“I do, too,” added Florence. “But what do you suppose is inside this hidden room? That is a mystery!”
“I’ll be able to explain that before long,” declared Jo Ann. “I’m going to look through that window this very day.”
“Oh, Jo, do be careful,” warned Florence. “I’m afraid you’ll be——”
Before Florence could finish her sentence, Peggy broke in with, “If you go, Jo, I’m going up on the roof with you.”
“All right—that suits me. If things work out right, I’m going during the siesta hour. I slipped past the watchdog once—surely I can slip into the office without getting caught——” She stopped suddenly. “Mentioning the office reminds me that two patients came while you were gone, Florence. I did my best to hold them, but I didn’t succeed—I couldn’t make them understand a word. They looked stupid to me.” She went on to give a vivid description of their appearance.
Before she had finished, Florence began to smile.
“What’s the joke?” Jo Ann demanded.
“I’m glad you didn’t hold them—they weren’t patients at all,” Florence replied, still smiling. “That was just a poor old beggar who comes by every few days.”
Peggy burst into laughter. “That makes Jo’s efforts to hold them all the funnier. I wish you could have seen her—she talked with her hands as much as she did with her mouth.”
“She’s a true Mexican, then,” laughed Florence. “That’s the way they do. But this won’t get us anything to eat. We’re going to have your fried chicken today. How does that suit you, Peg?”