He heard it, too; "Who in the dickens?" he demanded.
"There's somebody in the house--"
"Nonsense--"
"Billy, there must be, and we can't sit on the porch."
"You stay here, and I'll go around to the back."
But I wouldn't let him go alone. At the back of the house a window was
open, and then we were sure.
"We'd better leave," I said, but Billy insisted that we stay. "If they
are new people, I'll find out their names, and come up to-morrow and get
their orders."
We went around to the front door and knocked and knocked, but nobody
answered. So we sat down on the front step and presently Billy said that
we might as well eat our supper, for very evidently nobody was at home.
I didn't feel a bit comfortable about it, but I opened our basket and
got out our cups and plates, and Billy poured the coffee and passed the
chicken and the bread and butter sandwiches. And just then the door
creaked and the knob turned!
My first impulse was to gather up the lunch and tumble it into the
basket; but I didn't. I just sat there looking up as calmly as if I were
serving tea at my own table, and Billy sat there too looking up.
The door opened and a voice said, "Oh, if you are eating supper, may I
have some?"
It was a lovely voice, and Billy jumped to his feet. A lovely head came
after the voice. Just the head, peeping around--the body was hidden by
the door. On the head was a lace cap with a gold rose, and the hair
under the cap was gold.
"You see, I just got up," said the voice, "and I haven't had any
breakfast--"
Billy and I gasped. It was seven P.M., and the meal that we were
serving was supper!
"Do you mind my coming out?" said the voice. "I am not exactly clothed
and in my right mind, but perhaps I'll do."
She opened the door wider and stepped down. I saw that her slippers had
gold roses and that they were pale pink like the sunset. She wore a
motor coat of tan cloth which covered her up, but I had a glimpse of a
pink silk negligee underneath.
She sat quite sociably on the steps with us. "I am famished," she said.
"I haven't had a thing to eat for twenty-four hours."