“Certainly I am. I found the window open, and there are the footprints in the snow!”
“Maybe she won’t be back.”
“She will,” Father Benedict said grimly. “You see, so long as we have her—”
He broke off to listen intently. From the direction of the cloister a silver bell had chimed.
“The signal for the processional!” Father Benedict exclaimed, interrupting himself. “I must go!”
In the doorway he apparently paused, for Penny heard him say to Julia:
“Start dishing up the soup ready to serve as soon as the ceremony is over! A bowl and four crackers to each person!”
“Is that all they’re getting to eat?” Winkey inquired. “We’re in for a lot of squawks!”
“You forget that the members of our sect have taken a vow of poverty and abstinence,” retorted the monk with heavy sarcasm. “If there are any complaints, I know how to handle them.”
“You sure do,” agreed Winkey, his laughter crackling. “I’ll hand you the gold plated medal for that!”