Miss Swenster spoke cheerfully of the approaching auction, but the girls realized that she was hiding her real feelings. In little ways, more by look and gesture than by words, she had disclosed that she disliked to see her old home sold.
There really was no immediate work to be done save dusting, which Miss Swenster declared unnecessary. However, the girls armed themselves with dust cloths and roamed about over the house.
“We’ll do more looking than dusting,” Madge assured Miss Swenster. “This may be our last chance to search for the pearls. Wouldn’t it be grand if we found them?”
“It would be marvelous! But I really have no faith that you’ll locate them. As I said before, I fear you’re searching for something that never existed.”
“There’s one place we haven’t looked,” Madge said, “and that’s the attic. May we go up there?”
“Of course. I was cleaning out some of the rubbish today, but the old furniture is still there. The pieces are really worthless and I doubt if I’ll even put them up at the sale.”
The girls were moving up the stairway, when Miss Swenster called them back.
“Oh, one thing more. Your prowler has returned. Last night I heard a noise in the garden. I went to the window just in time to see a man hurrying out the back gate.”
“Weren’t you afraid?” Cara asked.
Miss Swenster shook her head. “No, only curious. I can’t imagine what he can be after. If I see him again, I shall call the police.”