Lorinda pulled out the wooden chest and raised the lid. “The altar cloth is missing and any number of things! Almost everything has been taken!”
In the midst of checking over the few remaining objects in the chest, Lorinda suddenly raised her head.
“Listen!” she commanded.
At first, Penny could distinguish only the whistle of the wind, then she became aware of a low rumbling murmur which seemed to come from the very walls of the cottage.
“It’s a chant!” whispered Lorinda. “I can hear drums too, as if from a long distance away!”
A little frightened, neither girl spoke for a while. The strange sound died away, then was resumed. This time they distinctly could hear the thumping of drums.
Penny went to the door of the cottage to listen. Outside there was only the whine of the wind and the crashing of tree branches.
“Lorinda, this cottage must have a secret passage!” she declared excitedly. “I thought so before, and now I’m certain of it!”
Already Lorinda was down on hands and knees before the fireplace, tapping the tiles. They gave forth a hollow sound. However, she could find no opening.
Penny removed a huge black kettle from hanging chains, and peered up into the chimney. Her groping hand encountered a rod which she assumed controlled the draft. She pulled on it. [The floor beneath her feet suddenly gave way], and she would have pitched through the opening had not Lorinda seized her arms and held her.