Penny thanked the matron and accepting the slip of paper, left the institution in company with Susan. Outside the building the girls paused to consider their next move.
"It shouldn't take us long to find Mrs. Havers," Penny declared. "Let's go to her place."
"All right, we have plenty of time," Susan agreed. "Only it looks useless because if Michael had ever lived here his name would have been on the records."
"Yes, unless he changed his name," Penny admitted, "but let's go anyway."
The girls drove on to the town of Ferndale and had little difficulty in locating the address given them by Mrs. Barker. They were admitted to an overly heated brick cottage by an elderly woman with white hair and kind gray eyes. The living room was so warm and stuffy that Penny had trouble in breathing but Mrs. Havers apparently did not notice.
"You wish to see me concerning a former inmate of the Glenhaven Home?" the old lady asked after Penny and Susan had stated their mission. "I'll be glad to answer any of your questions."
"We are trying to trace a young man by the name of Michael Haymond," Penny explained. "Would you remember him?"
"I have never forgotten a single child who was ever placed under my care," replied Mrs. Havers with a smile. "But I am certain that no one by that name ever lived at the Home."
"Then I am afraid we were mistaken in our facts," Penny said in disappointment.
"You are sure you have the right name?"