Penny of Top Hill Trail

by Belle Kanaris Maniates

  CHAPTER XIV

  Down the road from the corral, Kurt chugged homeward in his crude littlecar. He had the manner of one whose heart is heavy, but whose resolutionwas still invincible.

  A strange unaccustomed sound, a faint, far-away buzzing made him glanceupward. Two sharp winged points were skimming through the air. He felt athrill--the thrill of the unknown. He knew it must be one of the craft,foreign as yet to the hill country. In the distance he saw it swirl, loopand maneuver, spiral gracefully downward, skim the earth lightly, riseagain and then descend from sight hidden by one of the hills.

  In a few moments he saw it ascending again. It passed over him--so high upthat it seemed but of bird size.

  He was startled--lifted momentarily and dazedly from his ploddingexistence.

  He had read of these ships of the air, but their reality had not beenborne in on him until now.

  He went on to the house. Three children rushed at him with football fury.

  "Attaboy!" he cried, catching up Billy. "What is it?"

  "Mother is in town with father and Mr. Hebler. Father just telephoned--"

  Kurt had the feeling of something lifted--of help at hand.

  "And," continued Francis placidly, "father said you were to take us totown in the big car and we'll all have dinner at the hotel and come backtogether. And he said to bring Aunt Pen. But you can't now."

  "Run up to her room, Francis, and tell her I want to speak to her."

  "Aunt Pen has gone," said the boy soberly.

  "Gone! When--where?"

  "I don't know. She kissed us good-bye and she gave me a letter to give toyou at dinner time."

  "Give it to me now, Francis."

  "No; she said she trusted me, and I told her I wouldn't give it to youtill she said."

  "Come with me, Francis," said Kurt, drawing him away from the otherchildren. "I want to talk to you as man to man. We must always protectwomen, you know. Your Aunt Pen went away because she thought it best forher. It isn't best. Your mother is her best friend, and if she had beenhere, she wouldn't have let her go. If I had the letter, you see, I mightbe able to find where she had gone. Then I could ask her to come back."

  Francis looked up at him oddly and said in his little, old-man fashion:

  "Maybe it would be _best_, but father says that a real man never breakshis word to a woman."

  Kurt flushed slightly.

  "I take off my hat to you, Francis. You are right."

  Not believing that Pen would start out on foot, he went down to thegarage. The cars were all accounted for. A visit to the stables proved thesame as to the horses.

  On his way back to the house, he met Betty, who said to him in a stagewhisper.

  "Uncle Kurt, Aunt Penny is going to France. She went by way of Westcott's.Is that the way to France? Don't tell Francis I told. She is going to helpthe French and the _Beligum_ babies."

  "Thank you very much, Betty."

  This was a clue. She had doubtless started toward Westcott's expecting toget a lift to town. If no one had picked her up en route, he could easilyovertake her in the big car, which Gene had now repaired.

  "Go and tell the boys to get ready, Betty."

  Betty sped gleefully away.

  "Oh, Mr. Walters!" hailed Mrs. Merlin, coming from the house, "when yousee Mr. Hebler, tell him I put his diamond ring away. I'm awfullyforgetful. I--"

  "You put his diamond ring away? Where?" asked Kurt faintly.

  "It was like this. I couldn't get to sleep last night because a window wasrattling in the hall, so I got up and went out to fix it. When I passed byMr. Hebler's door, I saw his diamond ring on a table near the door. Ain'tit awful how careless folks are! I opened a drawer in the table andslipped it in, and I clean forgot all about it till a little while ago.Maybe he's got it on by this time, though."

  "All right, Mrs. Merlin, I'll tell him," said Kurt, hastily going in andup to Hebler's room. The diamond fairly blazed at him in accusation as heopened the drawer.

  And yet Hebler had told him that he had the ring! He hadn't been in thehouse after he had said the ring was missing. And why had Pen said shetook it? Maybe she had taken that method of returning it.

  He went downstairs, pondering over the mystery. This time Marta stoppedhim, excitedly.

  "Oh, Mr. Walters, Jo and I have been looking for you! Miss Lamont didn'ttake the ring."

  "I know she didn't. I just learned, Marta, that Mrs. Merlin saw it on thetable and put it away."

  "Find Miss Lamont and tell her!" cried Marta in distress. "You see shethought I took it. She had reason to think so--the way I acted. She wasprotecting me."

  "I see," he said despairingly. "I made her think you had taken it."

  "Come outside and see Jo."

  "Jo," he asked desperately, when he had joined him, "do you know where sheis? She has gone. I must know."

  "Kurt, you might as well try to catch a piece of quicksilver as PennyAnte, if she don't want to be caught."

  "Have you the slightest idea as to where she has gone or where she mighthave gone?"

  "Maybe I could venture a guess. I'll have to know first why you want toknow."

  Something more compelling than any emotion he had yet known kept down theanger that otherwise would have risen at being thwarted.

  "I love her, Jo," he said quietly.

  "For how long, Kurt, have you loved her?"

  "Since the first night I met her," he said slowly and reminiscently. "Whenwe camped on the trail. She lay asleep in the moonlight."

  "Have you forgotten what you warned me against that day I told you aboutMarta--about marrying a thief."

  "I was a simp, then, Jo. I had never been in love."

  "Well," pursued Jo, "why didn't you tell her you loved her in the firstplace? Maybe it would have helped. It isn't much of a compliment to a girlto hang around and not say anything."

  "Think, Jo. I supposed until Marta came, that Pen was _your_ girl. Ibrought her up here to see if she could be reformed for _you_. I sent youaway to Westcott's until I could tell if she were worthy of you."

  "Say, Kurt, I am the simp. I never thought of that. She didn't think youreally cared. Leave it to me. I'll tell her."

  "But where is she? Don't let the boys know, but Betty leaked the fact thatshe was going to France. I can't think she was in earnest."

  Jo whistled.

  "I am beginning to get glimpses on a dark subject. I'll bet that is wherehe is making for, too."

  "He? Who?" he asked quickly. "Hebler?"

  "Hebler! She'd rather dodge him than you. No; I mean that aviator wholanded over toward Westcott's a little while ago. I heard one of thosefliers had been in town giving an exhibition. He was down to earth justabout long enough to pick some one up. That was what she meant in the noteshe left for me when she said she was going by the Excelsior route."

  "How would she know him, and how would she get word to him to come outhere?"

  "She told me she spent the day in town--let me see--day before yesterday,I think it was. Said she met a man there she used to know."

  "She told me, too, she had been to town, but I thought she was onlyjoking. I didn't believe her."

  "There's a lot you could hear about her, Kurt, that you wouldn't believeright off the bat; but it's not me who's going to put you wise. Talk toMrs. Kingdon about her. You'll not get the chance to interview Penny Antevery soon, I imagine. In the craft she must be traveling in, there'snothing about this ranch that can overtake her, but I'll do my level best.Let me see! She won't go to town. She'll want to keep out of Hebler'sreach, of course."

  "Why?" asked Kurt. "Do you know?"

  "I know more than you do about her. A girl has to have some one to confidein and Little Penny Ante chose me. You scared her out, you know."

  Kurt winced.

  "They will naturally go in an opposite direction," pursued Jo. "They mayfly over to the next station and take the east-bound. I'll take yourcar."

  "No; you take the children to town, and I'
ll go in pursuit--"

  "That'll never do. She won't try to dodge me."