CHAPTER 2 _THE RIVER'S VICTIM_
Penny stared at the curious array of objects found in the discardedbundle. Unquestionably, they had been worn by the mysterious young womanobserved aboard the _Goodtime_. However, she was not certain she agreedwith Louise that the girl or her escort had robbed Tillie Fellows.
"I never heard of a professional pickpocket bothering with a disguise,"she said doubtfully.
"Why else would the girl wear one?"
"I haven't an idea," admitted Penny. "Everything about it is queer. Forinstance, what became of her escort after the steamer docked? And who wasthat other young man in the gray car?"
"He appeared to be fairly well-to-do."
"Yes, he did. For that matter, the girl was elegantly dressed."
Louise kicked at the bundle with her foot. "What shall we do with thesethings? Toss them away?"
"Indeed, not!" Penny carefully rewrapped the wig, jacket, and otherarticles in the crumpled newspaper. "I shall take them home with me. Onenever knows what may develop."
Before Louise could inquire the meaning of her chum's remark, a taxi drewup nearby. The door swung open and out leaped a lean young man in awell-tailored blue suit and snap-brim hat.
"Why, it's Jerry Livingston!" exclaimed Penny, recognizing one of herfather's reporters.
The young man saw the girls and came toward them. "Hello," he greetedcheerily. "Swell night for a murder."
"I hope you're not carrying concealed weapons," laughed Penny. "Where'sDad?"
"Delayed at the _Star_ office. He sent me to meet the boat in his place.The fog made traffic slow. That's why I'm late."
Taking each of the girls by an elbow, he steered them to the waitingtaxi.
"_Riverview Star_," he instructed the driver, and slammed the car door.
The fog was not so dense after the cab left the docks, but the entireriver valley was blanketed, making it necessary for automobiles toproceed with headlights turned on.
"Have a nice time?" Jerry inquired as the cab crept along the waterfrontstreets.
"Not very," answered Penny, "but we ran into a little adventure."
"Trust you for that," chuckled the reporter. "City Editor DeWitt wastelling the boys at the office that he'd bet you would come home dragginga mystery by its tail!"
"Here it is," Penny laughed, thrusting the newspaper bundle into hishands. "Lou and I did a little fishing from the dock and this is what wehooked."
While Jerry examined the contents of the strange package, the girlscompeted with each other in relating their experiences aboard thesteamer. Although the reporter was deeply interested, he could offer notheory to explain why the young woman had discarded the bundle ofclothing.
"Louise's guess seems as good as any," he commented. "The girl may havebeen the one who robbed Tillie Fellows."
"Pickpockets usually frequent crowds," said Penny. "During the entiretrip both the girl and her escort kept strictly to themselves."
Jerry retied the bundle, tossing it into her lap.
"Your mystery is too much for me," he said lightly. "Afraid you'll haveto solve it yourself."
Penny lapsed into meditative silence, yet oddly her thoughts centeredupon nothing in particular. For a reason she never tried to explain, thewaterfront seldom failed to cast its magical spell over her. She lovedthe medley of sounds, deep-throated blasts of coal boats mingling withthe staccato toots of the tugboats, the rumble and clank of bridges beingraised and lowered.
Always Penny had felt an intimate connection with the river, for her homeoverlooked the Big Bear. Not many miles away flowed the Kobalt, soclosely associated with Mud-Cat Joe and the Vanishing Houseboat. It wasthe Kobalt which very nearly had claimed Jerry's life, yet had broughtthe _Star_ one of its greatest news stories.
Ever since she was a little girl, Penny had loved newspaper work. Herentire life seemed bound up with printer's ink and all that it connoted.She had learned to write well and Mrs. Weems, who had served as theParker housekeeper for many years, predicted that one day the girl wouldbecome a celebrated journalist.
The taxi came to a sudden halt and with a start Penny emerged from herreverie. Jerry leaned forward to ask the driver why they had stopped.
"I can't see the road very well," the man replied. "And there's a bridgeahead."
As the car crept forward again, Penny peered from the window. Through theswirling gray mist the indistinct lights which marked the arching steelbridge were faintly visible. A pillar gradually emerged, and beside itthe shadowy, slouching figure of a man. His burning cigarette made a pinpoint of light as he tossed it into the river.
Suddenly Penny's blood ran cold, for a second man appeared on the bridge.Stealthily he approached the one who gazed with such absorption into theinky waters. His purpose was shockingly clear to those who watched.
Penny screamed a warning; the taxi driver halted his cab, shoutinghuskily. Their cries came too late.
They saw the attacker leap upon his victim. There was a brief, intensestruggle, then a body went hurtling from the bridge, fifty feet to thewater below.
"You saw that?" cried Penny. "That man was pushed off the bridge! He'lldrown!"
"We've got to save him," said Jerry.
As the cab came to a standstill, Jerry, the driver, and the two girls,sprang to the pavement. In the murky darkness the bridge appeareddeserted, but they could hear the pounding footsteps of the attacker whosought to escape.
"Leave that guy to me!" exclaimed the cab driver. "I'll get him!"
Abandoning his taxi, he darted across the bridge in pursuit.
Jerry and the girls ran to the river bank. Below they could see a manstruggling in the water and hear his choked cry for help.
Jerry kicked off his shoes.
"Wait!" commanded Penny. "You may not need to jump in after him. Thatboat will be there in a minute."
She indicated a tugboat which had passed beneath the bridge and wasswerving toward the struggling man. As the young people anxiouslywatched, they saw it lay to while the captain fished the victim from thewater with a boat-hook.
"Thank goodness for that," murmured Penny. "I hope the poor fellow is allright."
"And I hope our driver catches the man who did the pushing," declaredLouise feelingly. "I never witnessed a more vicious attack in my entirelife!"
As she spoke, the cabman recrossed the bridge, scrambling down to theriver bank.
"The fellow got away," he reported. "He had a car waiting."
"You didn't see the license number?" Jerry inquired.
"Not a chance."
"Too bad."
Penny was watching the tugboat which had been tied up only a shortdistance from the bridge.
"Jerry, let's go down there," she proposed. "I want to be certain thatman is all right."
The reporter hesitated, then consented. Leaving Louise with the cabdriver, he and Penny descended the steep, muddy slope.
The boat had been made fast to a piling. Face downward on the longleather seat of the pilot-house, lay the rescued man. Working over himwas the captain, a short, stocky man with grease-smeared hands andclothing saturated with coal dust.
"Anything we can do?" called Jerry from shore.
"Don't know yet if he'll need a doctor," answered the tugboat captain,barely glancing up. "It was a nasty fall."
Jerry leaped on deck, leaving Penny behind, for the space was too wide tobe easily spanned.
Inside the cabin Captain Dubbins was expertly applying artificialresuscitation, but he paused as the man on the seat showed signs ofreviving.
"Struck the water flat on his back," he commented briefly. "Lucky I sawhim fall or I never could have fished him out. Not on a night like this."
"The fellow didn't fall," corrected Jerry. "He was pushed."
Captain Dubbins glanced up, meeting the reporter's gaze steadily. Heoffered no comment for the man on the seat groaned and rolled over.
"Steady," said the captain. "Take it easy. You'll tumble off the seat ifyou don't stay quiet."
"My back," mumbled the man.
In the glare of the swinging electric light his face was ghastly whiteand contorted with pain. Jerry judged him to be perhaps thirty-two. Hewore tight-fitting blue trousers and a coarse flannel shirt.
"My back," he moaned again, pressing his hand to it.
"You took a hard wrench when you hit the water," commented the captain."Here, let's see."
He unbuttoned the shirt, and rolling the man over, started to strip itoff.
"No!" snarled the other with surprising spirit. "Leave me alone! Getaway!"
Jerry stepped forward to assist the captain. Ignoring the man's feeblestruggles, they pulled off his shirt.
Immediately they understood why he had tried to prevent its removal.Across his bruised, battered back had been tattooed in blue and black,the repulsive figure of an octopus.
The Secret Pact Page 3