she rose up on her unsteady little feet and all but threw herself upon him. Erik sat in shock as she got her arms around his neck and assured him over and over that she hadn't really meant it. Erik sighed. He knew of course, that he wasn't of any great forgiving nature but maybe just because she felt so warm and sweet in his arms, he felt that he might do well to give her another try.

"Well Suzette, I had planned my whole day around tying you up in a bag and dropping it into the lake this afternoon. Now what am I supposed to do to amuse myself?" Suzette held him tighter and said innocently, "You could show me what's behind that door in the bedroom."

"I told you before. I will never open that door again. I made a promise that I would seal that room up and never use it again and I intend to keep that promise." Suzette began to pout and Erik had to think of something quick to avoid another episode like the night before.

"I know! Let's go for a picnic!"

"A picnic?" Suzette laughed, "We can't go for a picnic! It's dark out."

"But it's always dark here. Come on. You go and get dressed and I shall pack us a lovely basket and take you to the perfect place for a picnic." Suzette seemed to think about it for a moment. There was something appealing to her about seeing what lay beyond the lake and thumping around in the darkness for a place to eat breakfast.

Suzette ran to the bedroom and put on her dress, which had become somewhat dirty and torn from the past days' adventures. She emerged, moments later, and found Erik already in the boat. He had produced a merry little picnic basket, which sat in the middle of the boat. He stepped onto the dock in order to lift the small girl into the boat and set her down on a little cushion, which sat on the bottom.

He paused for a moment and seemed to look her over.

"We'll have to get you a new dress soon, Suzette. You're an absolute disgrace." He ran his thin fingers over her head in attempt to smooth her messy curls but she pushed him away. Erik looked down and observed, to his astonishment, that she was barefoot.

"What became of your shoes?" he demanded.

"They got lost."

"Well go and find them. You'll cut your little feet." Erik lifted her back onto the dock and she scuffled reluctantly to recover the lost shoes. She took her time coming back and took even longer putting the shoes on.

"Are we ready to go?" Erik asked her coolly once she had finished. Suzette nodded and the boat began to move through the darkness. Suzette watched as the house seemed to melt away. The stars above them began to disappear as well and soon the only thing Suzette could see were Erik's eyes, which seemed to burn in the darkness. Suzette crawled over to him and groped around until she found his arm.

"Are you frightened, Suzette?" he asked her gently.

"No." she lied. She didn't like this darkness as much as she though she would have. After several minutes of complete blackness a light suddenly appeared far above them. Suzette stared at the pale shape above her and it's reflection on the dark water at her side.

"What is that light, Erik?"

"That is daylight coming through the air vent." He looked up and the small square of light shone on him as they passed beneath it. "It is about the only daylight I ever see for my part. But be very still now Suzette, we are coming to a place where you can hear almost anything that is going on above us."

Suzette strained her ears and before long she could hear the echoes of many different voices floating down on them. Erik whispered to her, "It amazing the useful things one can learn by listening to people who don't think you can hear them."

Suddenly, they could feel the bottom of the boat scraping on some hard surface and Erik had to get out and push it until it went on it's own again. Now, the boat moved faster, as if it were in a flowing stream and no longer in the still lake. Erik lit a lantern and Suzette observed that they were indeed, traveling down a narrow passage. Then, in the distance they could hear the echoes of water, flowing, pouring, and thundering.

"We're nearly there," Erik informed her and suddenly, the boat plunged a short distance and they were in a chamber so tall that Suzette couldn't even see how far up it went. Opposite them, there was a large opening, several feet in the air, from which streamed the waterfall which they had heard as they approached. The water then seemed to fill the room and then spill over and flow away down two dark holes on either side of the room. The boat floated up to a flat ridge that stuck out from one wall about two feet above the water level and turned at the corner so it disappeared under the waterfall. Erik climbed up first with the basket and tied the boat off to a pillar, then reached down and lifted Suzette out.

"How deep is this water?" Suzette asked, eyeing the dark water suspiciously. Erik didn't answer, but set to laying out all of the picnic things just as he wanted them. Suzette sat down beside him and had a lovely meal while Erik sat thoughtfully, singing softly to himself.

"Aren't you hungry, Erik?" Suzette asked. Erik didn't answer but took an apple from the basket and began to slice it into tiny pieces that he stuck, one-by-one, in his mouth. Meanwhile, Suzette had finished her food and climbed gingerly back into the boat, untying it from the pillar. Erik watched her in silence as she rowed it into the water.

Suzette had a good time as she sat playing in the boat and imagining herself to be sailing about on the sea. After a time she looked up at Erik, who had finished playing around with his apple and was reading a book by the light of a lantern.

"What is it you are reading about, Erik?" He muttered something, which sounded to her like, 'pirates'.

"Are there any fish in this lake?"

"No." he answered without looking up, "No fish. But there is a sea monster."

"No there isn't any!" cried Suzette.

"There is."

"What does it look like?"

"I'm not sure, except that it does have a rather long, spiny tail." Suzette considered this for a moment.

"I don't believe you."

"Suit yourself."

"How could there be a sea monster if there are no fish?" Erik looked up from his book and stared at her through the holes in his mask. His eyes shone in the darkness.

"It doesn't eat fish," he said simply, and returned to his book.

Suzette continued her playing, now fancying that she was an Indian princess floating through the jungle on a barge. Suddenly she heard a soft, low sound that made her shutter. She turned to ask him what the sound was, but to her horror she saw that he had disappeared, silently leaving the lantern, the book, and his black cloak behind.

"Erik?…" she whispered timidly. There was no reply, only the sound grew louder as if its source was coming closer. Suzette ducked down into the boat, trembling fiercely as she strained to hear the sound again. It was deep and beautiful, like the song of a whale, and Suzette was tempted to look and see if she could see the spiny, long tail of the sea monster. Finally curiosity got a hold of her and she peaked cautiously over the side of the boat into the black water. She could see nothing but her own reflection and she leant a little further in.

In an instant a bone, white hand reached from the blackness and pulled her head-first into the water. Suzette panicked and thrashed about as she was drug down into the darkness. Finally she came gasping and sputtering to the surface with her eyes and nose full of water. As her sense returned to her she heard a low chuckling and observed that Erik sat casually in the boat, watching her. Suzette shrieked, wailed, and scolded at him, but Erik only laughed.

"I told you I would drop you in the lake this afternoon," he said amiably as he lifted her from the water and wrapped her in his cloak.

"You are the meanest man alive!" she snarled at him, though she wasn't really angry. It had been a pretty good trick. She spent most of the journey back to the house, trying to get him to tell her how he did it.