But Jo Ann could not sleep. There were too many things to think about. A visit to the Señor’s library—she’d love that. And that old church across the street—there must be some very interesting facts connected with it. She’d find out more about that later from the Señor’s books. But that window! It still puzzled her. There was something curious about it. What was that Dr. Blackwell had said about finding the key to unlock the mystery?
“That’s what I’ll do—find the key and unlock the mystery of this strange window,” she told herself. “Won’t Dr. Blackwell be surprised when I tell him I’ve solved it?”
Acting on a sudden impulse she slipped out of bed quietly so as not to disturb Peggy and Florence. What she was going to do, she wanted to do alone. She put on her dress and some rubber-soled shoes, then, picking up a large sun hat from a chair, softly opened the door.
There at the head of the stairs sat Felipe, sound asleep. She hesitated only a moment, then crept softly past him and on down the stairs.
“One good thing about these houses is there’s no danger of a loose board or a creaky step giving you away,” she thought.
Not a soul was in sight outside—not even a dog. Quickly she ran down the street and around the corner, but drew back as the terrific heat struck her face. Heat waves radiated from the cobblestones, and the white stone walls, acting as double reflectors, turned the narrow street into a veritable furnace.
But nothing could stop her now. There was something she wanted to find out about the rear wall of the house. Pulling her hat down farther over her face, she squinted her eyes and gazed up at the glaring white walls above her. Quickly she scratched three marks on the wall, one directly below the kitchen window, one beneath the back room window, and the third beneath the mysterious opening; then she paced off the distance between the marks. She was positive now that she could mark the exact spot on the inner side of the wall where the opening should be.
Eager to escape from the intense heat, she hastened back to the house.
“Whew, it’s hot!” she exclaimed to herself. “These Mexicans show good judgment in sleeping at this time of the day. I don’t blame them in the least.”
Fanning herself with her hat, she dropped down on the lower step to cool off a moment. How refreshing was the coolness of the great hall! She wondered how it was possible to be so cool here and so hot outside.