“If anything goes wrong scream for help,” Rosanna urged. “I’ll run for assistance.”
Penny promised. While Rosanna stood at the bedroom door watching, she tiptoed down the hall, past Mrs. Leeds’ room, past Laponi’s chamber to the third floor stairs.
There she hesitated. Without a light the region above looked even more dark and awe-inspiring than she had remembered it.
“Coward!” she accused herself, and quietly went up, leaving the door unlocked behind her.
All was quiet on the third floor. Penny tried the door to the conservatory expecting to find it locked. To her astonishment it opened. The discovery disconcerted her for an instant. A minute later she mustered her courage and stepped inside the room.
In the darkness she could make out objects only vaguely. The organ with its huge pipes occupied one end of the room. Sheet-draped chairs gave everything a ghostly atmosphere not at all conducive to a peaceful state of mind.
After making a brief inspection of her quarters Penny sat down on the floor with her back against the outside door. She riveted her eyes upon the organ.
Time dragged slowly. When it seemed to Penny that several hours must have passed, she heard a clock downstairs striking eleven-thirty.
“At least another half hour to wait,” Penny thought, shifting into a more comfortable position.
She grew drowsy. Several times she caught herself on the verge of napping. She aroused herself only to find her eyes growing heavy again. It became increasingly difficult to watch the organ.