“No, I didn’t,” Penny admitted. “I thought it would be more fun if we set a trap and caught Mr. or Messrs. X ourselves.”
“What sort of a trap?” Phil asked, frowning.
“I don’t know exactly,” Penny admitted. “But I think it ought to have something to do with the secret room. For one thing, Ann Mary and I planned that just before the unmasking we might spring it on our guests as a surprise. None of them except Adra has any idea where it is.”
Marjorie felt very uncomfortable at that moment. She opened her mouth to confess that she had showed it to Judy, but decided against interrupting Penny until she had finished.
“When we open the door,” Penny went on, “those who want to go down into the room will have to take turns, because it’s too small to hold them all at the same time. I thought that if anyone had been acting suspiciously before that, we might be able to lure him down alone and then we could quickly press the button and lock him in.” She added, turning to Peter, “Then you can call in the police.”
He shook his head worriedly. “You are not going to be the one to lure him down into the room alone.”
“Of course not,” Jimmy said quickly. “I will.”
“No, you won’t,” Phil told him emphatically. “The man may be armed and I’m the only one who has a pistol license. I’ll go down with him and one of you can close the door. If he’s really been acting suspiciously, I’ll suggest that he unmask. If he’s the man we want, he’ll refuse. Then I’ll produce my gun and keep him there while I knock on the door. That will be the signal that our scheme worked.”
“I don’t like the idea of your being locked down there with him,” Penny objected.
“It’s the only answer,” Phil insisted. “Once he has any idea that we suspect him, he may make a wild dash for safety, and that would frighten some of our guests very badly. Besides, he might escape. With all those people wandering in and out of the Lodge, I wouldn’t dare use my gun.” He turned to Peter. “What do you think of the plan?”