Fearing that at any moment the printer attendant might return, Penny dared linger no longer. She went to the door but to her surprise it would not open.
“Probably a special trick catch which automatically locks whenever closed,” she thought. “The only way to get in or out is with a key, and I haven’t one. That means I’ll have to risk my neck again.”
Going to the window she raised it and looked down. All was clear below. Two courses lay open to her. She could return the way she had come through the hotel, or she might edge along the shelf past two other windows to the fire escape, and thence to the ground. Either way was fraught with danger.
“If I should happen to meet Ralph Fergus or Harvey Maxwell, I might not get away with my information,” Penny decided. “I’ll try the fire-escape.”
Closing the window behind her, she flattened herself along the building wall, and moved cautiously along the ledge. She passed the first room in safety. Then, as she was about to crawl past the second, the square of window suddenly flared with light.
For a dreadful moment Penny thought that she had been seen. She huddled against the wall and waited. Nothing happened.
At last, regaining her courage, she dared to peep into the lighted room. Two men stood with their backs to the window, but she recognized them as Harvey Maxwell and Ralph Fergus.
Penny received a distinct shock as her gaze wandered to the third individual who sat in a chair by the bed. The man was old Peter Jasko.
A low rumble of voices reached the girl’s ears. Harvey Maxwell was speaking:
“Well, Jasko, have you thought it over? Are you ready to sign the lease?”