“What can you hope to find down in that well?”
Penny did not answer. Walking ahead of Louise, she noiselessly crossed the yard to the old wishing well. Flashing her light into the circular interior, her courage nearly failed her. However, she gave no indication of it to her companion.
“Better be careful of that light,” Louise warned. “That is, unless you want Mrs. Marborough to come out and catch us.”
Penny switched off the flashlight and thereafter worked in darkness. Taking the silken ladder from its case, she fastened the two iron hooks over the stone ledge. Next, she lowered the ladder into the well, listening until she heard a faint splash in the water below.
“Now you stay here and keep watch,” she instructed briskly. “I’ll be down and back again before you know it!”
“The ladder may break,” Louise said pessimistically, seating herself on the stone ledge of the well. “Silk deteriorates with age, and those braided strands never did look strong.”
“They once held one of Riverview’s most notorious apartment-house burglars,” Penny returned with forced cheerfulness. She climbed over the ledge, gazing down into the dark well. “It’s safe enough—I hope.”
“In case you slip and fall, just what am I to do?”
“That’s your problem,” Penny chuckled. “Now hand me the flashlight. I’m on my way.”
Despite their banter, both girls were tense and worried. By daylight, a descent into the well had seemed to Penny an amusing stunt; but now as she cautiously descended into the damp, circular pit, she felt that for once in her life she had ventured too far.