“Probably you did, Penny. Jasko has a granddaughter about your age, named Sara. A very nice girl, too, but she is kept close at home.”
“I feel sorry for her if she has to live with that old man. He seemed like a regular ogre.”
Removing her toasted feet from the oven, Penny pulled on her stiff boots again. Without bothering to lace them, she hobbled toward the door.
“Oh, by the way,” she remarked, pausing. “Did you ever hear of a Green Room at the Fergus hotel?”
“A Green Room?” repeated Mrs. Downey. “No, I can’t say I have. What is it, Penny?”
“I wonder myself. Something funny seems to be going on there.”
Having aroused Mrs. Downey’s curiosity, Penny gave a more complete account of her visit to the Fergus hotel.
“I’ve never heard anyone mention such a place,” declared the woman in a puzzled voice. “But I will say this. The hotel always has attracted a peculiar group of guests.”
“How would you like to have me solve the mystery for you?” joked Penny.
“It would suit me very well indeed,” laughed Mrs. Downey. “And while you’re about it you might put Ralph Fergus out of business, and bring me a new flock of guests.”