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The Penny Parker Megapack: 15 Complete Novels

Page 35

by Mildred Benson


  At the conclusion of the session which lasted no longer than thirty minutes, the leader asked the audience if any “brother” were present who wished to attempt a spirit communication. Immediately, Penny sat up a bit straighter, anticipating that interesting demonstrations were in store.

  Nor was she mistaken. A thin, hard-faced man went to the rostrum, and in a loud voice began to call upon the spirits to make known their presence. Signs were at once forthcoming. The empty pews began to dance as if alive. The speaker’s table lifted a foot from the floor and a pitcher of water fell from it, smashing into a dozen pieces.

  Louise, her eyes dilated with fear, edged closer to Penny.

  “Let’s go,” she pleaded.

  Penny shook her head.

  A woman dressed in blue silk glided down the aisle, stopping beside the girls. She held a tray upon whichwere a number of objects, an opal ring, a knife, and several pins.

  “Dearie,” she said to Penny, “if you would care to have a message from a departed soul, place a trinket in this collection. Any personal object. Our leader will then exhort the spirit to appear.”

  “No, thank you,” replied Louise, without giving her chum a chance to speak.

  “Perhaps, you would prefer a private reading,” the woman murmured. “I give them at my home, and the fee is trivial. Only a dollar.”

  “Thank you, no,” Louise repeated firmly. “I’m not interested.”

  The woman shrugged and moved on down the aisle, pausing beside an elderly man to whom she addressed herself.

  “Lou, why did you discourage her?” Penny whispered. “We might have learned something.”

  “I’ve learned quite enough. I’m leaving.”

  Louise squeezed past her chum, heading for the exit. Penny had no choice but to follow.

  Before they could reach the door, it suddenly opened from the outside. A young man who had not bothered to remove his hat, entered. Seeing the girls, he abruptly halted, then turned and retreated.

  Penny quickened her step. Taking Louise’s hand she pulled her along at a faster pace. They reached the vestibule. It was deserted. Penny peered up and down the dark street.

  “Well, he’s gone,” she remarked.

  “Who?” Louise questioned in a puzzled voice. “You mean that man who entered the Temple and then left so suddenly?”

  “I do,” responded Penny. “Unless my eyes tricked me, he was none other than Al Gepper!”

  CHAPTER 12

  A MESSAGE FOR MRS. WEEMS

  “I don’t know anyone answering to that name,” remarked Louise. “However, the fellow did act as if he were retreating from us.”

  Penny glanced up and down the dark street. No one was to be seen, and since so little time had elapsed, she reasoned that the man had taken refuge either in the high weeds or the nearby cemetery.

  “It must have been Gepper,” she declared. “Naturally he wouldn’t care to meet me here.” Quickly Penny recounted the events of the afternoon.

  “Then you think he may be connected with the Temple, Penny?”

  “That would be my guess. Lou, this place is nothing but a blind. The members of the society pretend to be honest spiritualists, while in reality they’re charlatans. They hold services for one purpose only—to solicit persons for private readings.”

  “Isn’t that illegal?”

  “Of course it is. The police should raid the place.”

  “Then why don’t they, Penny?”

  “Dad says it’s because they’ve been unable to obtain sufficient evidence. But they’ll have it after we report what we’ve seen tonight!”

  “How do you suppose they made things jump around as if they were alive?” Louise remarked as the girls walked slowly toward home. “It frightened me.”

  “Everything was done by trickery. I’m sure of that, Lou. Just as soon as Dad returns I shall make a full report to him. We’ll see what he can do about it.”

  By the time Penny arrived home, Mrs. Weems had retired to her room. However, the light still burned and the door was open a crack. Rapping, the girl entered, for she was eager to tell the housekeeper about her visit to the Celestial Temple.

  Mrs. Weems sat at the desk. Hastily she closed one of the drawers, and turned the key.

  “You startled me, Penny!” she exclaimed. “I do wish you would give more warning before you descend upon one.”

  “Sorry,” apologized Penny, glancing curiously toward the desk. “Oh, I see!”

  “You see what?” demanded the housekeeper.

  “Six thousand dollars reposing in a desk drawer!”

  Mrs. Weems’ look of consternation betrayed her. She glanced at the locked drawer, and then laughed.

  “For an instant I thought you actually could see the money, Penny.”

  “Then my guess was right?”

  “I keep the money in the drawer,” Mrs. Weems admitted.

  Penny sat down on the edge of the bed, drawing up her knees for a chin rest.

  “Mrs. Weems, don’t you think it’s risky keeping so much money here?”

  “It will only be for a few days, Penny. I’ll have it converted into traveler’s cheques as soon as I am ready to start west.”

  “The desk doesn’t seem a safe place to me.”

  “You’re the only person who knows where I keep the money, Penny. Oh, yes, I told Mrs. Hodges, but she is to be trusted. No one can steal it as long as I have the key.”

  Mrs. Weems tapped a black velvet ribbon which she wore about her neck.

  “I keep this on me day and night,” she declared. “No thief ever will get it way from me.”

  Penny said nothing more about the matter. Instead, she launched into a highly colored account of her visit to the Celestial Temple. The housekeeper expressed disapproval, remarking that she never would have granted permission had she known in advance where the girls were going. Nevertheless, her eager questions made it evident that she was deeply interested in the demonstration which had been witnessed.

  “I don’t see how you can call it trickery,” she protested. “You have no proof, Penny.”

  “Never in the world will I believe that spirits can make tables do a dance, Mrs. Weems! Probably the furniture had special wiring or something of the sort.”

  “You can’t say that about the table at Mrs. Hodges’, Penny.”

  “No, it seemed to be just an ordinary piece of furniture,” the girl admitted reluctantly. “All the same, Al Gepper is a fraud, and I wish you wouldn’t attend his old séance tomorrow.”

  “But Penny, I gave my promise.”

  “I can run over to the house and tell him you’ve changed your mind.”

  Mrs. Weems shook her head. “No, Penny, I am curious to learn if he will be able to communicate with the spirits. Tomorrow’s séance should provide a genuine test. The man knows nothing about me or my ancestors.”

  “Mrs. Hodges probably has provided all the information he’ll require.”

  “I telephoned her yesterday and requested her not to tell Mr. Gepper anything about me. She’ll respect my wishes. The test should prove a true one.”

  Penny sighed and arose from the bed. Knowing Mrs. Weems as she did, she realized that her opinion could not be changed by argument. It was her hope that Al Gepper would discredit himself by failing in the séance.

  “Penny, please promise that you’ll do nothing outrageous tomorrow,” Mrs. Weems begged as the girl started to leave. “I am sure Mr. Gepper feels that you are antagonistic.”

  “I’ll try to behave myself,” Penny laughed. “Yes, we’ll give Mr. Gepper a chance to prove what he can do.”

  At two the following afternoon she and Mrs. Weems presented themselves at the Hodges’ cottage. Both Mr. Hodges and his wife, who were to sit in at the séance, were trembling with anticipation.

  “Mr. Gepper is simply wonderful,” the seamstress confided to Mrs. Weems. “He tells me that I have great healing powers as well as a psychic personality.”

  “Jenny, I h
ope you haven’t told him anything about me,” the housekeeper mentioned.

  “Oh, no, Maud. For that matter, he’s said nothing about you since you were here.”

  Mrs. Weems cast Penny an “I-told-you-so” glance which was not lost upon Al Gepper who entered the room at that moment.

  “I am ready for you, ladies,” he said. “Kindly follow me.”

  In the upstairs room blinds had been drawn. Al Gepper indicated that his audience was to occupy the chairs around the circular table.

  “Before we attempt to communicate with the departed souls, I wish to assure you that I employ no trickery,” he announced, looking hard at Penny. “You may examine the table or the cabinet if you wish.”

  “Oh, no, Mr. Gepper,” murmured Mrs. Hodges. “We trust you.”

  “I’ll look, if you don’t mind,” said Penny.

  She peered beneath the table, thumped it several times, and pulled aside the curtain of the cabinet. It was empty.

  “Now if you are quite satisfied, shall we begin?” purred Mr. Gepper. “It will make it much easier, if each one of you will give me a personal object.”

  “A la the Celestial Temple method,” muttered Penny beneath her breath.

  “What was that?” questioned the medium sharply.

  “Nothing. I was merely thinking to myself.”

  “Then please think more quietly. I must warn you that this séance cannot be successful unless each person present concentrates, entering into the occasion with the deepest of sincerity.”

  “I assure you, I am as sincere as yourself,” Penny responded gravely.

  Mr. Hodges deposited his gold watch on the table. His wife offered a pin and Mrs. Weems a plain band ring. Penny parted with a handkerchief.

  After everyone was seated about the table, Al Gepper played several phonograph records, all the while exhorting the Spirits to appear.

  Taking Mrs. Weems’ ring from the tray before him, he pressed it to his forehead. A convulsive shudder wracked his body.

  “Someone comes to me—” he mumbled. “Someone comes, giving the name of David—David Swester.”

  “My cousin,” breathed Mrs. Weems in awe.

  “He is tall and dark with a scar over his left eye,” resumed the medium. “I see him plainly now.”

  “That is David!” cried the housekeeper, leaning forward in her eagerness.

  “David, have you a message for us?” the medium intoned.

  There was a long silence, during which the man could be seen writhing and twisting in the semi-darkness. Then his voice began again:

  “David has a message for a person called Maud.”

  “I am Maud,” said Mrs. Weems tremulously. “Oh, what does he say?”

  “That he is well and happy in the Spirit World, but he is worried about Maud.”

  “Worried about me? Why?”

  The medium again seemed to undergo physical suffering, but presently the message “came through,” although not in an entirely clear form.

  “David’s voice has faded. I am not certain, but it has something to do with six thousand dollars.”

  “The exact amount he left to me!” Mrs. Weems murmured.

  “David is afraid that you will not have the wisdom to invest the money wisely. He warns you that the present place where you have it deposited is not safe. He will tell you what to do with it. Now the voice is fading again. David has gone.”

  With another convulsive shudder, Al Gepper straightened from the position into which he had slumped. Resuming his normal tone he said:

  “That is all. The connection with Cousin David has been broken.”

  “Can’t we contact him again?” Mrs. Weems asked in disappointment.

  “Not today. Possibly tomorrow at this same hour.”

  “Couldn’t you call up another Spirit by using my pin or Pa’s watch?” Mrs. Hodges suggested wistfully.

  Al Gepper raised one of the window blinds. “I am very, very tired,” he said. “This séance was particularly exhausting due to the presence of someone antagonistic. Tomorrow if conditions are right, I hope actually to materialize Cousin David. The poor soul is trying so hard to get a message through to the one he calls Maud.”

  “You mean I’ll be able to see him?” the housekeeper asked incredulously.

  “I hope and believe so. I must rest now. After a séance I should refresh myself with sleep.”

  “Of course,” agreed Mrs. Hodges. “We are selfish to overtax you.”

  Recovering their trinkets, the elderly couple and Mrs. Weems went from the room. Penny was the last to leave.

  “Well, sister?” inquired the medium in a low voice. “Were you convinced, or do you still think that you can show up Al Gepper?”

  “I think,” said Penny softly, “that you are a very clever man. But clever as you are, one of your well-trained ghosts may yet lead you to the city jail!”

  CHAPTER 13

  COUSIN DAVID’S GHOST

  When Penny reached the lower floor she found Mrs. Weems and the Hodges excitedly discussing the séance. The seamstress and her husband emphatically declared that they had given the medium no information regarding either the housekeeper or the deceased Cousin David.

  “Then there can be only one explanation,” Mrs. Weems said. “We were truly in communication with a departed spirit.”

  “Don’t you agree, Penny?” inquired Mrs. Hodges.

  “I am afraid I can’t,” she replied.

  “The test was a fair one,” Mrs. Weems insisted. “Mr. Gepper couldn’t have described Cousin David so accurately if he hadn’t actually seen him as he materialized from the spirit world.”

  “Al Gepper could have obtained much of his information from persons in Riverview,” Penny responded.

  “About me, perhaps,” the housekeeper conceded. “But not about Cousin David. Why, I doubt if anyone save myself knew he had a scar over his eye. He received it in an automobile accident twelve or thirteen years ago.”

  “Just think!” murmured Mrs. Hodges. “Tomorrow you may actually be able to see your departed cousin!”

  In vain Penny argued that Al Gepper was a trickster. She was unable to offer the slightest evidence to support her contention while, on the other hand, the Hodges reminded her that the medium had never asked one penny for his services.

  From the cottage Penny went directly to the Star office, feeling certain that her father would have returned there from his trip. Nor was she mistaken. Gaining admittance to the private office, she wasted no words in relating everything which had transpired during his absence. Her father’s attention was flattering.

  “Penny, you actually saw all this?” he questioned when she had finished.

  “Oh, yes! At the Celestial Temple Louise was with me, too. We thought you might take up the matter with the police.”

  “That’s exactly what I will do,” decided Mr. Parker. “I’ve turned the matter over in my mind for several days. The Star will take the initiative in driving these mediums, character readers and the like out of Riverview!”

  “Oh, Dad, I was hoping you’d say that!”

  Mr. Parker pressed a desk buzzer. Summoning DeWitt, he told of his plan to launch an active campaign.

  “Nothing will please me better, Chief,” responded the city editor. “Where do we start?”

  “We’ll tip the police to what is going on at the Celestial Temple. Have them send detectives there for tonight’s meeting. Then when the usual hocus-pocus starts, arrests can be made. Have photographers and a good reporter on hand.”

  “That should start the ball rolling,” agreed DeWitt. “I’ll assign Jerry Livingston to the story. Salt Sommers is my best photographer.”

  “Get busy right away,” Mr. Parker ordered. “We’ll play the story big tomorrow—give it a spread.”

  “How about Al Gepper?” Penny inquired after DeWitt had gone. “Could he be arrested without involving the Hodges?”

  “Not very easily if he lives at their place. Has he accepted mon
ey for the séances he conducts there?”

  “He hasn’t taken any yet from Mrs. Weems. I am sure he must have other customers.”

  “You have no proof of it?”

  “No.”

  “Suppose we forget Al Gepper for the time being, and concentrate on the Celestial Temple,” Mr. Parker proposed. “In the meantime, learn everything you can about the man’s methods.”

  “No assignment would please me more, Dad. I’ve the same as promised Mr. Gepper he’ll land in jail, and I want to make good.”

  Mr. Parker began to pace the floor. “I’ll write a scorching editorial,” he said. “We’ll fight ignorance with information. Our reporters must learn how these mediums do their tricks, and expose them to the gullible public.”

  “I’ll do everything I can to help,” Penny promised eagerly. “May I have Al Gepper for my particular fish bait?”

  “He’s your assignment. And I’m depending upon you to see that he doesn’t work any of his trickery on Mrs. Weems. If she can’t be persuaded to remain away from the Hodges’, then we must protect her as best we can.”

  “I’ll try to accompany her every time she goes there, Dad. I am afraid he may be after her money.”

  “Gepper doesn’t know she inherited six thousand dollars?” Mr. Parker asked in alarm.

  “Yes, she dropped the information that she had come into money. He supplied figures himself.”

  “I wonder how?”

  “I haven’t the slightest idea, Dad. Gepper is as clever a man as ever I met. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if he does produce Cousin David at tomorrow’s séance.”

  Mr. Parker snorted in disgust.

  “Tommyrot! The man will make an excuse about the conditions not being right, and fail.”

  “Perhaps, but he seems pretty confident.”

  “You expect to attend the séance?”

  “Oh, definitely. Jungle beasts couldn’t keep me away.”

  “Then be alert every instant—without appearing too suspicious, of course. Try to learn how the man accomplishes his tricks.”

  “Leave it to me,” chuckled Penny. “Mr. Al Gepper is due for his first shock when he wakes up tomorrow and reads that the Celestial Temple has been raided. Unless I am much mistaken, that place is one of his favorite haunts.”

 

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