by Joan Clark
CHAPTER XI
Aid from Michael
"What's the matter, Penny?" cried Mr. Nichols as he opened the door ofhis room. "Are you having nightmares?"
"Dad, someone broke into the cottage!" she told him tensely. "When Istepped out into the hall he ran away. I saw him disappear into thewoods."
By this time the detective was thoroughly awake.
"Are you sure, Penny?"
"Of course I am! I didn't imagine it this time and it wasn't someoneafter a drink either!"
"Let me get dressed," said her father. "Then I'll look around."
Penny ran back to her own room. She was amazed that Mrs. Masterbrookand Michael had not been aroused. In the next room she could hear thehousekeeper snoring contentedly. There seemed no reason to awaken her.
Penny quickly dressed and was ready first.
"We'll take a look around the place," Mr. Nichols said, "but it'sprobably too late to catch the prowler."
"Yes, he'll be a long way from here by this time," Penny agreed.
Armed with a flashlight, they slipped outside and after making a tourof the house walked as far as the edge of the timber. They found noone.
"It's no use going on," the detective declared. "We'd never catch thefellow now. He may have been a tramp who noticed that our door wasunlocked."
"I wonder if Michael Haymond is in his room?" Penny asked abruptly.
"Why wouldn't he be?"
"It seems odd he didn't awaken with me screaming all over the place."
"Mrs. Masterbrook slept through it," Mr. Nichols replied.
"Just the same I'm curious to know if Michael is in his room. Dad, whydon't you----"
"Penny, I'll not do it," the detective interrupted. "I like that youngman and I'm not going to barge into his room in the middle of the nightand ask him a lot of stupid questions."
"All right," Penny returned with a sigh. "But how easy it would bejust to peep in the door and see if he's there."
"I'll not do that either," replied Mr. Nichols. "You may have beenmistaken about the prowler. You've taken such an imaginative turn thissummer."
"Thanks, Dad," Penny drawled. She added mischievously: "Let me knowwhen you've found the owner of the toy lantern."
"There's good common sense behind my theory," said Mr. Nicholsseriously. "Inspector Harris seems to think I'm on the wrong track butI have a hunch----"
"In that case you should be generous with your daughter," Pennylaughed. "She has a hunch too."
"We'll call a truce," Mr. Nichols smiled. "You're free to trace downall the mystery you can find at Kendon providing that you don't ask meto discharge Michael."
"Seriously, Dad, I think something is going on here that would bearinvestigation," Penny said soberly. "I'd like to delve into it but Ineed a sympathetic helper."
"I'm sorry, Penny, but I haven't time to play around."
"I didn't mean you at all, Dad," Penny laughed. "I was thinking aboutSusan Altman. Would you mind if I invited her down here for a fewdays?"
"Go ahead if you like. She'll be company for you while I'm working onthe Kirmenbach case."
"I'll send a letter right away," Penny declared eagerly.
The next morning after writing to her friend she walked down to thevillage to post the letter. Dropping in at the grocery store for aloaf of bread she deliberately drew the genial owner into conversation,seeking information regarding Herman Crocker.
"I feel rather sorry for him," she remarked. "I'm sure that he hasn'tenough money to feed himself and his grandson properly."
"Don't you worry about that," replied the storekeeper with a quicklaugh. "Old Herman has more money than anyone in this town. Heinherited plenty when his sister Jennie died in the East. Herman washer only heir, and when he dies the money probably will go to hisgrandson, Perry."
"Doesn't Mr. Crocker have any other living relatives?" Pennyquestioned. She was thinking of Walter Crocker.
"Not to my knowledge," answered the storekeeper. "The Crocker familyhas just about died out."
Penny paid for the bread and walked slowly back toward the cottage.She glanced curiously at the Crocker homestead as she passed it, but asusual the blinds were drawn and the place seemed deserted.
"How unhappy Perry must be there," she thought. "He should go toschool and have playmates his own age. I can't see why someone doesn'ttake an interest in his welfare."
During the next two days Penny found time heavy upon her hands. Mr.Nichols frequently was absent from the cottage and Mrs. Masterbrook andMichael proved very poor company. The housekeeper talked entirely toomuch about nothing while Michael scarcely spoke a word unless Pennyasked him a direct question.
On the afternoon of the second day, for want of another occupation,Penny wandered up to the attic to look around once more.
"If I really mean to learn anything about Herman Crocker I'll have toexamine those letters," she reflected. "I don't know whether to do itor not."
Penny opened the trunk and noticed that the layer of clothing had beendisturbed. She did not remember having left the garments socarelessly. She refolded the clothes and then felt down in the bottomof the trunk for the packet of letters. It did not seem to be there.
Not until Penny had removed all the clothing piece by piece could sherealize that the letters were gone. The only papers remaining in thetrunk were old receipts for bills paid. Many of them were stamped taxstatements.
"Someone has taken the letters," she told herself. "How foolish I wasnot to examine them when I had a chance."
Penny could only speculate upon what had become of the missing packet.She did not believe that Herman Crocker had taken the letters, for toher knowledge he had not returned to the cottage since his first visit.It was possible that the night prowler had opened the trunk, but a morelikely supposition seemed to be that Mrs. Masterbrook had decided toget more "inside information."
"That woman is a natural born snooper," the girl thought. "She knewthat Herman Crocker was up here in the attic too, so it's quitepossible she took the letters after he went away."
Although she was disappointed, Penny did not believe that the missingletters had contained anything of vital significance. It was logicalto assume that had they served as damaging evidence against HermanCrocker, the man would have destroyed them upon his visit to the attic.
As Penny was reflecting upon the problem, the stairway door opened andMrs. Masterbrook called her name.
"There's someone here to see you!" the housekeeper reported.
Penny was annoyed at having been caught in the attic. She had notknown that Mrs. Masterbrook was anywhere about the premises. It wasjust another proof that nothing seemed to escape the vigilant eye ofthe woman.
"I'll be there in a minute," Penny said.
She closed the lid of the trunk, wiped her dusty hands and went quicklydown the stairs. Reaching the front door, she gave a cry of amazeddelight.
"Susan Altman!"
"I thought you'd be surprised," laughed the other girl, as Penny gaveher a welcome hug. "When your letter arrived I didn't stop to debate.I just jumped on the train and came."
"I'm tickled pink!" Penny declared slangily. "When you didn't write, Ihad started to believe you weren't coming. But why did you walk fromtown? Why didn't you telephone?"
"I didn't know you had one."
"Oh, yes, we have all the modern conveniences," laughed Penny. "Youmust be dead tired. Come on in."
"I'm not a bit tired," Susan insisted, "but I'd like to wash a few ofthe cinders out of my eyes. Such a dirty old train."
"Let me take your suitcase," cried Penny.
The girls went inside and while Susan freshened herself from thejourney, they talked as fast as they could.
"What's all this mystery you wrote me about?" Susan asked in anundertone. "Who is Mrs. Masterbrook, and where is that old house youmentioned?"
"You'll hear all about it," Penny promised eagerly. "But let's waituntil we'
re away from the cottage."
"Even the walls have ears?" laughed Susan.
"No, but our housekeeper has," Penny replied.
The girls soon left the cottage, walking down by the ravine where theywould be alone. Penny told her chum everything that had happened sinceshe and her father had arrived at Kendon. Susan did not feel that herfriend had placed an imaginative interpretation upon any of the events.
"I'm glad you're in sympathy with me," Penny laughed. "I'm hoping thattogether we may be able to help little Perry Crocker. Andincidentally, we might stumble into a mystery which would rival Dad'stoy lantern case."
"You know I want to help," said Susan eagerly. "But I'm an awful dub.I never have any ideas."
"I'm a little short of them myself just now," Penny admitted. "Butfirst we'll go down to the Crocker place. I'm anxious for you to meetthe main characters of our melodrama."
"I think I noticed the house on the way up the hill," Susan replied."Is it that ancient, vine-covered mansion?"
"Yes, Mrs. Masterbrook told me Old Herman moved in there after hissister died. He used to live in this cottage."
"And where is this young man named Michael Haymond?"
"I don't know what became of him," Penny admitted. "He should besomewhere around."
"Is he good looking?"
"You would ask that," teased Penny. "No, Michael isn't handsome, buthe's nice."
"You said in your letter that you thought he might be a crook----"
"Well, he acted mysteriously at first," Penny said defensively. "Butafter you get to know him, he seems like anyone else, only he's veryreserved."
"Perhaps Mr. Crocker will turn out that way."
"I don't think so," Penny smiled. "He's really an eccentric character.Do you mind walking down Knob Hill?"
"Not at all. I need a little exercise."
The distance between the cottage and Mr. Crocker's house was only aquarter of a mile. Penny intended to use as a pretext for calling uponthe old man that she wished to buy more eggs. However, as the girlsdrew near the mansion they saw Mr. Crocker's car coming down the lane.
"There goes Herman now!" Penny exclaimed. "And Perry is with him."
The car reached the end of the lane and turned down the main roadtoward Kendon.
"Well, it looks as if I'll not get to meet the old gentleman afterall," commented Susan.
"No, but this will be a good time to see the house at close range.With Mr. Crocker away, we can look around as much as we please."
As the girls walked on up the lane Penny told Susan about theautomobile which she had seen parked in Mr. Crocker's barn.
"What do you think became of the owner?" asked Susan. "You're notintimating that Walter Crocker never went back to the city?"
"I've asked myself that question a great many times. I know that Mr.Crocker's nephew came here to claim an inheritance, yet the people ofKendon are under the impression that Old Herman has no living relativesexcept Perry."
"You're making a very serious accusation against Mr. Crocker."
"Oh, I'm not saying that he had anything to do with his nephew'sdisappearance," Penny said quickly. "I'm just speculating about it.For that matter, I'd not tell anyone else my thoughts."
"It wouldn't be wise----" Susan began.
Her words ended in a gasp of alarm for at that moment Mr. Crocker'shound came around the corner of the house. Both girls stopped short.
"Rudy is vicious!" Penny warned. "And he's been left unchained."
"Let's get away from here."
The girls turned and started hurriedly back down the lane, but thehound had made up his mind that they were intruders. With a low growlhe leaped toward them.
"Run!" cried Susan in terror.
Instead of fleeing, Penny stooped to snatch up a stick. Rudy sprang ather, and the force of his powerful body knocked her to the ground.Susan screamed in terror.
Help was closer at hand than either of the girls suspected. A man hadbeen crouching behind the hedge. As Penny struggled to regain herfeet, he came running toward her. It was Michael Haymond.