“Nothing makes sense about this trip,” she remarked.
From the bed came a muffled: “Now you’re talking!”
Ignoring the jibe, Penny resumed: “Did you notice how Mrs. Lear acted just as if the Burmasters were her friends.”
“Perhaps she did that to throw us off the track. She asked us plenty of questions but she didn’t tell us one thing!”
“Yet she knows plenty. I’m convinced of that.”
“Oh, come on to bed,” Louise pleaded, yawning. “Can’t you do your speculating in the morning?”
With a laugh, Penny leaped into the very center of the feather bed, missing her chum’s anatomy by inches.
Soon Mrs. Lear came upstairs. She tapped softly on the door and inquired if the girls had plenty of covers. Assured that they were comfortable, she went on down the hall to her own room.
Worn from the long horseback ride, Louise fell asleep almost at once. Penny felt too excited to be drowsy. She lay staring up at the ceiling, reflecting upon the day’s events. So far, the journey to the Valley had netted little more than sore muscles.
“Yet there’s mystery and intrigue here—I know it!” Penny thought. “If only I could get a little tangible information!”