Despite the seriousness of the situation, both thought the same thing. By "our grandchildren," was Monty meaning grandchildren they would have separately, or together? As Monty moved quietly over to the closet and slid open the middle door, Laura swung her legs out of bed and tiptoed over to him. "Do be careful, Monty, and please do hurry. And thanks for everything," she said, and almost without thinking, stretched up to give him a quick kiss. Surprised, Monty returned the kiss, then squeezed her arm gently and said, "I'll hurry, Laura, and you stay safe too. I'll see you shortly."
Monty slid the shirts in the middle of the closet aside to reveal cleats nailed to the back wall, forming a rough ladder to the trapdoor above. A gap in the shelf above the clothes was just wide enough for a body to squeeze through on its way to the attic. He carefully placed one foot on the bottom cleat, the foot on his cowboy boot turned sideways because the cleat only projected about two inches from the wall. With his height, he was able to stretch his hands almost to the top cleat near the ceiling, and started to climb. Just before his head bumped the trapdoor above, he put one hand up and slid the covering slowly and carefully to one side. When the opening was completely clear, he grasped the joists on either side and used the strength in his arms to pull himself the rest of the way into the attic.
The lights were on in the bedroom, and with the closet door and trapdoor open, the interior of the attic was lighted faintly. Monty rested a moment to let his eyes adjust, and placed his hands on the roof support members and his feet on the matching joists above the ceiling. Then he carefully made his way toward the slatted ventilation grill on the end of the house, moving his hands first to feel the next roof member, then his feet to find the joist. He moved as quietly but as quickly as he could, worrying about Laura left behind. When he reached the end wall, he carefully knelt down, the sharp edges of the joist uncomfortable on his knees. Despite his care, a toe of one boot scraped the sheetrock of the ceiling below, and he paused breathlessly for a moment, hoping the noise hadn't been heard. It was only his heightened sense of hearing that made him fear that, because he was far away from where Ranny sat in the kitchen.
Although he had been in the attic once or twice before, once as a kid exploring the house, and once as an adult when he installed a ceiling fan in the kitchen, he had never paid much attention to the construction of the ventilation grates. Feeling with both hands, he discovered that they were in the form of louvers, thin wooden slats about two inches wide, set at a 45 degree angle with space between for air to circulate. A light mesh screen on the outside kept out insects or small animals. Carefully, Monty hooked his fingers under each slat in turn and tugged gently on it, testing for looseness but fearing to pull too hard and have one snap loudly in two. Only one seemed a little loose at one end, but that was all he had to work with. He placed one hand over the nailhead on the loose end to muffle any noise, then grasped the slat close to that end and slowly pulled back on it, wiggling it as he pulled. The nail barely squeaked as it came out of the frame, and Monty stopped the pressure as soon as it was clear, because the slat was bending dangerously. He switched to the other end of that slat, and carefully wiggled it up and down, back and forth, loosening that end. Feeling that it had loosened somewhat, he repeated the procedure he had used on the other end, and carefully pulled the slat completely off.