Watchful Waiting
"What do you want?" Penny gasped. She felt certain the man intended to
arrest her for aiding Amy Coulter to escape.
The detective stared down at her face.
"I beg your pardon," he apologized. "When you came out of that rooming
house I mistook you for another."
He released his grip on her arm and continued to offer excuses as Penny
walked away. She chuckled to herself, realizing that the plainclothes
man had taken her for Amy Coulter. But the smile quickly left her
face, for she did not feel very proud of the trick she had played on
the police. If it should turn out that the girl was guilty, then
indeed she would be sorry.
Dinner was over when Penny reached home, and Mrs. Gallup reported that
Mr. Nichols had returned to his office to work on a case.
"Your food is in the oven, Penny," she told the girl a trifle
irritably. "I declare, I can't see why you had to run off just when I
was setting things on the table. Your father is the same way!"
"We're a dreadful pair," Penny agreed amiably as she dished herself up
a generous helping of meat and potatoes. "Any gravy, Mrs. Gallup?"
"No, your father ate it all and I don't feel like making any more."
"Of course not. I have a big plate of food now. Just leave that pan
of dishes, Mrs. Gallup, and I'll do them for you."
The housekeeper immediately softened. "You may wipe them if you like,"
she said. "I am tired tonight. I don't mean to be cross, only it's
annoying to have folks late for meals. I like food to be eaten when
it's good and hot."
"You're a dear," Penny laughed, giving her a squeeze. "I'll try not be
late again."
After the dishes were stacked in the cupboard, Penny spent a half hour
reading, then she went to bed although it was only a little after eight
o'clock. She could not remember when she had been so tired.
"You're not sick?" Mrs. Gallup inquired anxiously, for usually Penny
was the last one in the house to retire.
"No, I'm all right. Just sleepy."
Penny might have added that she was likewise blue and discouraged. It
seemed to her that she had made no progress at all in trying to solve
the mystery which surrounded Amy Coulter.
As she slowly mounted the stairs, Penny's attention was attracted by
someone standing by the garage door. She paused, thinking that it
might be her father. To her astonishment, the man darted back behind a
group of tall bushes which banked the building.
Penny snapped out the light and watched. The man did not reappear.
"What are you doing?" Mrs. Gallup questioned.
"I think someone is watching the house. I just saw a man by the
garage."
"Oh! I'll call the police!"
"No, wait!" Penny commanded. "I may have been mistaken." She said it
to reassure the housekeeper.
Mrs. Gallup came to the window and peered out. There was no sign of
anyone about the grounds.
"I'll take a flashlight and investigate," Penny proposed.
Mrs. Gallup caught her firmly by the arm. "You'll do nothing of the
kind. We'll lock all the doors and not stir from the house until your
father returns!"
The housekeeper insisted upon drawing all the blinds and fastening the
doors and windows. It seemed an unnecessary precaution to Penny who
believed that the prowler had gone.
An hour slipped by and the man was not seen again. Penny went wearily
to bed, but Mrs. Gallup was so nervous that she declared her intention
of remaining up until Mr. Nichols arrived home.
The detective drove in shortly after ten o'clock and Penny could hear
the two talking in the living room. She dropped off to sleep before
her father came upstairs.
In the morning Penny awoke feeling refreshed and cheerful again. After
breakfast she walked to the post office, stationing herself near the
General Delivery window. For an hour she watched men and women come
and go, claiming their mail at the little window. George Hoges did not
appear, but Penny had scarcely dared to hope that he would come so soon.
Presently, she walked over to the window and questioned the clerk who
was in charge.
"Can you tell me if a man by the name of George Hoges gets his mail
here?"
The clerk thumbed through a stack of letters before answering. "I
don't remember the man but he'll probably call here sooner or later for
he has two letters."
Penny retreated to her post near the door. It was tedious waiting.
"When I get to be a taxpayer I'll vote for chairs in every post
office!" she thought.
Penny spent nearly the entire day waiting for George Hoges to appear.
By nightfall she was so weary she could scarcely stumble home. She
felt certain she would not have the fortitude to resume her watch the
following day.
Mr. Nichols was amused when she told him of her unpleasant experience.
"A detective must learn to spend half of his time just waiting," he
declared. "Why, I've handled cases where we assign men to watch a
certain street corner. Perhaps they'll be required to keep it up for
six months."
"That's a long time."
"Not if the man you're after comes along in the end."
"If I keep up my vigil even six days I'll have corns on the bottom of
my feet," Penny sighed. "Everything considered, I don't believe I'm
cut out to be a lady detective."
However, the following day found her again at her station in the post
office. The task of waiting and watching seemed even more tiresome
than before. When she came home late in the afternoon Mrs. Gallup
offered scant sympathy.
"I never heard of such a silly thing," she declared. "Standing all day
in the post office! I don't know why your father permits you to play
around at being a detective!"
"If you think it's play just try standing in one spot for eight hours!"
Penny said indignantly.
"I'd have better sense," Mrs. Gallup retorted. Then she softened. "I
know you're tired, Penny. Sit down and rest while I make you a cup of
hot chocolate."
With a blissful sigh, Penny sank into an upholstered chair. She was
looking at a magazine when the housekeeper returned with a pot of
chocolate.
"Here is a letter for you," she mentioned, dropping it into the girl's
lap. "It came this afternoon."
Noticing that it was postmarked Belton City, Penny quickly tore it
open. The envelope contained a brief note from Amy Coulter, who had
written to give her new address.
For a long time after she had finished reading the message, Penny sat
staring down at it without being aware of her preoccupation.
"I hope it isn't bad news," Mrs. Gallup said anxiously.
"Oh, no." Penny folded the message and thrust it into her pocket. "I
was only thinking."
Her thoughts had not been pleasant. She still liked Amy Coulter
despite the girl's strange actions, yet she felt that she could not
continue to help her without positive proof of her innocence. If only
Amy had explained her connection with George Hoges!
"You haven't been a bit like your usual self, Penny," Mrs. Gallup said
severely. "You're not sick, are you?"
"Of course not. I'm just tired."
"You've had too much excitement lately. It seems to me this household
is always in turmoil. The past week all I've heard of is robberies,
prowlers and more robberies!"
"At least we've had no murder yet," Penny chuckled. "By the way, what
did Dad say last night when you told him about the man we saw hiding
behind the garage?"
"He thought probably it was some crank. But I noticed he examined the
ground for footprints."
"Perhaps the prowler was the same person who broke into Dad's office,"
Penny remarked. "Only that doesn't seem reasonable either, for what
could anyone be after here at the house?"
"Silverware or possibly some of your father's papers."
"He doesn't keep anything of great value here as far as I know."
Before Mrs. Gallup could make a response the telephone rang and she
went to answer it.
"Can you come, Penny?" she called a moment later. "It's for you."
The girl hurried to the adjoining room and was surprised as she took
the receiver to hear Mrs. Dillon's voice. The woman was greatly
agitated.
"Miss Nichols, you were right about the picture," she began abruptly.
"I communicated with the museum authorities as I promised and they told
me that the painting is a fake!"
"I thought it would turn out that way," Penny commented in satisfaction.
"I can't understand how I was duped," Mrs. Dillon went on excitedly.
"I was so careful. I've been cheated out of four thousand dollars."
"Four thousand!" Penny exclaimed. "Why yesterday you told me you had
paid only half that sum."
"Since then I've made the final payment."
"But I warned you, Mrs. Dillon," Penny cried in exasperation. "Why did
you do it?"
"Because I couldn't help myself," the woman wailed. "My friend--the
agent convinced me that if I didn't complete the payments I would get
into serious trouble with the police--that we both would be disgraced."
"And you believed his story! He only cheated you!"
"No, he wouldn't do that," Mrs. Dillon replied firmly. "This
gentleman's reputation is above reproach. He couldn't have known any
more than I did that the Rembrandt was a fake."
"The only thing for you to do now is to reveal everything," Penny
urged. "Tell me the name of this man."
"No, I can't. I have promised to keep silent."
"Mrs. Dillon, I am unable to understand your attitude. Don't you want
to help capture the persons who tricked you?"
"Yes, I'll do anything I can except reveal this gentleman's identity.
I'll learn from him the name of the firm where the picture was bought
and notify the police."
Penny made a grimace which Mrs. Dillon could not see. After a moment's
silence, she asked bluntly:
"Is it Hanley Cron whom you are protecting?"
"Certainly not," Mrs. Dillon retorted, and hung up the receiver.
"I wonder if she told the truth?" Penny thought, turning from the
telephone. "At least she was afraid to answer any more questions."
It occurred to the girl that if Hanley Cron were not the mysterious
agent who had visited Mrs. Dillon the previous afternoon, then the
caller must have been the elderly gentleman with the black leather
brief case. Recalling that she still had the license number of the
man's car, Penny thought that it might be well to show it to her father
and ask him to trace the owner for her. Mr. Nichols would soon be
coming home for it was nearly dinner time.
Penny searched in her purse but the notebook was not there.
"Mrs. Gallup, have you seen a little green paper-covered book anywhere
in the house?" she inquired anxiously.
"I saw it in your room this morning," the housekeeper informed. "I
think it was on the dresser."
"Oh, yes, I remember now, that was where I left it!" Penny laughed in
relief.
She raced up the stairs two at a time, forgetting that she had ever
been tired. To her delight the little book was lying just where she
had dropped it.
She caught it up, rereading the notations which she had made the
previous day. Hearing her father's car on the driveway, she slipped
the notebook into her pocket and turned to leave. As she crossed to
the door, her eye chanced to rove toward the desk. She stared in blank
amazement.
The Black Imp was gone.