"You'll soon find your way about," she said. "Remember that Jon's room is in the corridor on the hotel side, but that the corridor crosses over the yard to our side. The first staircase down here is to the kitchens, this one is up to the staff bedrooms, this is only a little one and leads to more hotel rooms and a bathroom... Now, here's the bridge and the stairs to the right lead up to my bedroom and down to Mr. Grandon, and up here to the left is Penny's own staircase... Yes, come on. We're going up here again."

"I'm not going to have Jon criticising my room," Penny broke in. "It's nothing to do with him, and anyway it's tidy now."

"He needn't look at your room. I wasn't going to show him."

"But this staircase doesn't lead anywhere else, Auntie? There isn't anything else up there, is there?"

"Come and see for yourself. Squeeze in front of me. Now, let's open your door here and get all the light we can... Now can you see?... What's in front of you?"

The door of Penny's bedroom was on the right of the little landing, the walls of which were neatly panelled in dark oak.

When the door was opened there was enough light for Penny to see that there was nothing in front of her but the panelling. She turned a puzzled face to her aunt.

"But it's just the same wooden wall. I can't see anything else there. What do you mean?"

"Let me look," Jon broke in. "I'll make a guess that it's a secret door or a sliding panel... Look, Penny. Isn't that a hole in the wood on the right...? There! Just by your hand!"

Mrs. Warrender said, "You've got it, Jon. It isn't a secret door really, and I can't think why it was put there at all, but it is difficult to see unless the other door is open. Put your finger in that hole, Penny. Can you feel the wooden latch? Press it upwards and push the door inwards and there you are - halfway to your surprise!"

Penny squeaked with excitement as the door opened easily to her touch and showed them that the little staircase continued upwards.

"Here, Jon," his mother said. "Take this key and go ahead with Penny. You can open what you find at the top!"

The stairs were very narrow and steep, but one sharp turn brought them on to another still smaller landing facing a tiny arched door with big iron hinges and a massive iron lock - rather like the old doors sometimes found at the bottom of stairs in a church tower.