“We didn’t figure this so well after all!” Penny observed in deep disgust. “Now it’s too late to go back to the brook, so we’ve lost our chance to learn who the fellow is.”
“Maybe not,” Louise said cheerfully. “Someone will have to bring Trinidad home.”
They had now reached the main road with Mrs. Lear’s cabin visible over the hill. Not once glancing over her shoulder, the old lady trod a muddy path to her own gate. Once inside the grounds, she peered up at the windows of the bedroom Penny and Louise had occupied. Satisfied that no light was burning, she quietly entered the house.
The two girls waited for awhile in the woods. They thought it wise to give the old lady ample time to go to bed and fall asleep.
“Come on, we’ve waited long enough,” Penny said at last.
They crossed the road and stole to the front door. To their astonishment it was locked. The back door also was fastened from the inside.
“We’ll have to try a window,” Penny proposed.
The windows also were locked or so stuck by dampness that they could not be budged.
“If this isn’t a pretty mess!” Penny exclaimed impatiently. “Mrs. Lear never used to lock anything. She must have started doing it since the deed to her property disappeared.”
“What are we going to do? Sleep in the barn?”