That afternoon, Sara was out of the house. A very strange thing happened in the attic. Only Melchisedec saw and heard it. Melchisedec was the rat that lived in the wall. He was very afraid. He ran to his hole and hid there. He watched through a small crack with his bright eyes.
The attic was very quiet all day. The only sound was the rain on the roof. Melchisedec found it very boring. When the rain stopped, the rat came out to look for food. He found a small bread crumb on the floor. Suddenly, he heard a sound on the roof. Something was moving near the skylight.
The skylight opened slowly. A man with a dark face looked into the room. Then another man looked in behind him. They were very quiet and careful. The men wanted to enter the attic. One man was Ram Dass. The other man was the secretary. The secretary worked for the Indian gentleman.
Ram Dass moved very quickly and quietly. He climbed down into the room. He did not make any noise. Melchisedec was terrified. The rat ran back into his hole. He knew Sara was kind. Sara gave him crumbs and whistled softly. But these men were strangers. Strangers were dangerous.
The secretary climbed into the room after Ram Dass. He saw the rat's tail disappear. He asked if there were rats in the attic. Ram Dass said there were many rats in the walls. The secretary was surprised. He wondered why Sara was not afraid of them.
Ram Dass smiled. He said that Sara was a friend to all things. He told the secretary about the girl. Ram Dass said he often watched her from his own window. He saw her talk to the birds. He saw her feed the rat. He saw her help the poor servant, Becky.
Ram Dass said that Sara was a special child. He said that Miss Minchin was a very mean woman. Miss Minchin treated Sara very badly. But Sara always acted like the daughter of a king. Ram Dass knew many things about Sara's life. He knew when she was sad or hungry.
The secretary asked if Sara would come back soon. He did not want her to see them. He did not want to ruin Mr. Carrisford's plan. Ram Dass said that Sara was out with her basket. She would be away for a long time. Ram Dass stood by the door to listen for footsteps.
The secretary took out a notebook and a pencil. He walked around the small, cold room. He wrote down many notes. He went to the small bed and touched it. He said the bed was very hard. He said they must change the bed one day.
He looked at the thin blankets and the old sheets. He saw the empty fireplace. He said the room was very cold. Ram Dass said that Miss Minchin never gave Sara a fire. Miss Minchin did not care if Sara was cold. The secretary wrote everything in his notebook.
The secretary asked who started this plan. Ram Dass said it was his idea. One night, he listened at the skylight. He heard Sara telling a story. She pretended the room was warm and full of beautiful things. The story made her feel better.
Ram Dass told the story to Mr. Carrisford. Mr. Carrisford was very ill and sad. The story about the girl made him curious. Now, Mr. Carrisford wanted to make Sara’s stories come true. He wanted to change the room while she was asleep.
The secretary asked if Sara would wake up. Ram Dass said he could move very quietly. He said he would bring things through the window at night. When Sara woke up, she would think it was magic. It would be like a story from the Arabian Nights.
The men did not stay long. The secretary wrote notes about the floor and the table. Ram Dass said he put some small nails in the walls. They could use the nails to hang things later. The secretary said Mr. Carrisford was a kind man.
The secretary said it was sad that Mr. Carrisford could not find the lost girl. Ram Dass said that perhaps God would help him. Then the two men climbed back out of the skylight. They were as quiet as cats.
Melchisedec felt much better when the men were gone. He waited for a few minutes. Then he came out of his hole. He hoped the men dropped some food from their pockets. He looked for crumbs on the floor again. He was happy to be alone in the quiet attic.