“This may have been a foolish thing to do,” Penny admitted as they drove between tall rows of whispering pines. “We could have gone on to Andover only I dreaded driving down the mountainside with slippery roads.”
Rosanna huddled closer to her friend. The road was dark and the rustling of the wind in the pine needles made her uneasy.
Soon they came within view of the house. It was built of native stone, half hidden by the luxuriant growth of shrubbery and trees which surrounded it. No lights gleamed in the windows.
“There’s no one here,” Rosanna declared.
“Let’s knock anyway. The caretaker may be at the rear somewhere.”
They parked the car as close to the front door as possible and made a dash for the porch. Penny knocked several times on the massive door but there was no response.
“We might try your key, Rosanna,” she proposed. “If it fits I’ll begin to think there’s something to that mysterious letter you received.”
Rosanna groped in her pocketbook for the key. Impatient for action, Penny turned the handle of the door. To her astonishment the latch clicked.
“Why, the door is already unlocked, Rosanna!”
“But of course we won’t dare go in.”