ket diary in her
chatelaine bag. "We will write a note and shove it through the crack
under the door," they said--and did, repeatedly, the ensuing week--but
no answer came.

"I should think somebody would question the elevator boy," said Mary.
"Or, that, when he hears we are gone, he will remember bringing us
here."

"That was not the regular boy--depend upon it," answered Gertrude. "It
was one of the conspirators, if there was a conspiracy, and he will not
tell. It was Orlando Vickery who was behind this."

"Shall we go to bed tonight?" asked Mary.

"No, indeed," said Gertrude. "We couldn't possibly sleep. And
besides--something might happen."

But nothing did happen. The slow night wore away and morning came. When
the whistles below were calling people to their work, the two young
women got up from their couch and easy-chair, and went to the windows
again; but they could see nothing but the blank wall of a light-well.
They were trapped and helpless.

"Well, we may as well be philosophical while we can," said Mary. "There
are coffee and breakfast things in the pantry. I saw them last night.
I'm used to getting my own light breakfast. Let's eat."

They prepared and ate their simple meal and went back, to wonder and
speculate and devise new ways of getting some message to the outside
world; but nothing came of it. They could do nothing more than scribble
notes on pages torn from the diary and throw them from the tops of the
windows into the light-well, where they fell harmlessly into the rubbish
heap that gathered unnoticed in the corners. The day wore monotonously
along and was succeeded by another and another. Then a note was found
shoved under the front door in the early dawn.

"Open the little door to the dumbwaiter in the pantry and find
supplies."

They obeyed, and found a basket of fruit, cream, vegetables and meat.
They wrote an appealing note and placed in the basket and tried to send
it down; but they could not manipulate the dumbwaiter. They left the
little door open, to know when the basket descended, but it did not go
down until some time during the following night. The only reply to their
note--if it was a reply--was a second typewritten note, that came under
the door late the fourth evening.

"You can be let out any time that Miss Van Deusen will send down
her signed and witnessed resignation from the office of mayor.
Push it through the crack and the door will be opened fo