“Yes, indeed!”
“If you’re sure you don’t mind being left alone, I’ll hurry on. Stay in this section of the building so I can find you.” In a moment Florence and the faithful Felipe disappeared in the crowd.
Jo Ann was delighted to be free to carry on her search for a rope without fear of being questioned. Although she felt sure that Peggy would enter into her plans, she decided not to tell her about them just yet.
Grabbing her by the arm, Jo Ann jostled and pushed their way through the crowd, up one aisle and down another.
Suddenly the breathless Peggy halted. “Say—where’s the fire?” she scolded. “I can’t see a thing, trying to keep up with you. Why the rush?”
“I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to hurry so fast,” Jo Ann replied; then, realizing she dared not waste time arguing if she was to accomplish what she had started out to do, she added, “Can you keep a secret, Peg?”
“A secret!” repeated Peggy staring at her in surprise. “Of course I can—why?”
“Well, I’m trying to find a shop or a store—or whatever it is—where you buy rope in this place. You see, all I need is a rope—then I can explore the mysteries on the other side of that curious window.”
“But why so secretive about——” Peggy stopped abruptly, it having dawned on her why Jo Ann had acted so strangely all the morning. “So that’s why you didn’t want Felipe along, is it?”
“Yes, he gets on my nerves. All the way here I could feel his eyes boring into my back every time I craned my neck to see something.”