Rose grasped Polly's arm.
"It's in THERE! It's in THERE!" they shrieked, as if with one voice, then in a frightened little heap they slipped to the floor and tried to draw the rug over them to hide and shield them from they knew not what!
Suddenly both rooms were flooded with light, and a familiar voice spoke.
"They're not here, you see; I felt sure that they could not be in the studio. We must search elsewhere, and lose no time about it."
It was Arthur Kirtland's voice, and scrambling to their feet, they ran to greet him, all fear left behind.
"Oh, Mr. Kirtland, we ARE here," cried Rose.
"And we've been here just almost FOREVER," Polly added.
"And, oh, here's John!" cried Rose. "Now we can go home!"
"I think ye can, bein's yer Aunt Lois thinks ye're both lost, and no knowin' whether we'll find ye or not. Ye better be tellin' Mr. Kirtland how it is ye are here after he'd thought the place empty, and he'd locked it up, an' gone home."
Quickly they told the story of their trip to the ice cream parlor, and of their late return, finding entrance by the little green door.