"I'll get my flashlight from the car and take a look," said Mr. Nichols. "I don't know if I can locate the fuse box or not."
"It's in the cellar," contributed Mrs. Masterbrook.
"The only way to get down there is from the outside of the cottage," Penny added. "Those strange-looking double doors with the iron rings pull up, and beneath them is a stone stairway which leads into the cellar. Be careful, for it's easy to fall. I took a tumble myself this afternoon when I was prowling around."
Mr. Nichols groped his way to the door and disappeared into the night. A few minutes later Penny saw the beam of his flashlight playing over the lawn. Then the cellar doors were thrown back and the light vanished.
"You'd not catch me going down into that dark, damp hole at night!" Mrs. Masterbrook said in a low voice.
"Why not?" asked Penny. "Isn't it just as dark here?"
"Something might happen. If you knew what I do about this place——"
"What do you mean?" questioned Penny quickly.
"Oh, I don't tell everything I know," the housekeeper retorted.
Penny felt certain that the woman was trying to plague her, but nevertheless she was greatly relieved when her father returned to the kitchen.