One of them laughed, and indicated our sign.
"Then why do you have your 'no vacancy' sign on?" she asked.
"I'm beginning to wonder about that, myself," I replied.
Mr. Hawkins and Miss Nestleburt drove in about seven-thirty. I was standing in the office doorway.
"Not very busy tonight, are you?" Mr. Hawkins called, his car slowing down. I had the familiar, uncomfortable feeling that he was secretly laughing at me.
"We're full already," I said, motioning unhappily toward our sign.
They drove on back toward their own cabins.
I stood thoughtfully in the doorway for a while. There had been something in that man's expression . . .
I walked furiously toward the "no vacancy" sign, and put the cover back over the "no." It would be Mr. Hawkin's idea of a good joke, I knew, to disguise his voice and call up several times for reservations. I was positive now that it had been he who had made all those phone calls.
Because of our late start, all the motels in our end of town filled up before we did. It wasn't until four-thirty the next morning that Grant could uncover the "no" again.