“Wonderful!” Amy said. “Then you and I will go to visit all the addresses and see if any of the places aren’t being used, and if they’re for rent!”
“It makes a lot of sense,” Randy admitted. “But you know, it’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of walking. And disappointment, too. You won’t be able to find even a trace of many of those theaters.”
“On the other hand,” Peggy answered, “we may be able to find a hidden theater that nobody even knows is there! And wouldn’t that be grand?”
“I can see it all now,” Pip said in a hollow voice. “A huge, haunted opera house of a theater, its hangings in tatters, its chandeliers covered with dust and its stage peopled by the ghosts of players long gone! There it sits, undiscovered, unknown, hiding behind a Chinese restaurant just a block east of Broadway!”
“Don’t tease her, Pip,” Randy said. “I think Peggy has a good idea, and it would be a pity to discourage her before she gives it a try. Maybe she won’t find a theater, but at least this is the most sensible way I’ve heard of yet to start looking for one.”
A little shamefaced, Pip said, “I didn’t mean to tease. You know me; I always want to turn everything into a comedy routine. But, seriously, I think this makes sense and, Peggy, if you need any help in tracking down places, you can count on me!”
All the others chimed in their agreement, and Peggy thought proudly, and with some surprise, that she had gotten herself out of a spot quite well. At least Randy didn’t think she was a fool, and that was something to be pleased about.
When lunch was finished, and the last crumbs had been fed to the ducks, it was time to return to the Academy. Peggy said good-by to Randy and went up to her afternoon’s work.
Only by dint of the most intense concentration on the study of Elizabethan drama did Peggy keep her attention from the theater-hunting problem. But the minute the class was ended, all other thoughts fled from her mind. “Come on, Amy!” she said. “I’m heading for City Hall right now!”
“I’m sorry, Peggy,” Amy said, “but you’ll have to count me out today. I didn’t know that you’d have any plans, so I made a date to have a soda with Mallory Seton. I’ll go with you tomorrow, though.”