“Do you still think that the janitor didn’t know there was a theater in the building?” Peggy whispered. “He’d have had to be blind as well as dumb.”
Walking very quietly, the girls ascended the steps and approached the huge elevator door. “Look!” Peggy whispered, pointing to the metal doorsill. Amy nodded, clearly understanding the meaning of the bright metal.
“It’s being used regularly,” Peggy said. “You can see where the sill is dark and rusted toward the sides, and bright in the center, where people have been walking over it.”
“And the lock!” Amy said. She and Peggy examined the heavy padlock that secured the door to the frame by stout hasps. It was bright and clean, of modern design and well-oiled. Any further doubts they might have had were dispelled by examination of the door hinges, which were coated with a heavy layer of fresh grease.
“Not only is the theater in use,” Peggy whispered, “but whoever is using it is being awfully careful that he doesn’t make any noise opening and shutting these doors. Are you convinced now?”
Amy nodded, wide-eyed. “I surely am. And I’m convinced that we’d better get out of here before the man with the keys comes along! I’d hate to be caught snooping around!”
Feeling not in the least as calm as she hoped she looked, Peggy motioned Amy to wait while she took a last look around to be sure that there was nothing she had missed. Then, her heart beating wildly, she and Amy left the alley as cautiously as they had entered it. But neither of them felt really safe until they were blocks away, and on their way to Connie’s for the meeting of the players.
“We seem to be practically living in alleys,” Amy said as they let themselves in through the street gate and started down the passage to Connie’s little house.
“Yes, but I feel a lot better in this one than in the last,” Peggy said. “When we get the theater, we’ll have to fix up that alley like this one, with flower borders and lights to make it cheerful. We can fix up the courtyard, too, with a little fountain and some garden seats and—”
“You’re awfully confident about getting that theater,” Amy interrupted. “I hope that you’re not going to be disappointed.”