“I don’t know just yet,” Peggy answered, “but I’ll think of a way. I used to help out as a reporter on my father’s newspaper, and I’m used to digging up facts. If there’s an empty theater in New York City, I’ll bet I know about it in a couple of weeks. If there isn’t one, I’ll know that too, and at least that will save the rest of you all the trouble of looking.”
Randy looked a little doubtful. “I’m sure that you mean what you say, and I don’t doubt that you can get things done as well as any of us, Peggy, but as Mal said, New York isn’t Rockport. And I don’t mean just that it’s bigger. It’s not a—well, a nice city in every part. And a search like this can lead you into some pretty tough parts of town.”
“Oh, pooh!” Peggy said. “In the last two weeks, I’ll bet Amy and I have walked around more of New York than either of you has in the last two years! And that included some pretty tough-looking neighborhoods, and nobody bothered us, and everybody was very nice. I think that’s a lot of nonsense! Besides, we’re big girls, and we can take care of ourselves by now.”
“We certainly can,” Amy agreed. “And I plan to go, too, just the way I’ve dragged my aching feet after Peggy for two weeks now. That girl can cover more territory in a morning than a Tennessee Walking Horse can manage in a whole day!”
“Well, if you really want to try, it’s okay with me,” Randy said. “And I’m grateful to you for wanting to. If you need any help along the way, be sure to ask for it.”
“You can start by giving me a list of all the places you’ve gone to, so I won’t waste my time, and I’ll take it from there.”
Randy promised to bring the list to the Academy the next day, at which time, if it was okay with Peggy and Amy, he would like to join them for lunch. Then their interest turned to other things, including more coffee for the girls and another huge sandwich to be split between the boys.
By the time they had finished and walked to the Gramercy Arms, it was nearly midnight. Peggy and Amy whispered quiet good nights on the stairs, and hurried up to bed. Tomorrow was school again, and they needed all the sleep they could get.
X
Peggy Produces a Plot
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers; a peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked; if Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”