Penny leaned against the leeward side of a giant pine. Already it was so dark that she could see only a few feet down the road. There were no houses, no lights, nothing to guide her.
“Penny, are we really lost?” Louise demanded, suddenly afraid.
“We really, truly are,” her chum answered in a quavering voice. “The post must be somewhere near here, but we’ll never find it. All we can do is try to get back to the car.”
CHAPTER
2
AT THE LISTENING POST
Penny’s courage did not long forsake her. She had suggested to Louise that they return to the stripped car, but she knew that would not solve their problem. Staring up the dark road, she remarked that they must be close to the summit of the hill.
“Then why not keep on?” urged Louise. “We set out to find the listening post, so let’s do it!”
They trudged on up the winding road. At intervals, in an attempt to restore circulation to numbed feet, they ran a few steps. Snow fell steadily, whipping and stinging their faces.
Gasping, half-winded, they kept doggedly on. Finally they struggled into a clearing at the top of the hill. Penny wiped her eyes and gazed down through a gap in the white-coated evergreens. A quarter of the way down the slope on the other side appeared a glowing dot of light.
“I’m afraid it’s only a cabin,” she said dubiously. “It can’t be the airplane listening post.”
“Let’s go there anyway,” advised Louise. “We can warm ourselves and ask how to get back to civilization.”