I mounted the ladder and very cautiously lifted the trap-door. I slid it to one side and peered around the flat roof that spread out before me.
Moonlight fell directly on it, and it was nearly as light as day up there.
Above me the hill went up steeply, offering little foothold and not much cover. To try and scale the hill from the roof in this light would be asking for trouble. The only chance would be to wait until the moon moved round and the hill face was in the shadow. I didn’t know if we had the time wait.
I slid down the ladder again.
‘Not much good. A rope won’t help. It’s too light. In another hour it might be done, but not now.’
‘In another hour we’ll be pushing up the daisies,’ Joe said cheerfully from the other room.
‘How about some coffee?’ I suggested to Mary. ‘We might be stuck here for some time. I’ll go back and keep watch while you get it’
I returned to the outer room.
Mac was chewing an unlit cigarette, staring down into the valley. Joe sat on the edge of a chair, and peered around the window-frame.
‘You didn’t see a girl in the quarry, did you?’ I asked Mac.