"Water," said Jerry. "Cool, refreshing water, preferably with a small
piece of ice."
The waiter favored the trio with another unflattering look and went to
the kitchen.
"This is a gyp place," Penny declared indignantly. "I can't understand
why anyone would come here. The waiters all seem to be French."
"Oh, all head waiters speak French," Jerry replied. "You can't tell by
that. I'd say they were German myself."
Penny studied the cafe employees with new interest. She noted that the
head waiter kept an alert eye upon the entire room, but particularly he
watched their table.
Soon the three orders of ham sandwiches were brought by the waiter. The
young people ate as slowly as they could so they would have an excuse for
remaining as long as they desired.
"What time is it, Jerry?" Penny asked anxiously.
"Ten after nine," he answered, looking at his watch.
A bell jingled, and the young people knew that another customer had
arrived. Craning their necks to see around the palm tree, they watched
the dining room entranceway. In a moment a young man entered and was
greeted by the head waiter. Jerry and the girls stared, scarcely
believing their eyes.
"Why, it's Burt Ottman!" Penny whispered.
"And exactly on the dot of nine-fifteen," added Louise significantly. "He
_must_ be the person who lost that billfold!"
CHAPTER
12
_JERRY'S DISAPPEARANCE_
Without noticing Jerry and the girls, Burt Ottman walked directly to a
table at the other side of the dining room. He spoke to the stranger whom
Penny and Louise had followed, and sat down opposite him.
"Ha! The plot thickens!" commented Jerry in an undertone. "Obviously our
friend and Burt Ottman had an appointment together."
"This is certainly a shock to me," declared Penny. "I'd made up my mind
that Burt had nothing whatsoever to do with the dynamiting. Now I don't
know what to think."
"He must be the saboteur," Louise said, speaking louder than she
realized. "We picked up the billfold along the river and it undoubtedly
was his."
"He denied it," replied Penny. "However, when I spoke of The Green Parrot
I noticed that he seemed to recognize the name. Oh, dear!"
"Now don't take it so hard," Jerry comforted her. "The best thing to do
is to report what we've seen to police and let them draw their own
conclusions."
"I suppose so," Penny admitted gloomily. "I had hoped to help Sara and
her brother."
"You wouldn't want to protect a saboteur?"
"Of course not, Jerry. Oh, dear, it's all so mixed up."
So intent had the young people been upon their conversation that they
failed to observe a waiter hovering near. Nor did it occur to them that
he might be listening. As Jerry chanced to glance toward him, he bowed,
and moving forward, presented the bill.
"Howling cats!" the reporter muttered after the waiter had discreetly
withdrawn. "Will you look at this!"
"How much is it?" Penny asked anxiously. "We only had three ham
sandwiches."
"Two dollars cover charge. Three sandwiches, one dollar and a half. Tip,
fifty cents. Grand total, four dollars, plus sales tax."
"Why, that's robbery!" Penny exclaimed. "I wouldn't pay it, Jerry."
"I can't," he admitted, slightly abashed. "I only have three dollars in
my pocket. Then I'll have to buy my hat back from the checkroom girl."
"Louise and I haven't any money either," Penny said. "Thirty-eight cents
to be exact."
"Thirty-three," corrected her chum.
"Tell you what," said Jerry after a moment of thought. "You girls stay
here and hold down the chairs. I'll go outside and telephone one of the
boys at the office. I'll have someone bring me some cash."
Left to themselves, the girls tried to act as if nothing were wrong.
However, they were very conscious of the waiter's scrutiny. Every time
the man entered the dining room with a tray of food, he gazed
suggestively at the unpaid bill.
"I'd feel more comfortable under the table," Penny commented. "Why
doesn't Jerry hurry?"
"Perhaps he can't find a telephone."
"Something is keeping him. We're going to become conspicuous if we stay
here much longer."
The girls fumbled with their purses and sipped at their water glasses
until the tumblers were empty. Minutes passed and still Jerry did not
return.
After a while, Burt Ottman's companion left the dining room. The young
owner of the boat dock waited until the older man had vanished, and then
called for his check. If the bill were unusually large he did not appear
to notice, for he paid it without protest and likewise left the dining
room.
"Louise, I don't want to stay here any longer," Penny said nervously. "I
can't understand what's keeping Jerry."
"Why not go out to the foyer and look for him."
"A good idea if we can get away with it," Penny approved. "I judge
though, that if we start off, the waiter will pursue us with the bill."
"Couldn't we just explain?"
"We can try. Anyway, it will be interesting to see what will happen."
Before leaving the table, Penny scribbled a hasty note which she left for
Jerry on his plate. It merely said that the girls would wait for him in
the foyer. Choosing a moment when their own waiter was occupied at
another table, they sauntered across the room and out into the hall.
"That wasn't half as hard as I thought it would be," chuckled Penny. "But
where's Jerry?"
The foyer was deserted. Noticing a stairway which led to a lower level,
the girls decided that the telephones must be located below. They started
down, but soon realized their mistake for no light was burning in the
lower hall.
"We're not supposed to be down here," Louise murmured, holding back.
"Wait!" whispered Penny.
At the far end of the dingy hall she had glimpsed a moving figure. For
just a second she thought that the young man might be Jerry. Then she saw
that it was Burt Ottman.
"What do you suppose he's doing down here?" she speculated. "He seems to
be familiar with all the nooks and crannies of this place."
Burt Ottman had not seen or heard the girls. They saw him pause at the
end of the hall and knock four times on a closed door. A circular
peep-hole shot open and a voice muttered: "Who is it?"
The girls heard no more. Someone touched Penny on the shoulder from
behind. With a startled exclamation, she whirled around to face the head
waiter.
"So sorry, Mademoiselle, to have frightened you," he said blandly. "You
have taken the wrong stairway."
"Why, yes," stammered Penny, trying to collect her wits. "We were looking
for the public telephones."
"This way please. You will find them in the foyer. Just follow me."
Penny and Louise had no choice but to obey. They wondered if the head
waiter knew how much they had seen. His expressionless face gave them no
clue.
"We were waiting for our friend," Louise remarked to cover her
embarrassment.
"The young man who escorted you here?"
"Yes," nodded Louise. "He went to telephone and we haven't seen him
since."
The waiter had reached the top of the stairs. He turned and looked
directly at the girls as he said: "The young man left here some minutes
ago."
"He left!" Penny exclaimed incredulously. "But the bill wasn't paid."
"Oh, yes, the young gentleman took care of it."
"Why, Jerry didn't have enough money," Penny protested, unable to grasp
the situation. "You're sure he left the cafe?"
"Yes, Mademoiselle."
"And didn't he leave any message for us?"
"I regret that he did not," the waiter replied. "As young ladies without
escorts are not permitted at The Green Parrot, I suggest that you leave
at once."
"You may be sure we will," said Penny. "I simply can't understand why
Jerry would go off without saying a word to us."
The head waiter conducted the girls to the exit, bowing as he closed the
door in their faces. Rather bewildered, they huddled together on the
stone steps. Rain had started to fall once more and the air was
unpleasantly cold.
"We certainly got out of that place in a hurry," Louise commented. "If
you ask me, it was a shabby trick for Jerry to go off and leave us.
Especially when he knew we didn't have the price of a taxi."
"Lou," said Penny soberly, "I don't believe that Jerry did desert us."
"But he disappeared! And the head waiter told us that he left."
"Something happened to Jerry when he went to telephone--that's certain,"
replied Penny, thinking aloud.
"Then you believe he was forcibly ejected?"
"No one could have tossed Jerry out of The Green Parrot without a little
opposition."
"Jerry's quite a scrapper when he's aroused," Louise agreed. "We didn't
hear any sound of scuffling. What do you think became of him?"
"I don't know and I'm worried," confessed Penny. Taking Louise's arm, she
guided her up the stone steps to the street. "The thing for us to do is
to get home and tell Dad everything! Jerry may be in serious trouble."
CHAPTER
13
_A VACANT BUILDING_
Hastening to a main street, Penny and Louise waited many minutes for a
bus. Finally as a taxi cruised past they hailed it, knowing they could
obtain cab fare when they reached home.
"Let's go straight to my house," Penny said, giving the driver her
address. "Dad should be there by this time. I know he'll be as worried
about Jerry as we are."
A few minutes later the taxi drew up in front of the Parker home. Lights
burned in the living room and the girls were greatly relieved to glimpse
the editor reading in a comfortable chair by the fireplace.
"Dad, I need a dollar sixty for cab fare!" Penny announced, bursting in
upon him.
"A dollar sixty," he protested, reaching for his wallet. "I thought you
and Louise went to a picture show. What have you been doing in a
taxicab?"
"I'll explain just as soon as I pay the driver. Please, this is an
emergency."
Mr. Parker gave her two dollars and she ran outside with it. In a moment
she came back with Louise.
"Now, Penny, suppose you explain," suggested Mr. Parker. "Has walking
become an outmoded sport or are you trying to save wear and tear on rayon
stockings?"
"Dad, Louise and I never went to the Rialto Theatre," Penny said
breathlessly. "We've been at The Green Parrot!"
"_The Green Parrot!_"
"Oh, we didn't go alone," Penny explained hastily as she saw disapproval
written on her father's face. "We telephoned Jerry and had him accompany
us."
"How did you learn the location of the place?"
"We heard a man give the address to a taxi driver, and followed in
another cab. Dad, we saw Burt Ottman there!"
"Interesting, but it hardly proves that he is a saboteur."
"He arrived at exactly nine-fifteen," Penny resumed excitedly. "After
talking with that man we followed, they both left the dining room, though
not together. We saw Burt go downstairs and knock on a door which had a
peephole."
"Did he enter?"
"I don't know," Penny admitted. "Louise and I weren't able to see. Just
as things were getting interesting the head waiter came and politely
escorted us out of the building."
"Why didn't Jerry bring you home?"
"That's what I'm getting at, Dad. Jerry just disappeared."
"What do you mean, Penny?"
Together the girls told him exactly what had happened at The Green
Parrot. Mr. Parker promptly agreed that it would not be like Jerry to
leave the cafe without an explanation.
"Something has happened to him!" Penny insisted soberly. "Dad, why don't
you call the police right away? It wouldn't surprise me one bit if The
Green Parrot is a meeting place for saboteurs! There's no telling what
they may have done to Jerry!"
By this time Mr. Parker had begun to share the alarm of the girls.
Getting abruptly to his feet, he started toward the telephone. Before he
could take down the receiver, the bell jingled. Answering the incoming
call, a peculiar expression came over the newspaper owner's face. After
talking for a moment, he hung up the receiver and turned toward Penny.
"That was Jerry," he announced dryly.
"Jerry!" Penny became confused. "But I don't understand, Dad. Is he being
held at The Green Parrot?"
"Jerry is at home. He called to ask if you and Louise arrived safely."
"Well, of all the nerve!" Penny cried indignantly. "Just wait until I see
him again!"
"Not so fast," advised her father. "There seems to have been a little
mix-up. After Jerry left the dining room to telephone, the head waiter
told him that you girls had decided not to wait."
"And he told us that Jerry had gone!" Louise cried. "I wonder why?"
"Because he wanted to get rid of our entire party!" Penny declared. "All
the time we were in the cafe that head waiter seemed to keep his eye on
us. Dad, what did Jerry do about paying the bill?"
"He was told that he need not settle it--that he could pay later."
"Well, it's all very peculiar," Penny said with a sigh. "I'm glad Jerry
is safe, but I still maintain we were hustled out of that place."
"No doubt you were," agreed her father. "I'm curious to see the
cafe--especially that door with the peep hole."
"I'll take you there," Penny offered eagerly.
"Not tonight," Mr. Parker declined, yawning. "Tomorrow morning perhaps."
Penny had to be satisfied with the decision, though she yearned for
immediate action. After Louise had gone to her own home, she mulled over
the situation, discussing every angle of it with her father.
"Why do you think Burt Ottman was at the Parrot?" she tried to pin him
down. "Would you say he's one of the plotters?"
"I have no opinion whatsoever," Mr. Parker responded somewhat wearily.
Penny did not allow her father to forget his promise to visit The Green
Parrot. The following morning she awoke early and at the breakfast table
reminded him that they had an important appointment together.
"I should be at the office," Mr. Parker said, glancing at his watch.
"Besides, the cafe won't be open at this hour."
"The manager should be there, Dad. You'll be able to talk to him and
really look over the place."
"We can ask a few questions--that's all," Mr. Parker corrected. "One
can't walk into an establishment and start searching."
"Let's go anyway," pleaded Penny.
More to please her than because he hoped to uncover vital evidence, Mr.
Parker agreed to make the trip. With Penny at the wheel of the family
car, they drove to the street where The Green Parrot was situated.
Parking not far from the entrance to an alley, they walked the remaining
distance.
"This is the place," said Penny, pausing before the familiar building.
"Why, what's become of the cafe?"
Bewildered, she stared at the doorway where the painted parrot sign had
swung. It was no longer there and the Venetian blinds had been removed
from the window.
"This place doesn't have the appearance of a cafe," said Mr. Parker. "Are
you sure you have the correct address, Penny?"
"Why, yes, I know we came here last night. But the sign has been
removed."
Descending the stone steps, Penny pressed her face against the uncovered
windows. Only a large, empty room confronted her astonished gaze. All of
the tables and chairs had been removed, even the palm trees and
decorations.
"It's deserted, Dad!" she exclaimed.
Mr. Parker came down the steps to peer through a window. Bits of colored
paper and menu cards still littered the floor. Testing the door, he found
it locked.
"This certainly is strange," he remarked thoughtfully. "Let's inquire
next door."
Penny and her father chose to enter a bakery which adjoined the building.
A stout woman in a white apron, who was arranging frosted cakes in a
showcase, favored them with a professional smile.
"Good morning," Mr. Parker greeted her, removing his hat. "Can you tell
me what has become of the cafe next door?"
"Are you from the police?" the woman asked quickly.
"No, I'm connected with the _Star_."
"Oh, a reporter!" assumed the woman, and Mr. Parker did not correct her.
"I thought maybe you were from the police. Yesterday I saw a man watching
The Green Parrot and I said to my husband, Gus, 'The cops are going to
raid that place.'"
"And did they?" interposed Mr. Parker.
"Not that I know of. The outfit just moved out. And a queer time to be
doing it too, if you ask me!"
"When did they leave?"
"The van pulled up there about two o'clock last night. They were loading
stuff in until almost dawn."
"Can you tell me where they went or why they moved out?"
"No, I can't," the woman replied with a shrug. "Like as not they were
afraid the police were going to raid 'em. I'm telling you that place
deserved to be closed up."
"Just what went on there?"
"I never was inside the place, but some mighty queer acting people seemed
to be running it. Why, I've seen men go in and out of there at four
o'clock of a morning, hours after the cafe closed up."
"Foreigners?"
"I couldn't rightly say as to that. My husband, Gus, thinks a lot of
gambling went on. Anyway, I'm glad the outfit's gone."
Unable to learn more, Penny and her father left the bakery and walked
toward their parked car. The information they had gained was not likely
to prove very helpful. Obviously, The Green Parrot had closed its doors,
fearing an investigation. Whether it had moved elsewhere or gone out of
existence, they could not know.
"The call that Jerry, Louise and I paid there last night may have had
something to do with it," Penny remarked. "I know the head waiter was
eager to be rid of us."
As Mr. Parker and his daughter walked slowly along, several persons ran
past them toward an alley. Approaching its entranceway, they saw that a
throng of people had gathered not far from the rear exit of The Green
Parrot.
"Wonder what's wrong back there?" speculated Mr. Parker, pausing.
"Probably an accident of some sort."
"Let's find out," proposed Penny.
She and her father joined the group of excited men and women in the
alley. They were startled to see a young man sprawled face downward on
the brick pavement. A garbage collector jabbered excitedly that he had
found the victim lying thus only a moment before.
Mr. Parker pushed through the circle of people. "Has anyone called an
ambulance?" he asked.
"I'll send for one, Mister," offered a boy, hastening away.
Mr. Parker bent over the prone figure.
"He ain't dead is he?" the garbage man asked anxiously.
"Unconscious," replied the newspaper man, his fingers on the victim's
wrist. "A nasty head wound. I'd say he either fell or was struck from
behind."
Carefully Mr. Parker rolled over the limp figure. As he beheld the face,
he stared and glanced quickly at Penny.
"Who is he, Dad?" she asked, and then she saw for herself.
The young man was Burt Ottman.
CHAPTER
14
_TEST BLACKOUT_
As Mr. Parker covered Burt Ottman with his overcoat, the young man
stirred and opened his eyes. He gazed at the newspaper owner with a dazed
expression and for a moment did not attempt to speak.
"Take it easy," Mr. Parker advised.
"What happened to me?" the young man whispered.
"That's what we'd like to know. Were you struck?"
"Don't remember," Ottman mumbled. He closed his eyes again, but aroused
as he heard the shrill siren of an approaching ambulance. "Don't let 'em
take me to a hospital," he pleaded. "Take me home."
The ambulance drew up in the alley. Stretcher bearers carefully lifted
the young man.
"I'm all right," he insisted, trying to sit up. "Just take me home."
"Where's that?" asked one of the attendants.
Burt Ottman mumbled an address which was on a street not far from the
boat dock he operated.
"We'll take you to the hospital for a check up," the young man was told.
"Then if you're okay, you'll be released."
Deeply interested in the case, Mr. Parker and Penny followed the
ambulance to City Hospital. There, after an hour's wait in the lobby they
were told that Burt Ottman had suffered no severe injury. A minor head
wound had been dressed, and he was to be released within a short while.
"What caused the accident?" Mr. Parker asked one of the nurses. "Did the
young man say?"
"He couldn't seem to remember what happened," she replied. "At least he
wouldn't talk to the doctor about it."
Overdue at the _Star_ office, Mr. Parker could remain no longer. However,
Penny, whose time was her own, loitered about the lobby for an hour and a
half until Burt Ottman came down in the elevator. The young man's head
was bandaged and he walked with an unsteady step as he leaned on the arm
of a nurse.
"I'll call a taxi for you," the young woman said. "You're really in no
condition to walk far, Mr. Ottman."
Penny stepped forward to offer her services. Her father, knowing that she
might have use for the car, had left it parked outside the hospital.
"I'll be glad to take Mr. Ottman home," she volunteered.
The young man protested that he did not wish to cause anyone
inconvenience, but allowed himself to be guided to the waiting
automobile.
As the car sped along toward the riverfront, Penny stole quick glances at
Burt. He sat very still, his gaze on the pavement ahead. She half
expected that he would offer an explanation of the accident, or at least
ask a few questions, but he remained silent.
"You took rather a hard blow on the head," she remarked, seeking to lead
him into conversation.
Burt merely nodded.
"Dad and I were astonished to find you lying in the alley at the rear of
The Green Parrot," Penny went on. "Don't you remember how you came to be
there?"
"Mind's a blank."
"You must have been struck by someone," Penny said, refusing to be
discouraged. "Can't you recall whom you were with just before the
accident?"
"What is this, a third degree?" Burt asked, and only a faint, amused
smile took the edge from his question.
"I'm sorry," Penny apologized.
"It doesn't matter what happened to me," Burt said quietly. "I just don't
feel like talking about it--see?"
"Yes."
"I don't mean to seem unappreciative," the young man resumed. "Thanks for
taking me home."
"You're very welcome, I'm sure," Penny responded dryly.
The car drew up in front of the home where Burt and his sister lived. A
pleasant, one-story cottage rather in need of paint, it was situated high
on a bluff overlooking the river.
As Burt stiffly alighted from the car, the cottage door opened, and Sara
came running to meet him.
"You're hurt!" she cried anxiously. "Oh, Burt, what happened to you?"
"Nothing," he answered, moving away from her encircling arms.
"But your head!"
"Your brother was hurt sometime last night," Penny explained to Sara.
"Just how, we don't know. My father and I found him lying in an alley at
the rear of The Green Parrot."
"The Green Parrot--that night club!" Sara gazed at her brother in dismay.
"Oh, Burt, I was afraid something like this would happen. Those dreadful
men--"
"Now Sara," he interrupted brusquely. "No theatricals, please.
Everything's all right." Giving her cheek a playful pinch, he wobbled
past her into the cottage.
Sara turned frightened eyes upon Penny. "Tell me exactly what happened,"
she pleaded.
"I honestly don't know, Sara. My father thought someone must have struck
your brother from behind, but he's not told us a thing."
"I just knew something of the sort would happen," Sara repeated
nervously.
"What do you mean?" inquired Penny. "Does your brother have enemies who
would harm him?"
"Burt's been trying to find out who framed him in the bridge dynamiting.
He won't tell me much about it, but I know he's been trailing down a few
leads."
"Isn't that work for the police?"
"The police!" Sara retorted bitterly. "Their only interest is in piling
up more evidence against Burt!"
"Your brother knows the identity of the saboteur?"
"He won't tell me, but I think he does have an idea who blew up the
bridge."
Penny scarcely knew whether or not to accept Sara's explanation of her
brother's activities. Unquestionably, the girl believed that he was
innocent of all charges against him. For one not prejudiced in his favor,
there were many factors to be considered. Why had Burt denied losing the
leather billfold? And with whom had he kept the Tuesday night appointment
at The Green Parrot?
"If your brother has any clue regarding the real saboteur, he should
present his evidence to the police," Penny advised Sara.
"He'll never do that until he's ready to appear in court. Not after the
way the police treated him."
Penny realized that nothing was to be gained by discussing the matter
further with Sara. Offering a few polite remarks to the effect that she
hoped Burt would soon recover completely from his injury, she drove away.
Later, in repeating the conversation to her father, she declared that she
could not make up her mind regarding Burt Ottman's guilt.
"The case does have interesting angles," Mr. Parker acknowledged. "I
talked to the Police Commissioner this morning about The Green Parrot.
The place long has had a reputation for cheating customers, and lately
it's been under suspicion as a rendezvous for anti-American groups."
"That would fit in with what the bakery woman told us. What became of The
Green Parrot, Dad? Have the police been able to trace it to a new
location?"
"Not yet. The cafe may not open up again, or if it does, under a new
name."
For two days Penny divided her time between school and the river. As the
water remained too rough for safe sailing, she and Louise spent their
spare hours painting and cleaning their boat. Upon several occasions they
called at the Ottman Boat Dock. Burt never was there, but Sara assured
them that her brother had completely recovered from his recent mishap.
"Did he never tell you how he was struck?" Penny inquired once.
"Never," Sara returned. "I've given up talking to him about it."
With the river high, the girls had no opportunity to visit Old Noah at
his ark. However, Sara told them that she was quite certain Sheriff
Anderson had not succeeded in getting rid of the old fellow and his
animals.
"The ark is still anchored up Bug Run," she laughed ruefully. "I know
because a steady flow of blue bottles has been floating down here!"
"Do you always read the message?" Louise inquired.
"Not always," Sara replied. "Frequently I do because they're so crazy."
Since his arrest and subsequent release from jail, Burt Ottman had seldom
been seen at the boat dock. Harassed and overburdened, Sara endeavored to
do the work of two people. She ran the motor launch, taking passengers up
and down the river. She rented canoes and row boats, and looked after
repair work which came to the shop. If she felt that her brother was
shirking his duties, she gave no inkling of it to the girls.
"When does Burt's trial come up?" Louise remarked to Penny late Thursday
night as they walked home from the Public Library. "Next week, isn't it?"
"Yes, the twenty-first," her chum nodded. "From all I can gather, he'll
be convicted, too."
"I feel sorry for Sara."
"So do I," agreed Penny. "At first I didn't like her very well. Now I
know her brusque manner doesn't mean anything."
The girls were passing a drugstore. In the window appeared a colored
advertisement, a picture of a giant chocolate soda, topped with frothy
whipped cream. Penny paused to gaze longingly at it.
"That's a personal invitation addressed to me," she remarked. "How about
it, Lou?"
"Oh, that same picture has been in the window for months," her chum said
discouragingly. "You can't get whipped cream unless you steal it from a
cow."
"Well, how about a dish of ice cream then? I'm horribly hungry."
"That's your natural state," teased Louise, pulling her on. "If we stop
now, we'll be caught in the test blackout."
"Is there one tonight?"
"Don't you read the papers? It's to be held between nine and ten o'clock.
And it's ten after nine now."
"I think it might be fun to be caught out in one--just so long as it's
not the real thing."
"I want to get home before the street lights are turned out," Louise
insisted. "In fact, I promised Mother I'd come straight home when the
library closed."
"Oh, all right," Penny gave in reluctantly.
The girls began to walk faster for they were many blocks from their own
street. Now and then they met an air raid warden and so knew that the
time for the test blackout was close at hand.
"Louise!" Penny suddenly exclaimed, stopping short.
"Now what?" the other demanded. "Don't you dare tell me you've left
something at the library!"
Penny was staring at a man who only a moment before had come through the
revolving doors of the Hotel Claymore.
"See that fellow!" she said impressively.
"Yes, what about him?"
"He's the head waiter at The Green Parrot."
"Why, you're right!" Louise agreed. "For a minute I didn't recognize him
in street clothes."
"Let's follow him," Penny proposed as the man started down a side street.
"Maybe we can learn the new location of The Green Parrot."
"Oh, Penny, I told Mother I'd come straight home."
"Then I'll follow him alone. I can't let this opportunity slip."
Louise hesitated, and then, unwilling to have Penny undertake an
adventure alone, quickly caught up with her.
"There's no telling where this chase will end," she complained. "That man
may not be going to The Green Parrot."
"Then perhaps we'll learn where he lives and police can question him."
As Penny spoke, a siren began to sound. A car which was cruising past,
pulled up at the curb and its headlights went off. All along the street,
lights blinked out one by one.
"The blackout!" Louise, gasped. "I was afraid we'd be caught in it. Now
we'll lose that man, and what's worse, I'll be late in getting home!"
CHAPTER
15
_A DRIFTING BARGE_
Upon hearing the shrill notes of the air raid siren, the man whom Penny
and Louise followed, quickened his step. Hastening after him, the girls
turned a corner and came face to face with an air raid warden.
"Take shelter!" he ordered sternly. "The closest one is across the
street--the basement of the Congregational Church."
Penny started to explain, but the warden had no time to listen. Waving
the girls across the street, he watched to see that they actually entered
the shelter.
"I guess he thought we weren't very cooperative," Louise remarked as they
followed a throng of persons downstairs to the basement. "These blackout
tests really are very important."
"Of course," agreed Penny. "It's a pity though that our friend, the
waiter, couldn't have been sent into this same shelter. Now we'll lose
him."
For nearly twenty minutes the girls remained in the basement until the
All Clear sounded. As they returned to the street level, lights were
going on again, one by one. Pedestrians began to pour out of the
shelters, but the girls saw no one who resembled the waiter.
"We've lost him," sighed Penny. "I guess we may as well go home."
"Let's hurry," urged Louise who was glad to abandon the pursuit. "Mother
will be worried about me."
At the Sidell home, Penny turned down an invitation to come in for a few
minutes. As she started on alone, she paused and called to her chum who
was on the porch: "Oh, Lou, how about a sail early tomorrow morning?"
"Isn't the river too high?"
"It was dropping fast this morning. The current's not so strong now
either. Let's get up bright and early."
"How early?" Louise asked dubiously.
"Oh, about seven o'clock."
"That's practically the middle of the night," Louise complained.
"I'll come by for you at a quarter to seven," Penny said, as if the
matter were settled. "Wear warm clothes and don't you dare keep me
waiting."
The next morning heavy mists shrouded Riverview's valleys and waterfront.
Undaunted by the dismal prospect, Penny proceeded in darkness to the
Sidell home. There, huddling against the gate post, she whistled several
times, and finally tossed a pebble against the window of Louise's room. A
moment later the sash went up.
"Oh, is it you, Penny?" her chum mumbled in a sleepy voice. "You surely
don't expect to go sailing on a morning like this!"
"The fog will clear away just as soon as the sun gets up. Hurry and climb
into your clothes, lazy bones!"
With a groan, Louise slammed down the window. Ten minutes later she
appeared, walking awkwardly because she wore two pair of slack suits and
three sweaters.
"Think we'll freeze?" she inquired anxiously.
"You won't," laughed Penny, giving her a thermos bottle to carry.
By the time the girls reached the dock, the rising sun had begun to
scatter the mist. Patches of fog still hung over portions of the river
however, and it was impossible to see the far shore.
"Shouldn't we wait another hour?" Louise suggested as Penny leaped aboard
the dinghy.
"Oh, by the time we get the sail up the river will be clear," she
responded carelessly. "Toss me the life preserver cushions."
While Penny put up the mainsail, Louise wiped the seats dry of dew. Her
fingers stiff with cold, she cast off the mooring ropes, and the boat
drifted away from the dock.
"Well, the river is all ours this morning," Penny remarked, watching the
limp sail. "That's the way I like it."
"Where's the breeze?" demanded Louise suspiciously.
"We'll get one in a minute. The headland is cutting it off."
"You're a chronic optimist!" accused Louise. Wetting a finger, she held
it up. "I don't believe there is any breeze! We'll just drift down stream
and then have to row back!"
"We're getting a little now," said Penny as the sail became taut. "Hold
your fire, dear chum."
The boat gradually picked up speed, but the breeze was so unsteady that
the girls did not attempt to cross the river. Instead, they sailed in
midstream, proceeding toward the commercial docks. The mists did not
entirely clear away and Penny began to shiver.
"Don't you wish you had one of my sweaters?" asked Louise, grinning.
Penny shook her head as she reached to pour herself a cup of steaming
coffee from the thermos bottle. Before she could drink it, a large, flat
vessel loomed up through the mist ahead.
"Now don't try to argue the right of way with that boat," Louise advised
uneasily.
"Why, it's a barge!" Penny exclaimed, bringing the dinghy about. "I do
believe it's adrift!"
"What makes you think so?" Louise asked, staring at the dark hulk.
Penny maneuvered the dinghy closer before she replied. "You can see it's
out of control. There's no tow boat anywhere near."
"It does seem to be drifting," Louise acknowledged. "No one appears to be
aboard either."
Realizing that the large vessel would block off all the wind if she
approached too close to it, Penny kept the dinghy away. The barge, almost
crosswise to the current, was floating slowly downstream.
"How do you suppose it got loose?" Louise speculated.
"Saboteurs may have cut the hawser."
"The big mooring rope _has_ been severed!" Louise exclaimed a moment
later. "I can see the frayed end!"
Penny came about again, tacking in closer to the drifting vessel.
"That certainly looks like the barge Carl Oaks was hired to guard," she
declared with a worried frown. "Can you read the numbers, Lou?"
"519-9870."
"Then it is his barge!"
"He must have deserted his post again."
"In any case that barge is a great hazard to other vessels," Penny
declared, deeply troubled. "Not even a signal light on the bow or stern!"
"Oughtn't we to notify the Coast Guards?"
"We should, but while we're reaching a telephone, the barge may ram
another boat. Why not board her and put up signal lights first? In this
fog one can't see a vessel many yards ahead."
"It doesn't look possible to climb aboard."
"I think I can do it," Penny said, offering the tiller to her chum.
"Here, take the stick."
"You know what happens when I try to steer," Louise replied, shrinking
back. "I'll be sure to upset. The wind always is tricky around a big
boat."
"Then I'll take down the sail," Penny decided, moving forward to release
the halyard.
The billowing canvas came sliding down. Penny broke out the oars, and
maneuvered the dinghy until it grated against the hull of the barge.
"Even a trained monkey couldn't get up there," Louise declared, staring
at the high deck.
Penny rowed around to the other side of the barge. Discovering a rope
which did not give to her weight, she announced that she intended to
climb it.
"You'll fall," Louise predicted.
"Why, I'm the champion rope climber of Riverview High!" Penny chuckled,
thrusting the oars into her chum's unwilling hands. "Just hold the dinghy
here until I get back."
"Which shouldn't be long," Louise said gloomily. "I expect to hear your
splash any minute now."
Penny grasped the dangling rope. With far more ease than she had
anticipated, she climbed hand over hand to the deck of the barge. Once
there she lost not a moment in lighting signal lamps at bow and stern.
The task accomplished, she was moving amidships when she thought she
heard a slight sound from within the deck house. Pausing to listen, she
called:
"Is anyone here?"
There was no answer, but distinctly she heard a scraping noise, as if
someone were pushing a chair against a wall.
"Someone _is_ in there!" Penny thought.
Darting across the deck, she tried the door of the cabin. It had been
fastened from the outside. Fumbling with the bolt, she finally was able
to push it back. The door swung outward.
For a moment Penny could discern no one in the dark, little room. Then
she saw a man lying on the floor. A gag covered his mouth and his hands
and feet were tied with cord.
The prisoner was Carl Oaks.
CHAPTER
16
_DANGER ON THE RIVER_
Throwing the door open wide to admit more light, Penny darted into the
cabin. Bending over the prisoner, she began to untie the cords which
bound his wrists.
"I'll have you free in a minute, Mr. Oaks," she encouraged him.
The cords had been loosely tied. Undoing the knots, she next pulled away
the gag which covered his mouth.
"What happened, Mr. Oaks?" she demanded. "Who did this to you?"
The old watchman sat up, stretching his cramped arms. He did not reply,
but watched Penny intently as she loosened the thongs which bound his
legs. Getting up, he walked a step or two across the cabin.
"Tell me what happened," Penny urged impatiently. "Don't you feel able to
explain?"
"I'm disgusted," Mr. Oaks returned. "Plumb disgusted."
"I don't doubt you feel that way," agreed Penny. "This barge is floating
in mid-channel, a hazard to incoming and outgoing vessels. We'll have to
do something about it."
"I'm through with this job! I didn't want it in the first place!"
"That's neither here nor there," Penny replied, losing patience. "Suppose
you stop grieving over your bad luck for a minute, and explain what
occurred."
"Well, it was about midnight when they sneaked aboard."
"The men who attacked you?"
"Yes, there were three of 'em. I was in the cabin at the time, reading my
newspaper. Before I knew what was happening, they were on top of me."
"Did you recognize any of the men, Mr. Oaks?"
"No."
"What did they look like?"
"It was dark and I didn't see their faces."
"How were they dressed?"
"Didn't notice that either," Mr. Oaks returned grumpily. "I was too busy
tryin' to fight 'em off. They trussed me up and then cut the barge
loose."
"Saboteurs!"
"Reckon so," the old watchman nodded.
"Well, what will we do?" Penny asked, scarcely able to hide her growing
irritation. "It's still foggy on the river. I've put up signal lights,
but an approaching freighter might not see them in time to change her
course."
"There's nothing more to be done," Carl Oaks responded with a shrug. "The
Coast Guard boat will come along after awhile. I'm not going to worry
about it--not me! I'm done with this lousy job, and you can tell your
father so."
"My father can bear the shock, I think," Penny answered coldly.
Thoroughly disgusted at the indifferent attitude of the watchman, she ran
out on deck. Looking down over the side, she saw Louise waiting anxiously
in the dinghy.
"Oh, there you are!" her chum cried. "I thought you never were coming!"
Penny explained that she had found Carl Oaks lying bound and gagged
inside the deck house. As the old watchman himself came up behind her,
she could say nothing about his indifferent attitude.
"I wondered how you got out to this barge," Oaks commented, gazing down
at the dinghy. "You can take me to shore with you."
"Isn't it your duty to remain here until relieved?" Penny asked.
"I resigned, takin' effect last night at midnight," Oaks grinned. "I've
had enough of Riverview. I'm getting out of this town."
Penny faced the watchman with flashing eyes.
"My father obtained this job for you, Mr. Oaks. You'll show very little
gratitude if you run off just because you're in trouble again."
"A man's got a right to do as he pleases!"
"Not always," Penny corrected. "Saboteurs are at work along this
waterfront, and it's your duty to tell police what you know."
"I didn't see the men, I tell you! They came at me from behind."
"Even so, you may be able to contribute information to the police. In any
case, you'll have to stay here until relieved--"
"Penny!" interrupted Louise from below. "There's a boat coming!"
The steady chug of a motor could be heard, but for a moment the swirling
mists hid the approaching vessel. Then a pleasure yacht, with pennants
flying, came into view.
"It's the _Eloise III!_" Penny cried, recognizing the craft as one
belonging to Commodore Phillips of the Riverview Marine Club.
Waving their arms and shouting, the girls tried to attract the pilot's
attention. To their relief, the yacht veered slightly from her course,
and the engines slackened speed.
"Yacht ahoy!" called Penny, cupping hands to her lips.
"Ahoy!" came the answering shout from Commodore Phillips. "What's wrong
there? Barge adrift?"
Penny confirmed the observation and requested to be taken aboard.
Although she was not certain of it, she believed that the _Eloise III_
was equipped with a radio telephone which could be used to notify Coast
Guards of the floating barge.
Leaving Carl Oaks behind, the girls rowed to the yacht and were helped
aboard. Commodore Phillips immediately confirmed that his vessel did have
radio-telephone apparatus.
"Come with me," he directed, leading the girls to the radio room.
The Commodore sat down beside the transmitting apparatus, quickly
adjusting a pair of earphones. Snapping on the power switch, he tuned to
the wave length of the Coast Guard station. While the girls hovered at
his elbow, he talked into the radio telephone, informing the Coast Guard
of the floating barge and its position. The message, he explained to
Penny and Louise, would be received in "scrambled speech" and
automatically transformed into understandable English by means of an
electrical device.
"How do you mean?" inquired Louise, deeply puzzled.
"Nearly all ship-to-shore radio telephone conversations are carried on in
scrambled speech," the Commodore replied. "Otherwise, eavesdroppers could
tune in on them and learn important facts not intended to be made
public."
"But you spoke ordinary English into the 'phone," Louise said, still
perplexed.
"The speech scrambler is an electric circuit which automatically
transposes voice frequencies," the Commodore resumed. "The words are made
unintelligible until unscrambled by a similar device at the receiving
station. For instance, if I were to say 'Mary had a little lamb,' into
this phone, anyone listening in would hear: 'Noyil hob e ylippey ylond.'
Yet at the receiving post, the message would be unscrambled to its
original form."
"I wish our telephone at home was fixed that way!" Penny declared with a
laugh. "Wouldn't some of the neighbors develop a headache!"
Having been informed that a Coast Guard cutter would proceed at once to
the locality, the girls felt relieved of further responsibility. As
Commodore Phillips said that he would stand by with his yacht until the
cutter reached the scene, they finally decided to return to shore. Once
well away from the yacht they raised sail and tacked toward their own
dock.
"I hope the Coast Guard gives Carl Oaks a good lecture," Penny remarked,
turning to gaze back at the slowly drifting barge. "Why, he wasn't one
bit concerned what might happen to other vessels!"
"I never did like him," said Louise with feeling. "He complains too much.
Was it his fault that the barge was cut adrift?"
"Not according to his story. Three men attacked him while he was in the
deck house. Of course, he couldn't have been too alert."
"Carl Oaks wouldn't be!"
"There was one rather peculiar thing," Penny said slowly. "It never
occurred to me until now."
"What's that?"
"Why, Mr. Oaks' bonds were very loose. If he had tried, I believe he
could have freed himself."
"That does seem strange," agreed Louise. "You don't think he allowed
those saboteurs to board the barge?"
Penny brought the dinghy around, steering to avoid a floating log.
"I wouldn't know," she replied soberly. "But I'm glad we forced Mr. Oaks
to wait for the Coast Guard. I hope they question him until they get to
the bottom of this affair."
CHAPTER
17
_A STOLEN BOAT_
The mists were lifting as Penny and Louise sailed slowly past the Ottman
Dock toward their own snug berth. Sara, in blue slacks, a red bandana
handkerchief over her head, was trying to start a stubborn outboard
motor. Glancing up, she called a greeting, and then asked abruptly:
"Say, what's that barge doing out on the river? It looks to me as if it's
adrift, but I can't see well enough to tell."
Penny and Louise, eager to impart information, brought the dinghy to a
mooring at the floating platform. Sara listened with interest as they
revealed how they had boarded the barge, released Carl Oaks, and then
notified the Coast Guard.
"Neat work!" she praised. "That Carl Oaks! He's one of the most shiftless
men I ever knew. He doesn't deserve to hold a job."
Penny glanced about the dock, searching for Burt Ottman.
"Your brother isn't here?" she remarked absently.
"No, he isn't," Sara replied, rather defiantly. "If you think he had
anything to do with that barge--"
"Why, it never entered my mind!" Penny exclaimed.
"I'm sorry," the older girl apologized. "I shouldn't have said that. I
don't know why I'm so jumpy lately."
"You have a great deal to worry you," said Louise sympathetically. "And
you work too hard."
"I'll be all right as soon as Burt's trial is over. He's not here this
morning--" Sara's voice broke. "In fact, I don't know where he is."
Louise and Penny said nothing, though the remark astonished them.
"Burt was out all last night," Sara spoke and then seemed to realize that
her words easily could be misinterpreted. She added hastily: "He's been
trying to gain evidence which will prove his innocence."
"You mean your brother went away yesterday and failed to return?" Penny
asked after a moment.
Sara nodded. "He's on the trail of the real saboteurs, and it's dangerous
business. That's why I'm so worried. I'm afraid he's in trouble."
"Have you talked to the police?" Penny inquired.
"Indeed, I haven't."
"Didn't your brother tell you where he was going when he left home?"
"No, he didn't. He keeps things from me because he says I worry too much
now."
"I suppose he never explained what happened at The Green Parrot?"
"He said he couldn't remember. Oh, everything's so mixed up. I try not to
think about it, because when I do my head simply buzzes."
Once more Sara tried to start the balky engine, and this time her efforts
brought success.
"Thank goodness for small favors!" she muttered. "Now I've got to go out
on the river and look for our stolen boat. Hope no one runs off with this
place while I'm gone."
"You've not had another boat stolen?" Louise asked in surprise.
"I figure that's what happened to it. Late yesterday afternoon a man came
here and rented our fastest motorboat. That's the last I've seen of him
or it."
"Didn't you report your loss to the Coast Guards?" inquired Penny.
Sara answered with a trace of impatience. "Of course, I did. They
searched the river last night. No accident reported, and no trace of the
boat."
"The man might have drowned," Louise offered anxiously.
"It's not likely. If he had gone overboard, the boat would have been
found by this time. No, it's been pulled up somewhere in the bushes and
hidden. Last year one of our canoes was taken. Burt found it a month
later, painted a different color!"
"Didn't you know the man who rented the boat?" questioned Penny.
"Never saw him before. He was tall and thin and dark. Wore a brown felt
hat and overcoat. I noticed his hands in particular. They were soft and
well manicured. I said to myself, 'This fellow doesn't know a thing about
boats,' but I was wrong. He handled that motor like a veteran."
"The man didn't look like a waiter, did he?" Penny asked quickly.
"You couldn't prove it by me."
Penny groped in her mind to recall a characteristic which definitely
would describe the head waiter of The Green Parrot. To her chagrin, she
could think of only one unusual facial characteristic, a tiny scar on his
cheek. She did remember that the man had worn a large, old fashioned gold
watch which might have been of foreign make.
"Why, the fellow who rented the boat did have such a watch!" Sara cried
when Penny mentioned the timepiece. "I didn't notice the scar. What is
his name?"
"Louise and I never were able to learn," Penny replied with regret. "The
Green Parrot has closed its doors, so I don't know how you can get in
touch with him."
Sara sighed. Placing an oar, a bailer, and a can of gasoline in the boat,
she prepared to leave the dock.
"I'll be lucky if I ever see the fellow again," she commented. Hesitating
a moment, she asked diffidently: "Don't suppose you girls would like to
go along?"
Penny and Louise wondered if their ears had betrayed them. It seemed
beyond belief that Sara actually would invite them to accompany her.
"Why, of course, we'd like to go," Penny accepted, before her chum could
find her voice.
Scrambling out of the dinghy, the girls made it fast to the dock and
transferred to the other boat. Sara opened the throttle, and they shot
away, leaving behind a trail of churning foam. Out through the slip they
raced, rounding a channel buoy at breakneck speed.
"You can certainly handle a boat," Penny said admiringly.
"Been at it since I was a kid," Sara grinned. "I could cruise this river
blindfolded."
They passed the floating barge, observing that a Coast Guard cutter was
proceeding up river to take it in tow. Turning upstream, Sara swung the
boat toward shore.
"Keep close watch of the bushes," she directed the girls. "If you see
anything that looks like a hidden boat, sing out."
At low speed they crept along the river, watching for marks in the sand
which might reveal where a craft had been pulled out of water. Once,
venturing too close in, Sara went aground and had to push off with the
oars.
"It doesn't look as if we'll have any luck," she remarked gloomily. "The
boat's probably so well hidden, it would take a ferret to find it."
They kept on upstream toward the Seventh Street Bridge, a structure much
in use since the more modern Thompson's Bridge had been closed to auto
traffic. Penny, watching the stream of vehicles passing above, remarked
that Riverview commerce would be paralyzed should anything occur to
damage it.
"The Seventh Street Bridge now is the only artery open to the Riverview
Munitions Plant," Sara added. "I understand it's being guarded day and
night. By a better watchman than Carl Oaks, I hope."
Without passing the bridge, the girls turned downstream, searching the
opposite shore. Before they had gone far, Sara beached the boat on a
stretch of sand.
"It was along here that Burt found our canoe last year," she explained.
"If you don't mind waiting, I'll get out and prowl around a bit."
"Aren't we near Bug Run?" Penny inquired.
Sara pointed out the mouth of the stream which was hidden from view by a
clump of willows.
"If you expect to be here a few minutes, Louise and I might pay Old Noah
a flying visit," Penny said eagerly. "We're curious to learn what has
happened to him."
"I'll be around for at least half an hour," Sara replied. "Take your
time."
Penny and Louise set off along the twisting bank of Bug Run. Approaching
the vicinity of the ark, they noticed many corked blue bottles caught
amid the debris of the sluggish stream.
"I'll bet a cent and a half that Old Noah still is on the old stamping
grounds!" Penny remarked. "Sheriff Anderson probably hasn't found a way
to get rid of him. Why, unless a regular deluge floods this stream, the
ark never could be floated out to the main river."
"The sheriff could put Old Noah in jail."
"True, but a great many people would criticize him if he did."
A moment later the girls rounded a bend and saw the ark in its usual
setting. A long clothes line had been stretched from bow to stern, and
wet garments fresh from the wash tub, flapped in the breeze.
"Well, Noah is still here," chuckled Penny. "He's run up the white flag
though! Or should we say the white flags!"
On the deck of the ark, Old Noah was so busy that he failed to note the
approach of the two girls. He stood in the center of a ring of soiled
clothes, laboring diligently over a tub of steaming suds.
As the girls reached the gangplank, a dog from inside the ark began an
excited barking. Startled, Old Noah glanced up. Unnoticed by him, his
long white beard slipped into the soapy water and he rubbed it vigorously
on the washboard.
Scarcely able to control a giggle, Penny followed her chum aboard the
ark. As Old Noah kept on scrubbing his beard she could not resist asking:
"Excuse me, but aren't you washing your whiskers by mistake?"
Surprised, the old man straightened to his full height. Squeezing the
dripping beard, he carefully wrung it out. Next he produced a comb from
his loose fitting brown pantaloons, and painstakingly unsnarled the
tangles. Then turning to the girls, he greeted them with his usual
dignity.
"Good morning, my daughters. I am glad you kept your promise to visit me
again."
"Good morning, Noah," responded Penny, trying not to laugh. "We thought
we would drop by and see if you were still here. I remember Sheriff
Anderson said he was going to call on you again."
The old man's weather beaten face crinkled into deep wrinkles. "Ho, ho!
So he did, but he reckoned without the Might of the Righteous. I was
watching for him when he came."
"I hope you didn't mistreat him," Penny said uneasily.
"When I observed his approach I untied my two hounds, Nip and Tuck, and
hid myself in the forest. He was gone when I returned to the ark."
"Likewise, part of his anatomy, I suppose," commented Penny.
"Nip and Tuck did cause a commotion," Old Noah acknowledged, "but they
did him no harm. When he went away the sheriff left a cowardly note
tacked to a tree. It said he would return to dispossess me. Before that
happens, I will blow this ark to Kingdom Come!"
"How will you do that?" inquired Penny, rather amused.
"With dynamite."
"Do you have any aboard the ark?"
Old Noah smiled mysteriously. "I know where I can lay my hands on all
I'll need. When I was hiding in the woods yesterday, I saw where they
keep it."
Penny and Louise glanced quickly at each other. While it was possible
that Old Noah was talking wildly, the mention of dynamite made them
uneasy. If it were true that he had come into possession of such a cache,
then obviously it was their duty to report to the authorities.
"Who hid the dynamite?" Penny asked.
"I do not rightly know," replied Old Noah. "It may have been those
strangers who were pestering me last night. They came to my ark and were
very nosey, asking me about this and that."
"Not officers?"
"They had no connection with the Law, speaking of it with great
contempt."
"How many men were there, Noah?"
"Two."
"And they came by car?"
"Bless you, no," replied Noah wearily. "They arrived in a motorboat. Of
all the pop-poppin' you ever heard! It almost drove my animals crazy."
"After they talked to you, the men went away again in their boat?"
"They started off, but as soon as they had turned the bend they switched
out the motor. I wondered what they were up to, so I sneaked through the
bushes and watched."
"Yes, go on!" Penny urged eagerly as Old Noah interrupted the narrative
to wash another shirt. "What did the men do?"
"Why, nothing," answered the old man. "They just pulled the boat up into
the bushes and went off and left it."
"The boat is still there?" Penny demanded.
"So far as I know, my daughter."
"Will you show us where the boat is hidden?" pleaded Penny. "And the
dynamite cache too!"
"I am very busy now," Old Noah said, shaking his flowing locks. "I have
this pesky washing to do, and then, there's all the animals to feed."
"Can't we help you?" offered Louise.
"I thank you kindly, but it would not be fit work for young ladies. If
you will return tomorrow, I gladly will guide you to the place."
Penny and Louise tried their powers of persuasion, but the old man was
not to be moved. In the end they had to be satisfied with a description
of the site where the motorboat had been hidden. Old Noah stubbornly
refused to tell them more about the cache of dynamite.
Finally, the girls said goodbye to the master of the ark, and hastened
toward the river to join Sara. They were greatly excited by the
information they had obtained.
"Old Noah may have talked for the fun of it," Penny declared as they
struggled through the underbrush. "If not, I think we've stumbled into an
important clue--one which may have a bearing on the bridge dynamiting
case!"
CHAPTER
18
_PENNY'S PLAN_
Sara was waiting beside her boat when Penny and Louise came running along
the muddy shore. Without apologizing for being so late, they excitedly
related their conversation with Old Noah.
"Say, maybe that hidden motorboat is mine!" the girl exclaimed. "What did
it look like?"
"We didn't take time to search for it," Penny replied. "We knew you would
be waiting so we came straight here."
"Let's see if we can find it," Sara said, starting up the engine.
"Noah's animals don't like motorboats," Louise chuckled. "I suggest we do
our searching afoot."
"All right," Sara agreed readily, switching the motor off again. "Lead
and I'll follow."
Penny and Louise guided their companion to the mouth of Bug Run and
thence along its slippery banks to a clump of overhanging willows.
"According to Old Noah's description, this should be the place," Penny
declared, looking about. "No sign of a boat though."
Sara took off shoes and stockings and waded through the shallow, muddy
water. Whenever she came to a clump of bushes, she would pull the
branches aside to peer behind them.
"Old Noah may have been spoofing us," Penny began, but just then Sara
gave a little cry.
"Here it is! I've found it!"
Penny and Louise slid down the bank to the water's edge. Behind a dense
thicket, a motorboat had been pulled out on the sand. The engine remained
attached, covered by a piece of canvas.
"Is it your boat, Sara?" Penny asked eagerly.
"It certainly is!" She spoke with emphasis. "The hull has been repainted,
but it takes more than that to fool me."
"Any positive way to identify it?"
"By the engine number. Ours was 985-877 unless I'm mistaken. I have it
written down at home."
"What's the number of this engine?"
"The same!" Sara cried triumphantly after she had removed the canvas
covering and examined it. "This is my property all right, and I shall
take it back with me."
"Old Noah spoke of two strangers who came here last night by boat," Penny
said thoughtfully.
"The fellow who stopped at the dock probably picked up a pal later on,"
Sara commented, trying to shove the boat into the water. "My, this old
tub is heavy! Want to help?"
"Wait, Sara!" Penny exclaimed. "Let's leave the boat here."
"Leave it here! Now that would be an idea! This little piece of floating
wood represents nine hundred and fifty dollars."
"I don't mean that you're to lose the boat," Penny hastened to explain.
"But if we take it now, we never will catch the fellow who stole it."
"That's true."
"If we leave the boat here we can keep watch of the place and catch those
scamps when they come back."
"They may not come back," Sara said, without warming to the plan.
"Besides, I've no time to do a Sherlock Holmes in the bushes. I have my
dock to look after."
"Louise and I could do most of the watching."
"Well, I don't know," Sara said dubiously. "Something might go wrong. I
never would get over it if I lost the boat."
"You won't lose the boat," promised Penny. "It's really important that we
catch those two men, Sara. From what Old Noah said, they may be connected
with the bridge dynamiting."
"What makes you think that?"
"Because Old Noah found a cache of dynamite somewhere near here."
"He won't tell us its location," added Louise.
"If it should develop that the men are saboteurs, we might learn
something which would help your brother's case," Penny said persuasively.
"How about it, Sara?"
"I'd be glad to risk the boat if I thought it would help Burt."
"Then let's leave it here. We can watch the spot night and day."
"And what will your parents have to say?"
Penny's face fell. "Well, I suppose when it comes right to it, Dad will
set his foot down. But at least we can watch during the day time. Then if
necessary, we might report to the police."
"Let's leave them out of it," Sara said feelingly. "If you girls will
remain throughout the day, I'll stand the night watch."
"Not alone!" Louise protested.
"Why not?" Sara asked, amused. "I've frequently camped out along the
river at night. Once I made a canoe trip the full length of the river
just for the fun of it."
"Louise and I will stay here now while you return to the dock," Penny
declared. "Better call our parents when you get there and break the news
as gently as possible."
"What will you do for lunch?"
"Maybe we can beg a sandwich or a fried egg from Old Noah," Penny
chuckled. "We'll manage somehow."
"Well, whatever you do, don't leave the boat unguarded," Sara advised,
starting away. "As soon as it gets dark I'll come back."
Left to themselves, Penny and Louise explored the locality thoroughly.
Not far away they found a log which offered a comfortable seat, and they
screened it with brush.
"Now we're all ready for Mr. Saboteur," Penny said. "He can't come too
soon to suit me."
"And just what are we going to do when he does arrive?"
"I forgot to figure that angle," Penny confessed. "We may have to call on
Old Noah for help."
"Noah will be busy doing a washing or giving the goat a beauty
treatment," Louise laughed.
The sun lifted higher, and steam rising from the damp earth made the
girls increasingly uncomfortable. As the hours dragged by they rapidly
lost zest for their adventure. Long before noon they were assailed by the
pangs of hunger.
"If I could catch a bullfrog I'd be tempted to eat him raw," Penny
remarked sadly. "How about chasing up to the ark? Noah might give us a
nibble of something."
"Dare we go away and leave the boat?"
"Oh, it's safe enough for a few minutes," Penny returned. "The idea of
staying here wasn't such a good one anyhow. What if those men should
never come back?"
"This is a fine time to be thinking of that possibility!"
Moving quietly through the woods, the girls came to the ark. They could
hear the hens cackling, and as they called Old Noah's name, the parrot
answered, squawking: "Polly wants a cracker."
"You've got nothing on me, Polly," said Penny. "Where's your master?"
The old ark keeper was nowhere in evidence. Nor were the girls able to
board the boat, for the gangplank had been removed.
"Now if this isn't a situation!" Penny exclaimed, exasperated. "It looks
as if we're going to starve to death."
After lingering about the ark for a few minutes, they returned to their
former hiding place. By this time they were so sorry for themselves that
they could think of nothing but their discomfort. Belatedly, they
recalled that Sara had smiled as she went away.
"She knew what we were up against staying here!" Penny declared. "Figured
us for a couple of softies, I bet!"