“I can set your mind at rest on that point,” Mr. Nichols informed. “He wasn’t. If you’re interested in the details, you’ll find the paper on the front porch.”
Penny helped Mrs. Gallup clear the table of dishes, then went outside to get the paper. The story appeared on the front page. It was a slightly distorted version of what had happened and Penny was just as well pleased that her name was not mentioned. According to the account, the thief had escaped by means of a rear fire escape. The ring, valued at approximately nine hundred dollars, was fully covered by insurance.
While Penny was reading the story, Mr. Nichols came out and sat on the porch steps.
“How would you like to take a little trip?” he asked casually.
Penny dropped the newspaper. “With you?” she questioned eagerly.
“Yes, I’ve been working hard lately and I feel like taking a rest over the week end.”
“Where will we go?”
“I thought of Mt. Ashland. It will be cool in the mountains and at this time of year the hotels will not be too crowded.”
“Why, Mt. Ashland isn’t very far from Snow Mountain, is it?” Penny demanded with interest. “I’m going to look it up on the map.”
She ran into the house for the big red atlas. A moment later she returned, her eyes dancing with excitement.
“Mt. Ashland isn’t more than a two hours’ drive from Snow Mountain,” she told her father.
“And just what difference does it make?”
“Why, Raven Ridge is located on Snow Mountain, you know.”
“Oh! So that’s what you have in your mind!”
Penny perched herself on her father’s knee, smiling her most beguiling smile.
“Never mind, you little tease,” he said hastily. “I give in.”
“You don’t even know what I want,” she laughed.
“Yes, I do. You want to take this new friend of yours along with us.”
“I think it would be nice, don’t you?” Penny beamed. “Then while you’re having a good rest at Mt. Ashland we could drive on to Raven Ridge. Rosanna could investigate her property there, if she has any, and it wouldn’t cost her much of anything to make the trip.”
“You seem to have it well planned,” the detective marveled.
“Well, what’s wrong with the idea?”
“Nothing. We’ll take her along if she wants to go. She may help keep you out of mischief.”
“When do we start?” Penny demanded gaily.
“Tomorrow afternoon as soon as I can get away from the office.”
“Then I’ll dash over to see Rosanna now and ask if she can go with us,” Penny announced.
Without giving her father an opportunity to change his mind, she hurried to the garage for her roadster. At the rooming house on Sixty-fifth Street, the landlady, a stout woman with a tired, lined face, admitted her.
“Miss Winters has the attic room,” she informed. “Five flights up.”
At the top of the last flight Penny paused to catch her breath before rapping on Rosanna’s door. The orphan was a trifle startled at seeing her.
“Do come in,” she said cordially.
The room was oppressive and warm, although the tiny windows were open wide. A bed, a chest of drawers, two chairs and a cracked mirror composed the entire furniture.
“I don’t expect to stay here long,” Rosanna said apologetically. “I thought it would do until I found work.”
“Why, of course,” Penny agreed instantly. “Did you have any luck today?”
Rosanna shook her head and sank wearily down upon the bed.
“No, everywhere I went it was the same old story. I’m beginning to think I’ll never find employment.”
“Perhaps you’ll not need it if you come into an inheritance,” Penny smiled. “Rosanna, I’ve found a way for you to get to Raven Ridge.”
The orphan’s face brightened but for a full minute after Penny had explained the plan, she sat silent.
“Don’t you want to go?” Penny asked, perplexed.
“Yes, of course I do. It isn’t that. You’ve been so good and kind to me. I’ll never be able to repay you for your trouble and expense.”
“Nonsense! The trip will be more fun if you go along, Rosanna. Besides, I have an overwhelming curiosity to see Raven Ridge and your uncle’s estate. Please say you’ll go.”
“All right, I will,” Rosanna gave in.
“Good. Father and I will stop for you tomorrow. I must get back home now and start packing.”
Penny clattered down the creaking, narrow stairway and disappeared into the night.
Although the trip was only a short one, and at the longest would occupy less than a week’s time, Penny spent many hours planning her wardrobe. She packed an evening gown, several afternoon frocks, and sports clothes. Then, reflecting that Rosanna would not be so well fixed, she hung the garments back in the closet, substituting her plainest dresses.
“There, that will be much better,” she decided. “A wise traveler goes light anyway.”
At three o’clock the following afternoon, Penny and her father stopped at Rosanna’s rooming house to pick up the orphan. She was waiting on the porch, and as Penny had thought, confined her luggage to one overnight bag.
At first the road to Mt. Ashland wound through fertile valleys and low hills. Gradually, they climbed. The curves became more frequent. Tall pines bordered the roadside.
Six o’clock found the party well into the mountains, although still some miles from their destination. Noticing a pleasant little inn at the top of a ridge, they stopped for dinner which was served on the veranda overlooking a beautiful valley.
“I wonder if Raven Ridge will be as pretty as this?” Rosanna mused.
“It’s even more beautiful,” Mr. Nichols told her. “The scenery is very impressive.”
Before they arose from the table it was growing dusk for they had lingered to watch the sunset.
“It’s just as well that I wired ahead for hotel reservations,” Mr. Nichols remarked as they hurried to the parked car. “Getting in after dark it wouldn’t be so pleasant to find all the rooms taken.”
At exactly nine o’clock the twinkling lights of the Mt. Ashland Hotel were sighted, and a few minutes later the automobile drew up in front of the large white rambling building. An attendant took the car and they all went inside.
“I doubt if you’ll get rooms here tonight, sir,” a bellboy told the detective as he carried the luggage to the main desk. “There’s been a big rush of guests this week-end.”
Mr. Nichols was not disturbed. At the desk he merely gave the clerk his name, claiming the two rooms which he had reserved by wire.
“We saved two very fine rooms for you,” the clerk returned politely. “Both overlook the valley.”
While Mr. Nichols signed the register, Penny and Rosanna sat down nearby. Their attention was drawn to the main entrance. A large touring car had pulled up to the door. A pompous looking woman of middle age and a younger woman, evidently her daughter, had alighted. Both were elegantly if somewhat conspicuously dressed. Several suitcases, hat boxes and miscellaneous packages were unloaded. The older woman carried a fat lapdog in her arms.
“They seem to have brought everything but the bird cage,” Penny said in an undertone.
The two women walked up to the desk.
“I am Mrs. Everett Leeds,” the one with the dog announced a trifle too loudly. “I have a reservation.”
“Just a minute please,” the clerk requested.
It seemed to Penny that he looked disturbed as he thumbed through his cards.
“There is no occasion for delay,” Mrs. Leeds declared blandly. “My daughter and I always engage the same room—305.”
“Why, that was the number of one of the rooms assigned to my party,” Mr. Nichols observed.
“There’s been some mix-up,” the clerk said in distress. He turned again to the two women. “Your reservation isn’t on file, Mrs. Leeds. When did you send the w
ire?”
“I reserved the room by letter,” the woman informed him coldly.
“It was never received here I am sure.”
“No doubt the letter was lost.”
“You are certain it was sent?”
“Of course I am,” Mrs. Leeds declared icily. “My daughter mailed it. Didn’t you, Alicia, my dear?”
A queer expression passed over the girl’s face. It struck Penny that she probably had forgotten to post the letter. However, Alicia staunchly maintained that she had.
“It’s most provoking that you have misplaced the reservation,” Mrs. Leeds said irritably to the clerk. “But of course we can have the room?”
“I am afraid that is impossible, Mrs. Leeds. The room you wanted was reserved for two young ladies.” With a nod of his head the clerk indicated Penny and Rosanna.
Mrs. Leeds and her daughter turned to stare somewhat haughtily.
“What other room can you give us then?” the woman demanded angrily.
The clerk cast Mr. Nichols a despairing glance. He knew he was in for trouble.
“Practically everything is taken, Mrs. Leeds. In fact the only available room is on the top floor.”
“And you expect us to take that?” Mrs. Leeds cried, her voice rising until everyone in the lobby could hear. “I never heard of such outrageous treatment. Call the manager!”
Penny had risen to her feet. She moved quickly forward.
“There’s no need to do that,” she said pleasantly. “If Rosanna doesn’t mind, I am perfectly willing to exchange rooms with Mrs. Leeds.”
“Why, of course,” Rosanna agreed. “It doesn’t matter to me where I sleep.”
Satisfied at having her own way, Mrs. Leeds quieted down. She even thanked the girls graciously for the sacrifice they had made. The clerk gave out the keys.
“Why did you do that?” Mr. Nichols asked gruffly as he and the girls followed a bellboy to the elevator. “Your room up by the roof will be hot as blazes.”
“I know, but I didn’t see any sense in making such a fuss over a room, Dad. Besides, it’s only for one night.”
“I’d insist that you girls take my room if it had a double bed.”
Penny shook her head.
“No, you came here for a rest. Rosanna and I really won’t mind.”
The three entered the elevator and a minute later Mrs. Leeds and her daughter likewise stepped into the lift.
“I hope you girls will not find it uncomfortable on the top floor,” Mrs. Leeds remarked, trying to make pleasant conversation.
“It isn’t very warm tonight,” Penny returned politely. “Besides, it will only be for one night. We’re going on to Raven Ridge in the morning.”
The elevator was whizzing them upward.
“Did you say Raven Ridge?” Mrs. Leeds questioned sharply.
“Yes.”
A queer expression had come into Mrs. Leeds sharp, blue eyes. She seemed on the verge of speaking, then apparently changed her mind.
The elevator stopped at the third floor. Without a word, the woman urged her daughter out the door, following her down the hall.
CHAPTER IV
A Face at the Window
The little room on the top floor of the hotel was as hot and unpleasant as Mr. Nichols had predicted. Even with all the windows open wide the air still seemed close.
“Rosanna, I shouldn’t have forced you into this,” Penny said apologetically.
“I’ve slept in far worse places than this,” Rosanna laughed. “We have a comfortable bed and a private bath. I didn’t fare half so well at Mrs. Bridges.”
“You’re a good sport anyway, Rosanna. That’s more than could be said for Mrs. Leeds or her daughter.”
“I wonder how old the girl is? She looked about our age.”
“I’d guess she was two or three years older,” Penny returned. “She had so much paint on it was hard to tell.”
Both girls were tired from the long day’s drive. Rosanna immediately began to undress. Penny sat on the edge of the bed, thoughtfully staring into space.
“Did it strike you as queer the way Mrs. Leeds acted when I mentioned we were going to Raven Ridge tomorrow?” she questioned her companion.
Rosanna kicked off her slippers before replying.
“Well, come to think of it, she did look a little startled. She put on such a scene downstairs that I didn’t pay much attention.”
“We’ll probably never see her again.” With a shrug of her slim shoulders Penny arose and began to unpack her overnight bag.
According to the plan which they had worked out with Mr. Nichols, the girls expected to leave for Raven Ridge the next morning directly after breakfast. It was their intention to motor to the mountain resort, inspect the Winters’ property and see if they could learn anything concerning Rosanna’s uncle. They intended to return either the next night or the one following.
Few guests were abroad when the detective joined the girls at breakfast. It was only a little after seven o’clock.
“Sleep well?” he inquired, looking over the menu.
“Not very,” Penny admitted truthfully. She might have added more had not Mrs. Leeds and her daughter entered the dining room at that moment. The two bowed slightly and selected a table in the opposite corner of the room.
“Social climbers,” Mr. Nichols said in an undertone. “I can tell their type a mile away.”
Breakfast finished, the girls prepared to leave for Raven Ridge. Their bags were already packed and downstairs.
“Now drive cautiously over the mountain roads,” the detective warned as he accompanied the girls to the waiting car. “If you can’t get back by evening send me a wire.”
As Penny took her place at the steering wheel she observed that Mrs. Leeds’ automobile had been brought to the hotel entrance by an attendant. Apparently, she too was making an early morning departure.
“You’re not listening to a word I am saying!” Mr. Nichols said severely.
“Yes, I am.” Penny’s attention came back to the conversation. “I’ll drive carefully and deliver your precious car back to you without a scratch.”
“I wasn’t exactly worried about the car.”
“Well, there’s no need to be uneasy about Rosanna or me. We’ll have no trouble.”
With a laugh of careless confidence, Penny started the car and drove slowly away. It was not the first time she had driven over mountainous roads. She handled the wheel exceptionally well and used due caution on all of the sharp curves. The brakes were good but she dared not apply them too steadily on the steep inclines.
“We’ll have to rush if we get back to Mt. Ashland this evening,” Penny announced, slowing down to read a signpost. “I declare, a mountain mile seems to be three times the length of an ordinary mile.”
They had gone only a short distance farther when a tire went down. Penny knew it instantly by the feel of the steering wheel. She pulled off at the side of the road.
“Now we are in it,” she said in deep disgust. “At least ten miles from a garage. I can change wheels on my own car, but I doubt if I can on Dad’s automobile.”
The girls waited for a few minutes hoping that someone would come along to help. When no one did, Penny dragged out the tools, and after considerable trouble succeeded in jacking up the rear axle.
“I see a car coming,” Rosanna reported hopefully.
“Let’s flag it,” Penny suggested. “I could do with a little masculine help.”
In response to her signal of distress, the approaching automobile slowed down. The driver was a man and there were no passengers.
“He’s stopping,” Penny said in relief.
There was a screech of brakes as the automobile came almost to a standstill. Then surprisingly, it speeded up again. But not before Penny had caught a fleeting glimpse of the driver’s face.
“Well, of all things!” Rosanna exclaimed indignantly. “I call that a mean trick.”
“I believe he was afr
aid to stop,” Penny announced excitedly. “I think I recognized him. It was the same man who stole the ring from Bresham’s Department Store!”
“Are you sure?” Rosanna demanded incredulously.
“I couldn’t be absolutely certain, of course. He was traveling too fast for me to catch more than a passing glimpse of his face. But if he didn’t recognize us, why did he slow down and then speed up?”
“He did act suspiciously. But what can we do about it?”
“Nothing, I’m afraid. We may as well devote our energies to this wheel.”
Rosanna was more than eager to help but she had never even seen a tire changed and had no idea how to go about it. After a little annoying experimentation, Penny got the wheel in place and tightened the lugs.
“There, it’s done,” she said in relief, “but my dress is a mess. I’m afraid we’ll have to stop at the first garage and have the old wheel fixed, for I don’t carry another spare.”
A signpost at the next bend in the road advised them that Simpson’s Garage was located only six miles away. They made it in a few minutes. There was no town, only a post office, one general store, and the garage which obviously was a remodeled blacksmith shop.
“I’m glad it’s nothing more than a tire which needs repairing,” Penny commented as the garageman came to learn what they wanted.
He promised that the tire would be ready in half an hour. Glancing at her wrist watch, Penny saw that it was already past lunch time. She inquired if there was a cafe nearby.
“Not in Hamilton, there ain’t,” the garageman told her. “Ma Stevens, across the street in the big white house, serves meals to tourists now and then.”
Rather than spend an unpleasant half hour in the garage, the girls walked over to the rambling white house. They were reassured to see that the yard was well kept and that everything appeared orderly and clean.
“Let’s take a chance on the food,” Penny decided. “I’m hungry enough to eat a fried board!”
Mrs. Stevens, a motherly looking woman in a blue checked gingham dress, opened the door. She looked slightly troubled at their request for food.
“It’s later than I usually serve,” she explained. Then noticing their disappointed faces, she added hastily: “But if you’re not too particular, I can find you something.”
The Girl Detective Megapack: 25 Classic Mystery Novels for Girls Page 205