“Someone is hiding in there!” Connie said grimly.
“Let’s not go inside,” Vevi murmured, holding back.
“You may stay here if you like,” Connie answered. “I’m going in. Captain Tarwell would want us to find out who is sneaking in and out of his cottage.”
“Maybe he already knows, Connie. He acted funny when I tried to tell him about it.”
Connie paid no heed to Vevi’s protests. She turned the knob, slowly pushing open the door.
“Who’s there?” she called.
Her own voice echoed through the empty house, but there was no answer.
“I’ll go one way and you go the other,” she directed Vevi. “Then we’ll be sure to catch him.”
Vevi did not want to set foot inside the cottage. She was unwilling, though, to admit to Connie that she was afraid, so she reluctantly followed her friend over the threshold.
“You go to the left and I’ll go to the right,” Connie instructed in a whisper. “We’ll meet in the kitchen.”