“You’ve sure got the jumps,” said Winkey. “If you want me to look for that girl again, I’ll give the place a good going over.”
“No, there’s no time!” the monk decided. “As long as the dogs are loose in the yard, she never can get out of here without them sounding an alarm. Then we’ll nab her.”
“I’ll go after the car and have it at the rear exit before you’re ready to leave,” the hunchback promised. “Just be sure you get the sapphire!”
“Leave it to me,” said Father Benedict grimly. His voice faded away and Penny knew that the two conspirators were at last leaving the cloister.
Waiting a moment longer to be certain they would not change their minds and return, she extricated herself from the folds of the grimy canvas.
“Wow! That was a close call!” she told herself. “If what Father Benedict said is true, then I’m trapped in this building along with the others! What a predicament!”
Penny groped for her flashlight and was reassured to find it still in her pocket. She tested it briefly, then switched it off again.
Tiptoeing down a long, damp-smelling corridor, she passed a window. Hopeful that it might be unlocked, she paused to test it.
Not only was the catch fastened, but the window also had been nailed. Peering out, she gazed hopefully toward the distant road. No cars were in sight. Nor was there a light gleaming in the windows of the Eckenrod cabin, over the hill.
Instead, Penny saw an ugly hound circling the monastery grounds, his nose to the earth.