As she groped for words, Mrs. Hawthorne suddenly gasped. Her face became convulsed and she writhed in bed.
“Oh, those stomach cramps!” she moaned. “They’re starting again! Please—please, a doctor!”
Never had Penny felt so helpless as she watched the poor woman suffer. Mrs. Hawthorne’s wrinkled face broke out in perspiration. She gripped the girl’s hand with a pressure that was painful.
When the cramp had passed, she lay limp and exhausted.
“I’ll get a doctor here as soon as I can,” Penny promised. “Until then, perhaps a hot water bottle will help.”
“There’s no hot water in the place,” Mrs. Hawthorne mumbled. “Oh, if I ever get away from here alive—”
“Sh!” Penny suddenly interrupted. She placed her fingertips on the woman’s lips.
Heavy footsteps warned her that someone approached.
“It may be Father Benedict!” Penny whispered. “Whatever you do, don’t give me away! I must hide!”
Frantically, she looked about for a safe place. The room had no closet.