"I've twisted my ankle." Penny pulled herself up from the ground, took a
step, and recoiled with pain.
"Let me have a look at it."
Jasko bent down and examined the ankle.
"No bones broken," he said. "You're luckier than you deserve. Any fool
who doesn't know enough to keep off skis ought to be crippled for life!"
"Such a cheerful philosophy," observed Penny ironically. "Well, thanks
anyhow for saving me. Even if you are sorry you did it."
The old man made no immediate reply. He stood gazing down at Penny.
"Reckon I owe you something," he said grudgingly. "Sara told me how you
kept the bob-sled from going off the track. Injured yourself, too, didn't
you?"
"Yes."
"You had no business helping Sara go against my will," the old man said,
his anger rising again. "I told you to stay away, didn't I?"
"You did. I was sorry to disobey your orders, Mr. Jasko, but I think you
are unjust to your granddaughter."
"You do, eh?"
"And you're not being fair to Mrs. Downey either," Penny went on
courageously. "She's struggled for years to make her lodge profitable,
fought against overwhelming odds while the Fergus interests have done
everything they can to put her out of business. Unless you renew her
lease, she'll be forced to leave Pine Top."
"So?" inquired the old man, unmoved.
"She's fighting with her back to the wall. And now you've dealt her the
final blow."
"No one asked Mrs. Downey to come here in the first place," replied Peter
Jasko. "Or them other hotel people either. Pine Top can get along without
the lot of 'em. The sooner they all clear out the better I'll like it."
"I'm sure of that," said Penny. "You don't care how much trouble you
cause other folks. Because of your own son's death you have taken an
unnatural attitude toward skiing. You hate everything remotely connected
with the sport. But it isn't fair. Your granddaughter has a right to a
certain amount of freedom."
Peter Jasko listened to the girl's words in silence. When she had
finished he said in a strangely shaken voice:
"My son met his death going on ten years ago. It was on this trail--"
"I'm sorry," Penny said contritely. "I shouldn't have spoken the way I
did. Actually, I was on my way down the mountain to tell you I deeply
regret helping Sara to go against your will."
"My granddaughter is headstrong," the old man replied slowly. "I want
what's best for her. That's why I've tried to protect her."
"I'm sure you've done what you thought was right," Penny returned. "Why
don't you see Mrs. Downey again and--"
"No!" said the old man stubbornly. "You can't say anything which will
make me change my mind. Take my arm and see if you can walk!"
Penny struggled forward, supported by Jasko's strong arm. Although each
step sent a wracking pain through her leg she made no sound of protest.
"You can't make it that way," the old man declared, pausing. "I'll have
to fix up a sled and pull you."
Going back for Penny's skis which had been left at the top of the ravine,
he lashed them together. She lay full length on the runners, and he towed
her until they came within view of the cabin. A light glowed in the
window.
On level ground, Penny tried walking again, and managed to reach the
cabin door.
"You go on inside," the old man directed. "I'll hitch up the bob-sled and
take you home."
Penny pushed open the door only to hesitate on the threshold. The room
was filled with tobacco smoke. Two men sat at the table, and directly
behind them stood Sara Jasko.
The girl came swiftly to the door. She gave Penny a warm smile of
welcome, not noticing that she had been hurt, and said anxiously to Mr.
Jasko:
"Grandfather, you have visitors. Mr. Fergus and Mr. Maxwell are waiting
to see you. I think it's about the lease."
"I've nothing to say to them," returned the old man grimly.
Nevertheless, he followed the two girls into the room, closing the door
against the wind and snow.
The situation was an awkward one for Penny. Ralph Fergus and Harvey
Maxwell both stared at her with undisguised dislike and suspicion. Then,
the former arose, and ignoring her entirely, stepped forward to meet the
old man, his hand extended.
"Good evening, sir," he said affably. "Mr. Maxwell and I have a little
business to discuss with you, if you can spare us a moment."
Peter Jasko ignored the offered hand.
"I haven't changed my mind since the last time we talked," he said. "I'm
not signing any lease!"
Penny scarcely heard the words for she was staring beyond Ralph Fergus at
his overcoat which hung over the vacated chair. The garment was light
brown and the top button, a large one of the same color, had been torn
from the cloth.
Shifting her gaze, Penny glanced at Sara. The girl nodded her head slowly
up and down. She, too, had made the important observation, and was
thinking the same thought. There could be little doubt of it--Ralph
Fergus was the man who had weakened the brake rod of their bob-sled!
CHAPTER
20
_VISITORS_
"May we see you alone, Mr. Jasko?" requested Ralph Fergus.
"I don't reckon there's any need for being so all-fired private," the old
man retorted, his hand on the doorknob. "If you want to talk with me
speak your piece right out. I got to hitch up the team."
Mr. Fergus and his companion, Harvey Maxwell, glanced coldly toward Penny
who had sunk down into a chair and was massaging her ankle. They were
reluctant to reveal their business before her but there was no other way.
"We can't talk with you very well while you're poised for flight, Mr.
Jasko," Ralph Fergus said placatingly. "My friend, Maxwell, has prepared
a paper which he would like to have you look over."
"I'm not signin' anything!"
"Good for you, Grandfather!" muttered Sara under her breath.
The two men pretended not to hear. Mr. Maxwell took a folded document
from his pocket and spread it out on the kitchen table.
"Will you just read this, please, Mr. Jasko? You'll find our terms are
more than generous."
"I ain't interested in your terms," he snapped. "I'm aimin' to keep every
acre of my land."
"We're not asking you to sell, only to lease," Mr. Fergus interposed
smoothly. "Now we understand that your deal with Mrs. Downey has fallen
through, so there's no reason why you shouldn't lease the ski slopes to
us. We are prepared to offer you twice the amount she proposed to give
you."
Mr. Jasko stubbornly shook his head.
"You're taking a very short-sighted attitude," said Ralph Fergus,
beginning to lose patience. "At least read the paper."
"No."
"Think what this would mean to your granddaughter," interposed Harvey
Maxwell. "Pretty clothes, school in the city perhaps--"
"Don't listen to them, Grandfather," spoke Sara quickly. "I have enough
clothes. And Pine Top school suits me."
"You're wastin' your time and mine," said Peter Jasko. "I ain't leasing
my land to anybody."
"We're only asking you to sign a three-year lease--" Mr. Fergus argued.
"Can't you understand plain language?" the old man cried. "You think
money will buy everything, but you got another guess coming. I've seen
enough skiing at Pine Top and I aim to put a stop to it!"
"It's no use," said Harvey Maxwell resignedly to his companion.
Ralph Fergus picked up the paper and thrust it into his overcoat pocket.
"You're an old fool, Jasko!" he muttered.
"Don't you dare speak that way to my grandfather!" Sara cried, her eyes
stormy. "You had your nerve coming here anyway, after that trick you
tried!"
"Trick?"
"You deliberately weakened the brake rod of our bob-sled."
Ralph Fergus laughed in the girl's face. "You're as touched as your
grandfather," he said.
"Perhaps you can explain what became of the top button of your overcoat,"
suggested Penny coming to Sara's support. "And don't try to tell us it's
home in your sewing basket!"
Ralph Fergus' hand groped at the vacant spot on his coat.
"What does a button have to do with the bob-sled accident?" inquired
Harvey Maxwell.
"It happens that we found a large brown button in the tool house at the
Downey lodge," replied Penny. "Also a little additional evidence which
rather suggests Mr. Fergus is the one who tampered with the bob-sled."
"Ridiculous!" protested the hotel man. "I've not even been near Mrs.
Downey's lodge in weeks."
"I know that's a lie," said Peter Jasko. "I saw you goin' up that way
Friday night."
"And you went there to damage the bob-sled!" Sara accused. "You didn't
care how many persons might be injured in an accident!"
Ralph Fergus' face was an angry red. "What reason would I have for doing
anything like that?" he demanded.
"Guests were being drawn from your hotel because bob-sledding was
increasing in popularity," said Penny quietly. "Nothing would please you
more than to put Mrs. Downey out of business."
"Aren't you drawing rather sweeping conclusions?" inquired Harvey Maxwell
in an insolent tone. "A button isn't very certain evidence. So many
persons wear buttons, you know."
"I lost this one from my coat weeks ago," added Ralph Fergus.
"It was your button we found," Sara accused.
Peter Jasko had been listening intently to the argument, taking little
part in it. But now, with a quick movement which belied his age, he moved
across the kitchen toward the gun rack on the wall.
"Let's be getting out of here," muttered Harvey Maxwell.
He and Ralph Fergus both bolted out of the door. Their sudden flight
delighted Sara who broke into a fit of laughter.
"Why don't you shoot once or twice into the air just to give 'em a good
fright?" she asked her grandfather.
The old man, shotgun in hand, had followed the two men to the door. But
he did not shoot.
"Grandfather wouldn't hurt a flea really," chuckled Sara. "At least, not
unless it was trying to make him sign something."
"Ralph Fergus acted guilty, all right," declared Penny, bending down to
massage her injured ankle. "But it may have been a mistake for us to
accuse him."
"I couldn't help it," answered Sara. "When I saw that button missing from
his coat, I had to say something about it."
Peter Jasko put away his shotgun, turning once more to the door. "I'll
hitch up the team," he said. "Sara, get some liniment and see what you
can do for Miss Parker's ankle."
"Your ankle?" gasped Sara, staring at Penny. "Have you hurt yourself
again?"
"I managed to fall into the ravine a few minutes ago. Your grandfather
saved me."
Sara darted to the stove to get a pan of warm water. She stripped off
Penny's woolen stockings and examined the foot as she soaked it.
"I suppose this will put me on the shelf for another day or so," Penny
observed gloomily. "But I'm lucky I didn't break my neck."
"The ankle is swollen," Sara said, "I'll wrap it with a bandage and that
may make it feel better."
With a practiced hand she wound strips of gauze and adhesive tape about
the ankle.
"There, how does it feel now?"
"Much better," said Penny. "Thanks a lot. I--I feel rather mean to put
your grandfather to so much trouble, especially after the way I've
crossed him."
"Oh, don't you worry about Grandfather," laughed Sara. "He likes you,
Penny."
"He _likes_ me?"
"I could tell by the way he acted tonight. He respects a person who
stands up to him."
"I said some rather unnecessary things," Penny declared regretfully. "I
was provoked because he wouldn't sign a lease with Mrs. Downey. After
hearing what he said to Fergus and Maxwell I realize nothing will sway
him."
Sara sighed as she helped her friend put on her shoe again.
"I'm afraid not. I'll do what I can to influence him, but I can tell you
now he'll never listen to me. Grandfather is just the way he is, and one
can't budge him an inch."
Peter Jasko soon had the team hitched to the bob-sled. He and Sara helped
Penny in, wrapping blankets around her so that she would be snug and warm
during the ride up the mountain.
"Come down again whenever you can," invited Sara. "Only the next time
don't try it after dark if you're on skis."
Penny glanced at the old man, but his face showed no displeasure.
Apparently, he no longer regarded her as an interloper.
"I'll come as soon as I can," she replied.
Peter Jasko clucked to the horses, and the sled moved away from the
cabin. Sara stood in the doorway until it was out of sight.
During the slow ride up the mountain side, the old man did not speak. But
as they came at last to the Downey lodge, and he lifted her from the
sled, he actually smiled.
"I reckon it won't do any good to lock Sara up after this," he said.
"You're both too smart for an old codger like me."
"Thank you, Mr. Jasko," answered Penny, her eyes shining. "Thank you for
everything."
The door of the lodge had opened, and Mrs. Downey, a coat thrown over her
shoulders, hurried out into the snow. Not wishing to be drawn into a
conversation, Jasko leaped back into the sled, and with a curt, "Good
evening," drove away.
With Mrs. Downey's help, Penny hobbled into the house, and there related
her latest misadventure.
"I declare, you'll be in the hospital yet," sighed the woman. "I feel
tempted to adopt Mr. Jasko's tactics and lock you up in your room."
"I'll stay there without being locked in," declared Penny. "I've had
enough skiing to last me until Christmas at least."
In the morning she felt so stiff and battered that she could barely get
out of bed. However, her ankle was somewhat better and when occasion
demanded, she could hobble across the room without support.
"You ought to be all right in a day or so if only you'll stay off your
foot and give it a chance to get well," declared Mrs. Downey.
"It's hard to sit still," sighed Penny. "There are so many things I ought
to be doing."
From the kitchen window she could see the Fergus hotel far down in the
valley. She was impatient to pay another visit there, although she
realized that after the previous evening's encounter with Ralph Fergus
and Harvey Maxwell, it would be more difficult than ever to gain
admittance.
"Somehow I must manage to get into Room 27 and learn what is going on
there," she thought. "But how? That is the question!"
Ever an active, energetic person, Penny became increasingly restless as
the day dragged on. During mid-afternoon, observing that Jake had hitched
up the team to the sled, she inquired if he were driving down to Pine
Top.
"Yes, I am sending him after supplies," explained Mrs. Downey. "And the
newspapers--if there are any."
"I wish I could go along for the ride."
Mrs. Downey regarded Penny skeptically.
"Oh, I wouldn't get out of the sled," Penny said.
"Is that a promise?"
"I'll make it one. Nothing less than a fire or an earthquake will get me
out."
Jake brought the sled to the door, and helped the girl into it. The day
was cold. Snow fell steadily. Mrs. Downey tucked warm bricks at Penny's
feet and wrapped her snugly in woolen blankets.
The ride down the mountainside was without event. Penny began to regret
that she had made the trip, for the weather was more unpleasant than she
had anticipated. She burrowed deeper and deeper into the blankets.
Jake pulled up at a hitching post in front of Pine Top's grocery store.
"It won't take me long," he said.
Penny climbed down in the bottom of the sled, rearranging her blankets so
that only her eyes and forehead were exposed to the cold. She had been
sitting there for some minutes when her attention was drawn to a man who
was approaching from far down the street. Recognizing him as Ralph
Fergus, she watched with interest.
At the drugstore he paused. As if by prearrangement, Benny Smith came out
of the building. Penny was too far away to hear their exchange of words,
but she saw the boy give all of his newspapers to Ralph Fergus. In
return, he received a bill which she guessed might be of fairly high
denomination.
"Probably five dollars," she thought. "The boy sells all his papers to
Fergus because he can make more that way than by peddling them one by
one. And he's paid to keep quiet about it."
Penny was not especially surprised to discover that the hotel man was
buying up all the papers, for she had suspected he was behind the trick.
"There's no law against it," she told herself. "That's the trouble.
Fergus and Maxwell are clever. So far they've done nothing which could
possibly get them into legal trouble."
Presently Jake came out of the grocery store, carrying a large box of
supplies which he stowed in the sled.
"I'll get the papers and then we'll be ready to start."
"Don't bother," said Penny. "There aren't any. I just saw Ralph Fergus
buy them all from the boy."
"Fergus, eh? And he's been puttin' it out that the papers never caught
the plane!"
"It was just another one of his little tricks to make Mrs. Downey's
guests dissatisfied."
"Now we know what he's about we'll put a stop to it!"
"Yes," agreed Penny, "but he'll only think of something new to try."
As they started back toward the Downey lodge, she was quiet, turning over
various matters in her mind. Since Mrs. Downey had decided to sell her
business, it scarcely seemed to matter what Ralph Fergus did.
The sled drew near the Jasko cabin and passed it, turning a bend in the
road. Suddenly Penny thought she heard her name called. Glancing back she
was startled to see Sara Jasko running after the sled.
"Wait, Jake!" Penny commanded. "It's Sara! Something seems to be wrong!"
CHAPTER
21
_OLD PETER'S DISAPPEARANCE_
"Whoa!" shouted Jake, pulling on the reins.
The horses brought the heavy sled to a halt at the side of the road.
Sara, breathless from running so fast, hurried up.
"I'm worried about Grandfather," she gasped out.
"He isn't sick?" Penny asked quickly,
"No, but I haven't seen him since early this morning. He went to chop
wood at Hatter's place up the mountain. He expected to be back in time
for lunch but he hasn't returned."
"He'll likely be along soon," said Jake.
"Oh, you don't know Grandfather," declared Sara, her forehead wrinkling
with anxiety. "He always does exactly as he says he will do. He never
would have stayed away this long unless something had happened. He's
getting on in years and I'm afraid--"
"Jake, couldn't we go up to Hatter's place, wherever it is?" Penny urged.
"Sure. It's not far from Mrs. Downey's."
"Let me ride with you," Sara requested. "I'm sorry to cause you any
trouble, but I have a feeling something is wrong."
"Jump in," invited Jake.
Sara climbed into the back of the sled, snuggling down in the blankets
beside Penny.
"Grandfather may have hurt himself with the ax," she said uneasily. "Or
he could have suffered a stroke. The doctor says he has a touch of
heart-trouble, but he never will take care of himself."
"We'll probably find him safe and sound," Penny declared in a comforting
way.
Jake stirred the horses to greater activity. In a short while the sled
passed the Downey grounds and went on to the Hatter farm. Sara sprang out
to unlock the wooden gate which barred entrance to a narrow, private
road.
"I see Grandfather's sled!" she exclaimed.
Without waiting for Jake to drive through the gate, she ran on down the
road. Hearing her cry of alarm, the man urged his horses on.
Reaching the clearing, Penny and Jake saw Sara gazing about in
bewilderment. Peter Jasko's team had been tied to a tree and the sled box
was half filled with wood. An ax lay in the deep snow close by. But there
was no sign of the old man.
"Where is grandfather?" Sara asked in a dazed voice.
She called his name several times. Hearing no answer, she ran deeper into
the woods. Jake leaped from the sled and joined in the search. Penny
could not bear to sit helplessly by. Deciding that the emergency was
equal to an earthquake or a fire, she eased herself down from the sled.
Steadily falling snow had obliterated all tracks save those made by the
new arrivals. There was no clue to indicate whether Peter Jasko had left
the scene of his own free will or had been the possible victim of
violence.
Jake and Sara searched at the edge of the woods and returned to the
clearing to report no success.
"Maybe your granddad went up to Hatter's place to get warm," the man
suggested.
"He never would have left his horses without blanketing them," answered
Sara. "But let's go there and inquire. Someone may have seen
Grandfather."
They drove the bob-sled on through the woods to an unpainted farm house.
Claud Hatter himself opened the door, and in response to Sara's anxious
question, he told her that he had seen Peter Jasko drive into the place
early that morning.
"You didn't see him go away?" Sara asked.
"No, but come to think of it, I noticed a car turn into the road. Must
have been about ten o'clock this morning."
"What sort of car?"
The man could give no additional information, for he had not paid
particular attention to the automobile. However, he pulled on his heavy
coat and boots, offering to help organize a searching party.
Sara and Penny remained at the farm house, but as it became evident that
the old man would not be found quickly, Jake returned and took the girls
down the mountain to the Downey lodge.
"What could have happened to Grandfather?" Sara repeated over and over.
"I can't believe he became dazed and wandered away."
"I wish we knew who came in the car," said Penny. "That might explain a
lot."
"You--you think Grandfather met with violence?"
"I hope not," replied Penny earnestly. "But it seems very queer. Did your
grandfather have enemies?"
"He antagonizes many folks without meaning to do so. However, I can't
think of anyone at Pine Top who could be called an actual enemy."
By nightfall the searching party had grown in size. Nearly every male
resident of Pine Top joined in the hunt for Peter Jasko. Even the Fergus
hotel sent two employes to help comb the mountainside for the missing old
man.
Sara, nearly in a state of collapse, was put to bed by Mrs. Downey, who
kept telling the girl over and over that she must not worry. In speaking
with Penny, the woman was far from optimistic. She expressed a doubt that
Peter Jasko ever would be found alive.
"He may have wandered off and fallen into a crevasse."
"I am inclined to think he may have been spirited away by whoever came up
the private road in that car," commented Penny.
"I can't imagine anyone bothering to kidnap Peter Jasko," returned Mrs.
Downey. "He has no money."
"It does sound rather fantastic, I admit. Especially in broad daylight.
You didn't notice any automobile on the main road this morning did you?"
"Only the Fergus hotel delivery truck. But I was busy. A dozen might have
passed without my noticing them."
At nine o'clock Jake came to the lodge with a discouraging report. No
trace of Peter Jasko had been found. The search would continue throughout
the night.
"Which way are you going?" Penny inquired as the man started to leave the
house again. "Up the mountain or down?"
"Down," he returned. "I'm joining a party at Jasko's own place. We aim to
start combing the woods on his farm next."
"May I ride with you?" she requested. "I want to go down to the Fergus
hotel."
"Penny, your ankle--" protested Mrs. Downey.
"I can get around on it," Penny said hurriedly. "See!" She hobbled across
the floor to prove her words. "And this is important. I want to see
someone at the hotel."
"So late at night?"
"It really is important," Penny declared. "Please say I may go."
"Very well," agreed Mrs. Downey reluctantly.
Jake took Penny all the way to the hotel. "Shall I help you inside?" he
asked.
"Oh, no," she declined hurriedly. "I'll make it fine from here."
After Jake had driven back up the road, Penny limped around to the back
entrance of the hotel. She stood for several minutes staring up at the
dark windows of the second floor.
"I believe Ralph Fergus and Harvey Maxwell know plenty about Jasko's
disappearance," she thought. "But how to prove it?"
On the parking lot only a few steps away stood the Fergus hotel delivery
truck. Penny hobbled over to it, and opened the rear door. She swept the
beam of her flashlight over the floor.
At first glance the car appeared to be empty save for several cardboard
boxes. Then she saw a heavy, fleece-lined glove lying on the floor half
hidden by the containers. She picked it up, examined it briefly and
stuffed it into the pocket of her snowsuit.
"I remember Peter Jasko wore a glove very much like this!" she thought.
Softly closing the truck door, Penny went back to the rear of the hotel.
The lower hall was deserted so she slipped inside, and followed the
stairway to the second floor. She tried the door of Room 27 and
discovered it was locked.
"I was afraid of this," Penny muttered.
Hesitating a moment she went on down the hall. Opening another door, the
one which bore no number, she saw that she was to be blocked again in her
investigation. The familiar guard sat at his usual post beside the door
of the Green Room.
Retreating without drawing attention to herself, Penny debated her next
action. Unless she found a way to enter one of those two rooms of
mystery, her night would be wasted.
Moving softly down the hall, she paused to test the door to the right of
Room 27. To her astonishment, it swung open when she turned the knob. The
room was dark and deserted.
Penny stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Her flashlight beam
disclosed only a dusty, bare bedroom, its sole furnishing a thickly
padded carpet.
Going to the window, Penny raised it and gazed at the wide ledge which
she had noted from below. If she had perfect balance, if the window of
Room 27 were unlocked, if her lame ankle did not let her down, she
_might_ be able to span the distance! It would be dangerous and she must
run the risk of being observed by persons on the grounds of the hotel.
Penny gazed down at the frozen yard far below and shuddered.
"I've been pretty lucky in my falls so far," she thought. "But I have a
feeling if I slip this time it will be my last."
Penny pulled herself through the window. As the full force of the wind
struck her body, threatening to hurl her from her precarious perch, she
nearly lost her courage. She clung to the sill for a moment, and then
without daring to look down, inched her way along the ledge.
Reaching the other window in safety, she tried to push it up. For a
dreadful instant, Penny was certain she could not. But it gave so
suddenly she nearly lost her balance. Holding desperately to the sill,
she recovered, and raised the window.
Penny dropped lightly through the opening into the dark room. Pains were
shooting through her ankle, but so great was her excitement she scarcely
was aware of any discomfort.
She flashed her light about the room. As she had suspected, there were
two teletype machines, neither of which was in operation. A chair had
been pulled up to a direct-keyboard machine similar to one Penny had seen
in her father's newspaper office. Save for a wooden table the room
contained nothing else.
Penny went over to the machines and focused her light upon the paper in
the rollers. It was blank.
"This is maddening!" she thought. "I take a big risk to get in here and
what do I find--nothing!"
Footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway. Penny remained
perfectly still, expecting the person to pass on. Instead, the noise
ceased altogether and a key grated in the door lock.
In panic, Penny glanced frantically about. She could not hope to get out
the window in time to escape detection. The only available hiding place
was a closet.
Switching off her light, Penny opened the door. Stepping inside, she
closed it softly behind her.
CHAPTER
22
_THE SECRET STAIRS_
In the darkness, Penny felt something soft and covered with fur brush
against her face. She recoiled, nearly screaming in terror. Recovering
her poise and realizing that she had merely touched a garment which hung
in the closet, she flattened herself against the wall and waited.
The outside door opened and soft footsteps approached the wall switches.
Lights flashed on. A tall, swarthy man in a gray business suit blinked at
the sudden flood of illumination. After a moment he stepped over to the
teletype machines, and throwing a switch, started them going.
Sitting down to the keyboard he tapped out a message. Then he lit a
cigarette and waited. In a few minutes his answer came, typed out from
some distant station. The man ripped the copy from the machine and read
it carefully. Its contents seemed to please him for he smiled broadly as
he arose from the chair, leaving the teletypes still running.
Penny froze with fear when she heard the man stride toward the closet
where she had hidden herself. Instinctively, she burrowed back behind the
fur garments which her groping hands encountered.
The door was flung open and light flooded into the closet. However, the
teletype attendant seemed to have no suspicion that anyone might be
hiding there. He pressed a button on the wall and then heaved against the
partition with his shoulder. The section of wall, suspended on a pivot,
slowly revolved. After the man had passed through, it swung back into its
original position.
Penny waited several minutes and then came out of her hiding place. She
flung open the closet door to admit more light.
"Just as I thought!" she muttered.
The closet, a long narrow room, was hung solidly with fur coats!
"So Maxine Miller was working for the hotel interests after all," Penny
told herself. "I've stumbled into something big!"
Groping along the wall of the storage room, she found a switch and
pressed it. Again the partition revolved, revealing a flight of stairs
leading downward. She slipped through and the wall slid into place behind
her.
The stairway was lighted with only one weak electric bulb. Penny's body
cast a grotesque shadow as she cautiously descended. There were so many
steps that she decided they must lead to a basement in the hotel.
She reached the bottom at last and followed a narrow sloping tunnel, past
a large refrigerated vault which she reasoned must contain a vast supply
of additional furs, and kept on until a blast of cool air struck her
face. Penny drew up sharply.
Directly ahead, at a bend in the tunnel, sat an armed guard. He was
reading a newspaper in the dim light, holding it very close to the
glaring bulb above his chair.
Penny dared go no farther. Quietly retreating the way she had come, she
stole back up the long stairway. At the top landing she found herself
confronted with a blank wall. After groping about for several minutes,
her hand encountered a tiny switch similar to the one on the opposite
side of the partition. She pressed it, and the wall section revolved.
Letting herself out of the storage closet, Penny started toward the door,
only to pause as she heard one of the teletypes thumping out a message.
She crossed over to the machine and stood waiting until the line had been
finished and a bell jingled. The words were unintelligible in jumbled
typewriting, and Penny had no time to work out the code.
Tearing the copy paper neatly across, she thrust it in the pocket of her
jacket.
Fearing that at any moment the printer attendant might return, Penny
dared linger no longer. She went to the door but to her surprise it would
not open.
"Probably a special trick catch which automatically locks whenever
closed," she thought. "The only way to get in or out is with a key, and I
haven't one. That means I'll have to risk my neck again."
Going to the window she raised it and looked down. All was clear below.
Two courses lay open to her. She could return the way she had come
through the hotel, or she might edge along the shelf past two other
windows to the fire escape, and thence to the ground. Either way was
fraught with danger.
"If I should happen to meet Ralph Fergus or Harvey Maxwell, I might not
get away with my information," Penny decided. "I'll try the fire-escape."
Closing the window behind her, she flattened herself along the building
wall, and moved cautiously along the ledge. She passed the first room in
safety. Then, as she was about to crawl past the second, the square of
window suddenly flared with light.
For a dreadful moment Penny thought that she had been seen. She huddled
against the wall and waited. Nothing happened.
At last, regaining her courage, she dared to peep into the lighted room.
Two men stood with their backs to the window, but she recognized them as
Harvey Maxwell and Ralph Fergus.
Penny received a distinct shock as her gaze wandered to the third
individual who sat in a chair by the bed. The man was old Peter Jasko.
A low rumble of voices reached the girl's ears. Harvey Maxwell was
speaking:
"Well, Jasko, have you thought it over? Are you ready to sign the lease?"
"I'll have the law on you, if I ever get out of here!" the old man said
spiritedly. "You're keepin' me against my will."
"You'll stay here, Jasko, until you come to your senses. We need that
land, and we mean to have it. Understand?"
"You won't get me to sign, not if you keep me here all night," Mr. Jasko
muttered. "Not if you keep me a year!"
"You may change your mind after you learn what we can do," said Harvey
Maxwell suavely.
"You aim to starve me, I reckon."
"Oh, no, nothing so crude as that, my dear fellow. In fact, we shall
treat you most kindly. Doctor Corbin will be here presently to examine
you."
"Doctor Corbin! That old quack from Morgantown! What are you bringing him
here for?"
Harvey Maxwell smiled and tapped his head significantly.
"To give you a mental examination. You are known to the good people of
Pine Top as a very peculiar fellow, so I doubt if anyone will question
Doctor Corbin's verdict."
"You mean, you're aimin' to have me adjudged insane?" Peter Jasko asked
incredulously.
"Exactly. How else can one explain your fanatical hatred of skiing, your
blind rages, your antagonism to the more progressive interests? While it
will be a pity to bring disgrace upon your charming granddaughter, there
is no other way."
"Not unless you decide to sign," added Ralph Fergus. "We're more than
reasonable. We're willing to pay you a fair price for the lease, more
than the land is worth. But we want it, see? And what we want we take."
"You're a couple of thievin', stealin' crooks!" Peter Jasko shouted.
"Not so loud, and be careful of your words," Harvey Maxwell warned. "Or
the gag goes on again."
"Which do you prefer," Fergus went on. "A tidy little sum of money, or
the asylum?"
Peter Jasko maintained a sullen silence, glaring at the two hotel men.
"The doctor will be here at ten-thirty," said Harvey Maxwell, looking at
his watch. "You will have less than a half hour to decide."
"My mind's made up now! You won't get anyone to believe your cock and
bull story. I'll tell 'em you brought me here and held me prisoner--"
"And no one will believe you," smiled Maxwell. "We'll give out that you
came to the hotel and started running amuck. Dozens of employes will
confirm the story."
"For that matter, I'm not sure you don't belong in an asylum," muttered
Fergus. "Only a man who isn't in his right mind would turn down the
liberal proposition we've made you."
"I deal with no scoundrels!" the old man defied them.
Harvey Maxwell looked at his watch again. "You have exactly twenty-five
minutes in which to make up your mind, Jasko. We'll leave you alone to
think it over."
Fergus trussed up the old man's hands and placed a gag in his mouth. Then
the two hotel men left the room, turning out the light and locking the
door behind them.
CHAPTER
23
_RESCUE_
After the door had closed there was no further sound for a moment. Then
in the darkness Penny heard a choked sob.
Moving closer to the window she tried to raise it. Failing, she tapped
lightly on the pane. Pressing her lips close to the glass she called
softly:
"Don't be afraid, Mr. Jasko! Keep up your courage! I'll find a way to get
you out!"
The old man could not answer so she had no way of knowing whether or not
he heard her words. Moving back along the ledge she reached another
window, and upon testing it was elated to find that it could be raised
up.
She climbed through, lowered it behind her and hastened to the door.
Quietly letting herself out, she went down the deserted hall to the next
door. Without a key she could not hope to get inside. For a fleeting
instant she wondered if she were not making a mistake by delaying in
starting after the authorities.
"I never could get back here in time," she told herself. "Maxwell will
return in twenty-five minutes with the doctor, possibly earlier. Jasko
may sign the paper before help could reach him."
Penny was at a loss to know how to aid the old man. As she stood
debating, the cleaning woman whom she had seen upon another occasion,
came down the hall. The girl determined upon a bold move.
"I wonder if you could help me?" she said, going to meet the woman. "I've
locked myself out of my room. Do you have a master key?"
"Yes, it will unlock most of the bedrooms."
"The doors on this floor?"
"All except number 27."
Penny took a two dollar bill from her jacket pocket and thrust it into
the woman's hand.
"Here, take this, and let me have the key."
"I can't give it to you," the woman protested. "Show me your room and
I'll unlock it for you."
"We're standing in front of it now. Number 29."