Jo Ann’s face reddened guiltily. She had forgotten entirely about dressing and telling the girls to hurry.
As soon as Miss Prudence stepped inside and saw that the girls were still in their pajamas, she looked over reproachfully at Jo Ann and said, “I thought you’d all be almost dressed by this time.”
“We would’ve been ready, but....” Jo Ann rushed into an account of the strange telephone conversation she had heard, ending apologetically, “I was so excited that I forgot all about our having to dress.”
As soon as Jo Ann had finished, Miss Prudence spoke up quickly, “The sooner we get out of this hotel the better. I don’t like the idea of being in a room across from a man that’s expecting to get killed any instant. Hurry fast as you can and get dressed.”
“The man’s not in his room now: I saw him go down the hall toward the elevator,” Jo Ann reminded her.
“But he might come back any minute, and there might—well, something might happen. Hurry, girls.”
Thus urged, the girls dressed hastily. Even Peggy, who usually was deliberate about arranging her auburn hair into neat waves, speeded up this part of her toilet and was dressed in record-breaking time.
After they had been joined by Carlitos they all went down to the coffee room for their breakfast and then on out to the garage to get the car.
Jo Ann slipped into the front seat of the car saying, “It’s my turn to drive Jitters this morning.”
“I’ll sit with you to see that you don’t go too fast,” Florence remarked smilingly, dropping down beside her.