“What time do you suppose it is?” Louise whispered to her chum.
“Not very late. Probably about nine o’clock.”
Because the waiter had paused, the girls remained motionless behind a giant oak. They saw the stranger switch off his light and gaze carefully about the clearing. In particular his attention centered upon a little shack, though no light showed there.
“Whose cabin is it?” whispered Louise. “Do you know?”
“I’m not sure,” returned Penny. “I think it was built several years ago by an artist who lived there while he painted the ravine and river. But he moved out last winter.”
The cabin was a curious structure, picturesquely situated beneath the low-spreading branches of an ancient tree. No windows were visible at the front, but a raised structure on the flat roof gave evidence of a large skylight.
After gazing at the shack for several minutes, the waiter raised fingers to his lips and whistled twice. To the surprise of the girls, an answering signal came from within the dark cabin.
A moment later, the front door opened, and an old man stepped outside.
“That you, Jard?” he called softly.
Without replying, the waiter left the shelter of trees to cross the clearing.