Part 6 (2/2)
With a swis.h.i.+ng of skirts, for she now was in a fine mood, Elda disappeared down the corridor. Fifteen minutes elapsed. Penny, busy writing hand-outs and obituaries, had forgotten about her entirely, until Mr. DeWitt summoned her to his desk.
”See if you can find out what became of Elda,” he said in exasperation.
”Tell her we'd like to have that picture for today's paper.”
Penny went quickly toward the photography room. The door was closed. As she opened it, she was startled half out of her wits by hearing a shrill scream. The cry unmistakably came from an inner room of the photography studio and was Elda's voice. At the same instant, a gust of cool air struck Penny's face.
”Elda!” she called in alarm.
”Here,” came the girl's m.u.f.fled voice from the inner room.
Fearing the worst, Penny darted through the doorway. Elda had collapsed in a chair, her face white with terror. Wordlessly, she pointed toward the ceiling.
Penny gazed up but could see nothing amiss. Warm suns.h.i.+ne was pouring through the closed skylight which covered half the ceiling area.
”What ails you, Elda?” she asked. ”Why did you scream?”
”The skylight!”
”What about the skylight?” Penny demanded with increasing impatience. ”I can't see anything wrong with it.”
”Only a moment ago I saw a shadow there,” Elda whispered in awe.
”A shadow!” Penny was tempted to laugh. ”What sort of shadow?”
”I--I can't describe it. But it must have been a human shadow. I think a man was crouching there.”
”Nonsense, you must have imagined it.”
”But I didn't,” Elda insisted indignantly. ”I saw it just before you opened the door.”
”Did the skylight open?”
”Not that I saw.”
Recalling the cool gust of wind that had struck her face, Penny took thought. Was it possible that Elda actually had seen someone crouching on the skylight? However, the idea seemed fantastic. She could think of no reason why any person would hide on the roof above the photography room.
”Oh, snap out of it, Elda,” she said carelessly. ”Even if you did see a shadow, what of it?”
”It was a man, I tell you!”
”A workman perhaps. Mr. DeWitt sent me to tell you he was in a hurry for that picture.”
”Oh, tell Mr. DeWitt to jump in an ink well!” Elda retorted angrily.
”He's always in a hurry.”
”You haven't been watching a shadow all this time, I judge,” Penny commented.
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