“Do you intend to inform the police?” asked John.
“No, I’d rather not,” answered Marjorie. “Because they wouldn’t believe us any more than they did Anna.”
They all got out of the car and Jack ran up the steps to ring the bell. In a minute or two Mrs. Munsen answered it—fully dressed. She was just about to come downstairs to start her preparations for the day.
“Jack Wilkinson!” she exclaimed, in apprehension. Then, a moment later, she caught sight of Ethel and Marjorie and her fears vanished.
“Will you take in two wanderers?” asked Jack, with a smile. “We must go right back to the tea-house.”
As soon as Mrs. Munsen looked into the girls’ faces, she knew that they had been through an unpleasant experience. Her motherly heart went out to them instantly, and she put her arms about their shoulders.
“You’re neither of you hurt?” she asked, first of all.
“No! No!” replied Marjorie, reassuringly. “But we have been frightened a little.”
“Come out in the kitchen while I make you some coffee,” she suggested; “and then you can tell me the whole story.”
While Mrs. Munsen busied herself with the preparations for breakfast, Marjorie related the incidents of their adventure—the strange knocking, the voice of warning, and finally their own flight after she had fired three times into the cellar. She mentioned their surprise and relief in finding the boys waiting for them, and their joy at being home again.