“Good evening, my daughters. I am happy that you have come again to my ark, but I am afraid you have disturbed my birds.”
Penny chose her words carefully for Wessler and his pal stood in the cabin doorway.
“The birds do seem excited for some reason. No doubt they’re alarmed by the approaching storm.”
“Yes, yes, that may be it,” Old Noah murmured. “And the porthole is covered. That should not be. I will fix it.”
Pushing past the two men, Old Noah went outside the cabin to jerk away the canvas covering. He came back in a moment, bearing a sack of bird seed.
“Upstairs!” Wessler tersely ordered the girls.
In crossing the room, Penny deliberately stumbled against the box of blue corked bottles.
“With another storm coming up, I suppose you’ll be throwing out more of your messages,” she said jokingly to Noah.
Penny had hoped that the suggestion might presently cause the old man to dump the contents of the box into the water. She neither expected nor desired that he would attempt the task in the presence of the two saboteurs. However, Old Noah immediately dropped the sack of bird seed and strode over to the box of bottles.
“Yes, yes, I have been neglectful of my duty,” he murmured. “With the Great Flood coming, I must warn the good people of Riverview. I shall bid them seek refuge here before their doom is sealed.”