established a cult here, but entirely within the law. Not even the
sapphire was found in my possession! These people lie if they say I took
jewelry from them. They were not charged a penny, even for room and
lodging."
"You say you took nothing from them?" Penny inquired. "Look at this!"
From her pocket, she removed the charred sheet of paper rescued from the
fireplace. Taking care that Highland should not get his hands on it, she
gave it to one of the policemen.
"This is good evidence!" the officer declared. "These birds will talk all
right after we get them to the station!"
Highland and Winkey were escorted back to the police car.
Before they could enter it, Mr. Eckenrod hobbled down the street. He
walked with a cane and under his arm carried a large painting which he
was bringing home from the nearby art museum where it had been on
display.
"Well, what goes on here?" he demanded, pausing to stare at the
prisoners. "Winkey and the great master under arrest!"
Told of the events that had led to the apprehension of the two crooks, he
grinned with undisguised delight. "Excellent! Excellent!" he chortled. "I
always knew these two were criminals! Once they are convicted in court, I
may be able to buy this property and convert it into a real show place."
"At least you'll be allowed to complete your paintings without sneaking
into the monastery through the secret passageway!" laughed Penny.
"Showing me that building map certainly paid dividends!"
"I hope they give Winkey twenty years," said the artist. Purposely he
spoke so that the hunchback could hear. "The little weasel deserves it!"
"Oh, I do, eh?" snarled Winkey. Breaking away from two policemen who were
shoving him into the police car, he hurled himself upon the startled
artist.
Before the vicious little man could be pulled off, he had pummeled Mr.
Eckenrod severely.
"Are you hurt?" Penny asked anxiously as the artist was helped to his
feet.
"No!" he snapped. "Hold this cane and let me at that treacherous
jailbird!"
Officers restrained the excited man as he would have attacked Winkey.
Handcuffs were snapped on the hunchback's wrists. Just then, Penny
uttered a startled cry.
"Look at Winkey's hump!" she exclaimed. "It's all out of shape!"
Indeed, the fellow presented a ludicrous appearance as he stood there,
his large hump far over on one shoulder.
"It's a fake!" the girl cried. "He's not a real hunchback!"
One of the policemen reached out, and with a quick jerk, ripped the
artificial hump from beneath the man's shirt.
"Interesting," he commented. "This hump has made a safe carryall for the
loot!"
As Penny, her friends, and cult members gathered close, the pouch was
opened. Inside were found the diamond necklace stolen from Mrs. Merkill,
several valuable brooches, a black cameo, pearl earrings, an emerald-cut
diamond, and other items.
Eagerly, cult members identified their stolen property.
"This sews up our case," declared one of the officers in satisfaction.
"We'll not need a confession now to send these two up for a long
stretch!"
The prisoners were hustled into the police car, which set off at top
speed for the Riverview Safety Building. Ambulances began to arrive to
remove cult members deemed in need of medical attention.
"What about Old Julia?" Penny inquired. "Where is she to be sent?"
"She must be committed to a mental institution for treatment," Mr. Ayling
said regretfully. "Perhaps with proper care, she will fully recover."
"Who is she, I wonder?"
"One of Highland's victims in an earlier deal, I judge," replied the
investigator. "Obviously her mind became unhinged from the cruelty she
witnessed and experienced. Apparently, she has no friends or relatives."
"I'll never forget how she screamed at night," said Rhoda with a shiver.
"Nor will I," added Penny. "If it hadn't been for her cry which first
drew me to the monastery--well, Highland would still be here, ruling
supreme."
Presently, along with other members of the strange household, Old Julia
was taken away. One of the last to be removed was Mrs. Hawthorne, who
would be sent to Riverview Hospital for a complete checkup.
Rhoda, preparing to accompany her grandmother, hurriedly said goodbye to
Penny. "I'll see you tomorrow and really thank you for all you did
tonight," she promised earnestly. "I hope we can be friends always."
Mr. Ayling then tried to express his appreciation to the Parkers.
"As an investigator, you're the tops," he praised Penny. "If it hadn't
been for you, Jay Highland certainly would have made off with the
sapphire, and our company would have had to pay plenty. If ever I can
repay the favor, let me know."
Her reply was cut short by Mr. Parker who glanced nervously at his watch.
"I don't like to break up this little party, but we must hot-foot it to
the _Star_ office!" he exclaimed. "Penny, we have barely thirty minutes
in which to catch the three-star edition!"
"That's so!" she agreed, looking startled. "I forgot all about the
assignment Mr. DeWitt gave me! And this is a big story!"
"Tremendous!" her father corrected. "Think you can shoot copy fast, or
will you need Jerry to take over?"
"You'll hear no S.O.S. call from me," Penny laughed, her active mind
already thinking in terms of front page headlines. "Writing this story
will be duck soup compared to digging up the material. Just lead me to a
typewriter!"
_End_
Transcriber's Notes
--Silently corrected a handful of palpable typos.
--Replaced the list of books in the series by the complete list, as in
the final book, "The Cry at Midnight".
End of Project Gutenberg's The Cry at Midnight, by Mildred A. Wirt Benson