“Who is he?” Jerry whispered. “Can you tell?”
“I’m not sure,” Penny said uncertainly. “It may be Hank Holloway.”
As the man stepped into the light, they both saw that her identification had been correct. The man rapped on the door several times. Receiving no answer, he finally entered.
“Charley!” those on the iron stairway heard him call. “Where are you?”
The brilliantly lighted living room combined with the absence of the caretaker, seemed to mystify the newcomer. Muttering to himself, he moved restlessly about for a few minutes. Finally seating himself, he picked up a newspaper and began to read.
From their post in the belfry, Penny and Jerry soon observed two other men approaching the tower. One they recognized as a workman who had sorted melons at the Davis farm, but his companion was unknown to them. Without rapping, they too entered the building.
“Where’s Charley?” inquired one of the men.
“That’s what I was wondering,” Hank Holloway replied, tossing aside his paper. “For that matter, I can’t figure out why this special meeting was called. Something important must have come up.”
Within ten minutes, three other men had arrived. Jerry was able to identify two of them by name, but he dared not risk whispering the information to Mr. Parker who crouched on the stairway.
“There’s something mighty queer about this meeting,” Hank Holloway growled. “Where is the Master? And what’s become of Charley?”