The abrupt question caught her slightly off guard. She could think of no ready reply. As she debated whether or not to tell him of Winkey’s fight with Mr. Eckenrod, footsteps pounded down the corridor.
Suddenly the study door was flung open. The hunchback stood there, breathing hard from having hurried so fast.
“Come quick!” he said tersely to the monk.
“What’s wrong, Winkey?”
“Trouble below!”
Preparing to follow the hunchback, Father Benedict briefly made his excuses to the girls. “I’ll be gone only a minute,” he said. “Warm yourselves until my return.”
After the door had closed behind the pair, Penny said in a low tone: “Wonder what’s up? So far as I know, the only rooms below are the storage cellars and crypt.”
“Maybe some of the dead bodies are coming to life!” Louise joked feebly. “I hate this place worse every minute.”
She arose and wandered slowly about the room. “Somehow, the air is oppressive. I feel as if doom were about to descend upon me!”
“Nerves!” chuckled Penny.