He had nailed the girls in! With just a couple of whacks!
Hardly daring to breathe, lest they betray their presence, Arden, Terry, and Sim listened speechless.
“Nope, nothing behind this case ’ceptin’ some old valises nobody ever called for,” reported the agent, peering behind the big box after his nailing work.
“How about this pile of trunks?” asked the chaplain, his voice, this time, coming from a distant corner of the room.
“I’ll help you look there, sir, but I don’t believe what you want’s there,” the agent replied, as he shuffled away.
The girls breathed more freely, and Sim hoarsely whispered:
“Heavens! We’re nailed in!”
“Oh, Arden! What a pickle you got us into!” gasped Terry.
“Hush! They’ll hear us! Wait until Henry goes out,” counseled Arden. “Then we’ll try to force the cover up with our shoulders.”
There was a sudden silence as the agent and the clergyman peered at another pile of trunks. The girls could hear their hearts beating and Terry, interested in the phenomenon, inquired cautiously whether it was Sim’s heart she heard or her own.