CHAPTER
24
CHAMBER OF THE DEAD
Furious at herself because she had been so careless, Penny quickly tested the door. Finding it securely fastened as she had known it would be, she reached for her flashlight. It was missing from her pocket.
Though she groped about in the darkness, she could not find it. Giving up, she next turned her attention to Rhoda Hawthorne.
Thongs about the girl’s wrists and ankles had been loosely tied. In a minute, Penny had set her free.
“Now to find a way out of here!” she exclaimed. “Highland and Winkey probably are driving to the river dock by this time!”
“It’s no use trying to get out,” Rhoda said despairingly as she rubbed her bruised wrists. “I’m sure this door is the only exit. Look in the adjoining room and you’ll see what I mean.”
Even as Penny started for the inner doorway, she heard a low moan of pain from someone imprisoned there.
“Who is it?” she asked tensely.
“I don’t know,” Rhoda admitted, huddling close beside Penny. “Two men, one of them in frightful condition.”
“Can’t we set them free? Rhoda, try to find my flashlight. It fell somewhere near the stairway.”