"Yes, what?" quizzed Elfreda dryly.
"'There was a door to which I had no key,'" quoted Miriam, as she joined the group.
"Don't tease, Miriam," returned Grace, "even through the medium of Omar Khayyam. The key is a reality, but there is some one on the other side of that door who doesn't belong there. Whether she is not aware that she is a trespasser I do not know. However, we shall soon learn." Grace rapped determinedly on one of the upper panels of the door.
"I'll help you," volunteered Elfreda.
"And I," agreed Anne.
"My services are needed, too," said Miriam Nesbit.
Four fists pounded energetically on the door. There was an exclamation, the sound of hasty steps, the turning of a key in the lock, and the door was flung open. Facing them stood a young woman no taller than Anne, whose heavy eyebrows met in a straight line, and who looked ready for battle at the first word.
"Will you kindly explain the reason for this tumult?" she asked in a freezing voice.
"We were rather noisy," admitted Grace, "but we did not understand why the door should be locked from the inside."
"Is it necessary that you should know?" asked the black-browed girl severely.