“When was this?” asked Judy.
“Just a little while ago,” Penny said serenely, and she and Paul ran down the steps to join their mother and Honey in the car.
Judy would have questioned them further, but now as she idly tried the heavy oaken door of the vault, to her amazement, she found it unlocked.
“What have we here?” she exclaimed as she swung the door open upon a concrete floor surrounded by four stone walls. In one swift movement she stooped and picked up a tiny green object that lay on the bare concrete.
“Is this the green doll Penny was talking about?” Judy wondered.
“Could be,” Horace said. “The thieves may be planning on storing the loot from other robberies here. Let me have a look at it.”
“Later,” Judy whispered, slipping the little green object into her pocket. “There’s something strange going on around here, and I need time to think about it.”
She swung the heavy door closed. Open, it would be a temptation to small boys and girls who, like herself, were fond of shivery adventures.
“Come on,” Horace urged her. “The vault is empty, and you’re just scaring yourself and getting all wet standing there. I want to interview that caretaker and find out what’s up.”
“I doubt if you will,” Judy said, turning reluctantly to follow him down the long steps back to the car.