Explore "Bloom of Cactus" by Robert Ames Bennet on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
The unlocked door squeaked shrilly on its hinges as it swung in before the heave of Carmena's shoulder. Elsie peeped fearfully back past Lennon. Carmena pushed on into the secret room.
Lennon had expected to see some kind of treasure chamber. He stared blankly at the big object in the centre of the room -- a complex object that somehow reminded him of his laboratory experiments in college. A step nearer, with his own and Carmena's candles upraised, gave him a clear view of the bulging copper boiler, the tubes and worm and fermenting vats. The air of the room was pervaded with a sour smell.