Have installed game from GOG and was able to get to first room. Picked up items, then went to next room. Up ladder, and that's all that I can do. Did I do something wrong. Please help.

Disable Caps Lock. Enabling Caps Lock, or holding down the Shift key, lets you move the screen focus away from your character (to see or toss stuff further), but can result in the screen not following when entering hatches/caves or using ladders/stairs.