“Yes, she did. I had forgotten for the moment. Oh well, in the morning we’ll learn exactly what she intends to do.”
Penny rolled over and soon was sleeping soundly. Toward morning she awoke to hear a clock somewhere in the house chiming four. At first she thought nothing of it, then it occurred to her that no one had wound any of the timepieces the previous evening. While she was musing over such an odd happening her keen ears detected the sound of soft footsteps in the long hall outside.
“It’s probably Mrs. Leeds or her daughter,” she reasoned.
The sounds persisted. At length Penny quietly arose and tiptoed to the door. She looked out into the dark hall. No one was within sight. Mrs. Leeds’ door was closed.
Penny went back to bed, taking care not to awaken Rosanna. Scarcely had she pulled the blankets up than the soft pad of footsteps could be heard again.
“I hope it isn’t that ghost Caleb warned us about,” she thought uneasily. “Oh, bother! I know there aren’t any ghosts!”
Penny closed her eyes and tried to sleep but found it quite impossible. Even after the noise in the hall ceased she caught herself listening for the footsteps. At a quarter to seven she dressed and stole downstairs to see what she could find for breakfast.
At eight o’clock when Rosanna came into the kitchen, Penny had coffee, cereal and crisp bacon ready.
“The larder seems very well supplied,” she informed cheerfully. “Someone left milk on our doorstep too. I imagine it must have been Caleb.”
“I’m hungry enough to eat anything,” Rosanna declared. “Shall I call Mrs. Leeds and Alicia?”