agree with Dad and me that he was after your money?"
"Yes, I was very silly," the housekeeper acknowledged. "Mrs. Hodges has
begun to lose faith in him, too. She says he's been bringing all sorts of
folks to her place. When she told him she didn't care to have the house
over-run with strangers, he became very unpleasant."
"You mean he threatened her?"
"In a mild way. He told her that he would stay as long as he pleased and
she could do nothing about it. Mrs. Hodges is afraid to go to the police
for fear she'll be arrested with Mr. Gepper."
"I wonder if he ever has charged for his seances?" Penny said
thoughtfully.
"I am sure he has, Penny. Of course I have no proof."
"Mrs. Weems, you must go there again this afternoon," Penny urged.
"Insist upon another seance, and pay him for it! Then you'll be able to
testify as a witness against him!"
"But I don't wish to go into court," the housekeeper protested. "Besides,
Mr. Gepper won't be at the cottage this afternoon."
"Where is he going?" Penny questioned alertly.
"I don't know. I heard him tell Mrs. Hodges he would be gone this
afternoon, but would return for an eight o'clock seance."
"Why, that's fine--wonderful!" chuckled Penny.
Mrs. Weems gazed at the girl with sudden suspicion. "Now what have you
thought up?" she demanded.
"Nothing alarming," grinned Penny. "I merely plan to visit Mr. Gepper's
studio during his absence. Who knows, I may yet master a few of the finer
points of ghost-making!"
CHAPTER
20
_INSIDE THE CABINET_
Despite Mrs. Weems' protests, Penny remained firm in her decision to
investigate Mr. Gepper's studio. She ate a belatedly prepared lunch and
did not reach the Hodges' cottage until nearly four o'clock, having
driven there in Lena.
The doors were closed and Penny knocked several times without receiving a
response.
"Everyone must have gone away," she thought. "Oh, dear, now what shall I
do?"
Penny reasoned that it was of vital importance for her to inspect Al
Gepper's room during his absence. She might never have another
opportunity. Yet she hesitated to enter the house while the Hodges were
away, even though she felt certain the seamstress would not mind.
Walking to the rear, Penny noticed that the porch screen had been left
unfastened. Entering the kitchen, she called Mrs. Hodges' name but
received no answer.
"If I wait for her to come home it may be too late," decided Penny. "This
is an emergency."
Her mind made up, she took the stairs two at a time to Al Gepper's room.
Her knock went unanswered. Satisfied that he was not there, she tried the
door and found it unlocked.
Penny raised a blind to flood light into the darkened room. Save that a
film of dust covered the furniture, everything was approximately the same
as she had last seen it.
Her gaze fell upon two suitcases which had been pushed beneath the bed.
The first contained only miscellaneous clothing. The second merited a
more careful inspection.
Almost at once Penny came upon an old faded picture, the one of Cousin
David which Mrs. Weems had given to the photographer's "agent."
"So that was how it was done!" she thought. "Al Gepper sent one of his
confederates to see Mrs. Weems and obtain information about her cousin.
The painting which appeared so miraculously during the seance was merely
a copy of this! Even so, how was it painted so quickly?"
Forgetting the picture for a moment, Penny picked up several newspaper
clippings which were fastened together with a rubber band. All had been
taken from the obituary column and concerned the death of well-to-do
Riverview persons.
"Al Gepper and his pals are ghouls!" Penny told herself. "They prey upon
the relatives of persons who have died, realizing that at such a time it
will be much easier to interest them in trying to communicate with the
departed!"
Lifting a tray from the suitcase, her attention focused upon a small red
booklet. As she turned rapidly through it, a folded sheet of paper fell
to the floor.
Examining it, Penny saw a long list of names, together with pertinent
information about each person. Not only was the address and financial
standing of the individual given, but the deceased relatives in each
family and other facts of a personal nature. The list had been
mimeographed.
"This must be a 'sucker' list!" thought Penny. "No wonder it's easy for a
medium to find victims and tell them astonishing facts."
Thrusting the paper into her pocket, she turned her attention to the
wardrobe closet. Al Gepper's clothes hung in orderly rows from the
hangers. Behind them, half hidden from view, was a small box.
Pulling it to the window, Penny examined the contents. There were many
bottles filled with chemicals, the names of which were unfamiliar. She
noted a bottle of varnish, another of zinc white, and some photographic
paper in a sealed envelope.
A glance satisfying her, she replaced the box and next turned her
attention to the cabinet behind the large circular table. Here she was
richly rewarded as her gaze fell upon a banjo.
"The same one which played during Mrs. Weems' seance!" she thought. "We
were able to see it in the dark because it's covered with luminous paint.
But what made it rise into the air, and how could it play without the aid
of human hands?"
Penny examined the instrument closely. She chuckled as she discovered a
tiny phonograph with a record built into its back side. As she pressed a
control lever, it began a stringed version of "Down Upon the Swanee
River."
Quickly turning it off, she inspected other objects in the cabinet. At
once she found a rod which could be extended to a height of five feet.
"That's how the banjo was raised!" she reasoned. "And by use of this rod
it would be easy to make a ghost appear to float high overhead. This
luminous material must have been used."
Penny picked up a filmy robe, shaking out the many folds. While it was
clear to her that Al Gepper had employed the garment to materialize the
so-called spirit of Cousin David, she could only guess how he had made it
enlarge from a mere spot to a full sized figure.
"He must have wadded the cloth in his hand, and held it above his head,"
she mused. "Then he could have slowly shaken it out until it covered his
entire body. Thus the figure would appear to grow in size."
In one corner of the cabinet Penny came upon a luminous slate.
"This was used for Cousin David's message," she thought. "Al probably had
an assistant who wrote on it and thrust it through the curtain."
While many questions remained unanswered, Penny had obtained sufficient
evidence to indicate that Al Gepper was only a clever trickster. Greatly
elated, she decided to hasten to the _Star_ office to report her
findings.
Noticing that she had neglected to return the two suitcases to their
former places, Penny pushed them under the bed again. As she
straightened, a door slammed on the lower floor.
For an instant she hoped that it was Mrs. Hodges or her husband who had
come home. Then she heard footsteps on the stairs, and their rapidity
warned her that they could belong only to a young person.
Frantically, she gazed about the room. The cabinet seemed to offer the
safest hiding place. Slipping into it, she pulled the black curtain
across the opening.
CHAPTER
21
_STARTLING INFORMATION_
Scarcely had Penny hidden herself when Al Gepper entered the room. With
him was the hook-nosed young man known as Slippery.
"I tell you, Al," the latter was saying, "this town is getting too hot
for comfort. We've got to blow."
"It was that Parker girl who queered everything," muttered Gepper. "How
could I know that her father was a newspaper publisher? He's stirred up
folks with his editorials."
"You never should have let her in here. We had a swell set-up, but now we
can expect a raid any day."
"I tell you I thought she was just a smart-aleck kid, a friend of the
Hodges'. Didn't learn until yesterday who she was."
"We've got to blow, Al. Sade's threatening to make trouble, too. She
thinks we're holding out on the others."
"We have picked up a little extra coin now and then."
"Sure, Al, but we've always been the brains of the outfit. We take most
of the risk, plan all the big jobs, so why shouldn't we have more?"
"It's time we cut loose from 'em, Slippery."
"Now you're talking! But we can't pull out until the Henley job comes
off. I've had a tip that the house is likely to be deserted tonight.
Let's make the haul and then skip."
"Okay," agreed Gepper. "I have some suckers coming for a seance at eight.
I'll get rid of them in quick time, and be waiting. So long, Slippery."
A door slammed, telling Penny that the hook-nosed man had left. She was
somewhat stunned by what she had overheard, believing that the Henley who
had been mentioned must be her father's chief advertiser.
Nervously she waited inside the cabinet, wishing that she might take her
information to the police. To her intense annoyance, Al Gepper did not
leave the room even for a moment.
Instead he threw himself on the bed and read a tabloid newspaper. After
an hour, he arose and began to prepare his supper on an electric grill.
Penny shifted from one position to another, growing more impatient. Every
time the man came toward the cabinet her heart beat a trifle faster. She
was quite sure the Hodges had not yet returned home, and should Al Gepper
discover her, he would not treat her kindly.
The medium finished his supper and stacked the dishes in the closet
without washing them. Then he started to get ready for the night's
seance.
Peeping from between the cracks of the curtain, Penny saw him seat
himself before the easel. With painstaking care he painted a picture of a
woman, using a photograph as a model. After a coating of varnish had been
applied, he allowed it to dry and afterwards covered the entire picture
with zinc white. The original painting was entirely hidden.
Penny knew that hours had elapsed. The room gradually darkened, and Al
Gepper turned on the lights.
"Oh, dear, I must get out of here soon!" the girl thought desperately.
"But if I make a break for it he'll be sure to see me. That will ruin all
my plans."
Eight o'clock came. Al Gepper put on his coat, combed his hair and was
alertly waiting when the doorbell rang. However, instead of descending
the stairs he shouted an invitation for the visitors to come up.
Two women in their early forties were ushered into the seance chamber, to
be followed almost immediately by an elderly man.
"We will start at once if you please," said Al Gepper brusquely. "I have
another engagement tonight. However, before the seance is undertaken I
must ask that each of you pay the required fee, five dollars."
The money was paid, and the three persons seated themselves at the table.
Gepper switched off the lights.
The seance began in much the same manner as the one Penny had attended.
The medium called upon the spirit of a woman named Flora to appear.
"Now concentrate hard--everyone," he instructed. "Flora, where are you?
Can you not show yourself that we may know it is truly your spirit which
communicates with us?"
From the cabinet, so close to Al Gepper that she could have touched his
hand, Penny was able to see his every move. Yet so swift was his next
action, that she barely discerned it.
Taking a wet sponge from his pocket he wiped it across the painting
previously prepared. The picture immediately became visible to the
audience as Gepper focused his flashlight on the canvas.
"That wasn't the way he made Mrs. Weems' picture appear," thought Penny.
"The fellow must have a great repertoire of tricks!"
The seance had become so interesting that she no longer thought of
escape. Nevertheless, she came to a sudden realization of her precarious
position as she heard the medium say that he would next endeavor to
persuade the Spirit of Flora to take actual shape. With a shock it dawned
upon her that in another moment the man would enter the cabinet to make
use of the luminous gauze robe and other paraphernalia.
Knowing that she could not hide from him, Penny decided upon a bold break
for freedom. Dropping the ghostly robe over her face and shoulders, she
pulled aside the dark curtain and flitted into the room.
Her dramatic entrance brought gasps of astonishment from the persons who
sat at the circular table. The medium, as dumbfounded as his audience
muttered: "What the dickens!" and pushed back his chair, his legs rasping
on the floor.
Penny did not linger, but darted past the group and groped for the door.
In the darkness she could not immediately find it. Her shining robe, on
the other hand, made her an easy target for Al Gepper.
Angrily the medium strode across the room, seizing her arm. She jerked
away, but he grasped a fold of the robe. It tore and was left behind.
At that critical instant, Penny's hand encountered the door. She swung it
open, and bounded down the stairway.
In the seance chamber a light went on, then the hallway became
brilliantly illuminated. But by that time the girl was in the dining
room.
She could hear Al Gepper clattering down the steps, intent upon capturing
her. Penny was determined that he should never learn her identity.
Letting herself out of the house by way of the kitchen door, she decided
that if she attempted to cross the yard, the medium certainly would
recognize her. The woodpile offered a hiding place and she crouched
behind it.
Scarcely had she secreted herself, when Al Gepper ran into the yard. He
glanced about carefully and circled the house twice.
Finally, convinced that the "ghost" had escaped he came back to the
porch. His customers, greatly agitated by what had occurred, were
demanding explanations.
"Someone played a prank," Gepper explained briefly. "It will be
impossible to resume the seance for the spirits are offended. You will
leave, please."
The customers departed and the medium locked himself in the house. He did
not bother to lower the upstairs hall blind, and Penny caught occasional
glimpses of him as he moved to and fro.
"He's packing to leave!" she observed. "Unless I act in double-quick
time, he'll skip town! I must notify Dad and the police without an
instant's delay!"
CHAPTER
22
_SCALING THE WALL_
The nearest drugstore with a public telephone was two blocks away. Penny
ran the distance, and slipping into the booth, she dialed the _Star_
office. Informed by the building switchboard operator that neither her
father nor DeWitt was available, she inquired for Jerry Livingston, and
to her relief was connected with him.
"Listen, Jerry, this is Penny!" she began excitedly. "I haven't time to
explain, but the lid is blowing off the fake spiritualist story! Rush the
police out to the Hodges' cottage and demand Al Gepper's arrest! Send
another squad or some private detectives to Mr. Henley's home."
"Henley!" Jerry exclaimed. "Say, have you gone loco?"
"I'm not making any mistakes," Penny replied tersely. "If you act quickly
we may prevent a robbery. I'm on my way there now to warn Mr. Henley! Oh,
yes, try to find Dad or DeWitt and warn them a big story is breaking!"
"Penny, what's this all about?" the reporter demanded. "I can't go to the
police unless I know what I am doing."
"You must, Jerry. I have plenty of evidence against Gepper and his crowd,
but unless you take the police to the Hodges' in the next fifteen minutes
it will be too late!"
Without giving Jerry opportunity to delay her with other questions, Penny
hung up the receiver. Hastening to the street, she gazed frantically
about for a taxi. None was to be had.
"I'll get to the Henley place quicker in Lena than by waiting for a cab
to come along," she thought.
The battered old car had been parked a short distance from the Hodges'
cottage. Hurrying there, Penny jumped into the ancient vehicle and
started the motor. As usual it made a loud clatter, but she did not
suspect that the sound carried far up the street. Nor did she guess that
Al Gepper stood at the darkened window of his room, watching her.
Penny drove as fast as she could to the Henley home in the southern
section of Riverview. Lights blazed from the downstairs windows.
Abandoning her car in the driveway, she rang the doorbell. After a long
wait, a maid appeared.
"Is Mr. Henley here?" Penny asked breathlessly. "Or Mrs. Henley? It's
most important that I talk with them at once."
"Mrs. Henley has been at the seashore for a month," the maid replied in
an agitated voice. "Mr. Henley is somewhere downtown. I've been trying to
get him, but the telephone wire has been cut!"
"The house hasn't been robbed?"
"Mrs. Henley's jewelry has been taken! I don't know what else."
"When did it happen?" Penny asked.
"It must have been during the last half hour. I went to the corner store
for a book of stamps. When I came back five minutes ago I discovered what
had occurred. I ought to call the police, but I am afraid to do it until
I've talked with my employer."
"The police already have been notified," said Penny. "They'll be here any
minute."
"But how did you know--?" the maid began in astonishment.
Penny had turned away. She was convinced that the burglary had been
committed by Slippery. Perhaps, by this time he had fled town, but she
did not believe he would leave without his pal, Al Gepper.
Climbing into the car again, Penny debated. It was reasonable to suppose
that, having accomplished the burglary, Slippery would return to the
Hodges' cottage to meet the medium.
"If he does, the police should be on hand to seize him," she thought. "At
least, he and Al will be held for questioning. But there's one place I
forgot to cover--the Celestial Temple."
Like a flash came the recollection that Slippery had been deeply
interested in something which was guarded in the bell tower. Was it not
possible that he might return there before leaving Riverview?
Shifting gears, Penny turned the car and headed for Butternut Lane.
Anxiously, she glanced at the gasoline gauge. It registered less than a
gallon of fuel and she had used her last dime in the telephone booth.
"If I coast on all the downgrades I should just make it," she estimated.
In starting for the Celestial Temple Penny was acting upon a "hunch."
However, it disturbed her that the Henley burglary had been accomplished,
and she was afraid she might again be wasting precious time. Now that it
was too late, she wondered if it would not have been wiser to remain at
the Hodges' cottage until the police arrived.
"I only hope that end of the affair isn't bungled," she thought. "I'll
never get over it if Al and Slippery both escape."
Penny had reached the entrance to Butternut Lane. Parking at the side of
the road, she continued afoot toward the Celestial Temple.
From a distance the building appeared dark. However, as she drew closer
she could distinguish a dim light. Inside the Temple, a stout man wearing
a hat sat with his chair tilted against the door of the bell tower room.
"He must be the guard," thought Penny. "Probably the one they call Pete."
Suddenly she paused, retreating into a clump of elder bushes near the
walk. From the direction of the cemetery a figure emerged. At first, all
that Penny could distinguish was a man carrying a suitcase. As he drew
closer, her pulse quickened. Unmistakably, it was Slippery.
Without passing the bushes where the girl had taken refuge, the man
walked on toward the Temple. Presently he halted. Glancing carefully
about to assure himself that he was unobserved, he shoved his suitcase
into the tall weeds which lined the walk. Then he moved to one of the
Temple windows, peering into the gloomy interior.
"Now what?" thought Penny, watching alertly. "This should prove
interesting."
Slippery remained beneath the window a minute or two. Instead of entering
the Temple, he presently returned to the high weeds, stooping to remove
some object from his suitcase. Hiding it under his coat, he circled the
building and approached the side adjoining the cemetery.
Thoroughly mystified, Penny cautiously followed, taking care that her
body cast no shadow which would attract Slippery's attention.
The man seemed deeply engrossed in the task he had set for himself. From
his coat he took a collapsible rod which he extended to the approximate
length of a fish pole. To its end he attached a trailing silken ladder.
Deftly the man raised the ladder until two metal hooks bit into a
projection of the bell tower. He tested the ropes to make certain they
would bear his weight then, with the agility of a cat, mounted the silken
rungs. Penny saw him disappear into the bell tower.
"Now why did he climb up there?" she asked herself. "He must be after
something hidden in the belfry."
Penny knew that she was a long distance from police aid, but it was
unthinkable that Slippery should be allowed to escape. Impulsively, she
moved from her hiding place to the base of the tower.
Grasping the silken ladder, she gave it a quick jerk which dislodged the
two iron hooks. Down it tumbled into her arms, leaving the man trapped in
the turret.
"He'll never dare call for help when he discovers what has happened,"
reasoned Penny. "If he does, the guard, Pete, will have something to
say!"
Rolling the ladder into a small bundle, she started across the clearing,
intending to seek the nearest telephone. With no thought of lurking
danger, she brushed past a clump of bushes. A hand reached out and
grasped her arm.
Penny screamed in terror and tried to break free. The hand help her in a
grip of steel.
As she struggled, her captor emerged from the shelter of leaves. It was
Al Gepper.
"I thought I might find you here, my little one," he said grimly. "You
have had your fun. Now you must pay, and the entertainment shall be
mine!"
CHAPTER
23
_A PRISONER IN THE BELFRY_
Penny tried to scream, only to have Al Gepper clamp his hand over her
mouth.
"None of that!" he said harshly. "Behave yourself or you'll get rough
treatment."
Inside the Temple, lights suddenly were turned on, for the brief struggle
had been heard by Pete. The squat, stupid-faced man appeared in the
doorway of the building, peering down the lane.
"Who's there?" he demanded suspiciously.
Al Gepper uttered an angry word beneath his breath. It was not to his
liking that Pete should be drawn into the affair. However, he could not
avoid detection.
"It's Al!" he called softly. "This girl broke up my seance tonight, and I
trailed her here. She was prowling around the bell tower."
As he spoke, he dragged Penny toward the Temple entrance. His words
convinced her that he had not observed her remove the silken ladder from
the belfry wall, nor was he aware that Slippery was a prisoner in the
tower.
"Let's have a look at her," said Pete. He flashed a light directly into
Penny's face.
"She's the Parker girl--daughter of the publisher," informed Al.
"Yeah," commented Pete. "I saw her at one of our meetings. Another girl
was with her. How much has she learned?"
"Enough to get us all run out of town. The question is, what shall we do
with her?"
"Bring her inside, and we'll talk it over," said Pete. "Maybe we ought to
call a meeting."
"No," replied Al Gepper impatiently, shoving Penny through the doorway.
"We can take care of this ourselves."
The door was locked from the inside. Al pushed Penny into a chair on the
front platform.
"Now sit there," he ordered. "One peep out of you and we'll tie you up
and tape your mouth. Understand?"
"_Oui, oui, Monsieur_," said Penny, mockingly.
The two men stepped a few paces away and began to whisper together. Pete
seemed to protest at Al's proposals.
Penny watched them uneasily, speculating upon their final decision.
Whatever it was, she would never be given an opportunity to report to the
police until it was too late to apprehend members of the Temple.
"I was stupid not to realize that Gepper might trail me," she told
herself. "If only I had used an ounce of caution, I might have brought
about the capture of the entire gang. Not to mention a grand scoop for
Dad's paper."
Penny slumped lower in her chair. Her own predicament concerned her far
less than the knowledge that she had bungled a golden opportunity.
Speculatively, her gaze shifted toward the bell tower room. The door was
closed and she believed that it must be locked. There was no sound from
the belfry, adding to her conviction that the man imprisoned there was
fearful of attracting attention to his plight.