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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/35083-h.zip b/35083-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7d05290 --- /dev/null +++ b/35083-h.zip diff --git a/35083-h/35083-h.htm b/35083-h/35083-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2ede576 --- /dev/null +++ b/35083-h/35083-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,5885 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> +<title>Swamp Island, by Mildred A. Wirt</title> +<style type="text/css"> + body { margin-left:1.5em; margin-right:1.5em; } + h1, h2, h3, h4, .center { text-align:center; clear:right; } + h2 { margin-top:4em; margin-bottom:2.5em; line-height:1.7em; } + h3 { font-style:italic; } + table { clear:right; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto; } + p, blockquote, li { text-align:justify; max-width:25em; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto; } + div.verse { max-width:25em; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto; } + div.bq { margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; max-width:23em; margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:2em; } + .bq p { margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em; } + div.box { border-style:double; margin-bottom:2em; max-width:20em; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-top:2em; } + div.subbox { border-style:double; margin:.2em; } + div.img { margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; text-align:center; margin-top:1em; } + .large { font-size:120%; } + .small { font-size:90%; } + .smaller { font-size:80%; } + .sc { font-variant:small-caps; } + .gsw { margin-left:3em; } + .ws2 { margin-left:1em; } + .ws3 { margin-left:1.5em; } + .tb { margin-top:2em; } + .fndef p { font-size:100%; margin-left:0em; text-indent:0em; } + div.fndef { margin-left:1em; text-indent:-1em; text-align:justify; font-size:80%; margin-top:1em; } + a sup { font-size:60%; } + span.pb, div.pb, dt.pb, p.pb /* PAGE BREAKS */ + { text-align: right; float:right; margin-right:-1em; } + div.pb { display:inline; } + .pb { text-align:right; float:right; margin-left: 1.5em; + margin-top:.5em; margin-bottom:.5em; display:inline; + font-size:80%; font-style:normal; font-weight:bold; } + div.index .pb { display:block; } + dt.xx { text-align:justify; margin-left:2em; text-indent: -2em; } + dd { text-align:justify; margin-left:3em; text-indent: -2em; } +dl.toc { clear:both; } + /* CONTENTS (.TOC) */ + .toc dt.center { text-align:center; clear:both; margin-top:3em; margin-bottom:1em; } + .toc dt { text-align:right; clear:left; + margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; max-width:20em; } + .toc dt.smaller { max-width:25em; } + .toc dd { text-align:right; clear:both; margin-left:2em; } + .toc dd.t { text-align:right; clear:both; margin-left:4em; text-indent:0em; } + .toc dt a, .toc dd a { text-align:left; clear:right; float:left; } + .toc dt.sc { text-align:right; clear:both; } + .toc dt.scl { text-align:left; clear:both; font-variant:small-caps; } + .toc dt.sct { text-align:right; clear:both; font-variant:small-caps; margin-left:1em; } + .toc dt.jl { text-align:left; clear:both; font-variant:normal; } + .toc dt.scc { text-align:center; clear:both; font-variant:small-caps; } + .toc dt span.lj { text-align:left; display:block; float:left; } + .toc dt a { font-variant:small-caps; } + .poem { margin-bottom:1em; margin-top:1em; max-width:25em; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto; } + p.t0 { margin-bottom:0em; margin-top:0em; margin-left:2em; } + p.t { margin-bottom:0em; margin-top:0em; margin-left:3em; } +</style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Swamp Island, by Mildred A. Wirt + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Swamp Island + +Author: Mildred A. Wirt + +Release Date: January 26, 2011 [EBook #35083] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SWAMP ISLAND *** + + + + +Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Charlie Howard, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + +<div id="cover" class="img"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Swamp Island" width="385" height="500" /> +</div> +<div class="box"> +<h1>Swamp +<br />Island</h1> +<p class="center"><i>By</i> +<br />MILDRED A. WIRT</p> +<p class="center"><i>Author of</i> +<br /><span class="small">MILDRED A. WIRT MYSTERY STORIES +<br />TRAILER STORIES FOR GIRLS</span></p> +<p class="center"><span class="small"><i>Illustrated</i></span></p> +<p class="center"><span class="small">CUPPLES AND LEON COMPANY +<br /><i>Publishers</i> +<br />NEW YORK</span></p> +</div> +<div class="box"> +<div class="subbox"> +<p class="center"><span class="large"><b>PENNY PARKER</b></span> +<br />MYSTERY STORIES</p> +<p class="center"><span class="small"><i>Large 12 mo. <span class="gsw">Cloth</span> <span class="gsw">Illustrated</span></i></span></p> +</div> +<p class="center">TALE OF THE WITCH DOLL +<br />THE VANISHING HOUSEBOAT +<br />DANGER AT THE DRAWBRIDGE +<br />BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR +<br />CLUE OF THE SILKEN LADDER +<br />THE SECRET PACT +<br />THE CLOCK STRIKES THIRTEEN +<br />THE WISHING WELL +<br />SABOTEURS ON THE RIVER +<br />GHOST BEYOND THE GATE +<br />HOOFBEATS ON THE TURNPIKE +<br />VOICE FROM THE CAVE +<br />GUILT OF THE BRASS THIEVES +<br />SIGNAL IN THE DARK +<br />WHISPERING WALLS +<br />SWAMP ISLAND +<br />THE CRY AT MIDNIGHT</p> +<div class="subbox"> +<p class="center"><span class="smaller">COPYRIGHT, 1947, BY CUPPLES AND LEON CO.</span></p> +<p class="center">Swamp Island</p> +<p class="center"><span class="smaller">PRINTED IN U. S. A.</span></p> +</div></div> +<div id="front" class="img"> +<img src="images/front.png" alt="The boar had turned and was coming for her again." width="400" height="623" /> +<p class="center"><span class="small">The boar had turned and was coming for her again. +<br />“<i>Swamp Island</i>” <span class="gsw">(<a href="#Page_127">See Page 127</a>)</span></span></p> +</div> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> +<dl class="toc"> +<dt class="smaller"><span class="lj">CHAPTER</span> PAGE</dt> +<dt><a href="#c1">1 THE BEARDED STRANGER</a> <i>1</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c2">2 ALERTING ALL CARS</a> <i>7</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c3">3 UNFINISHED BUSINESS</a> <i>16</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c4">4 A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT</a> <i>25</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c5">5 THE RED STAIN</a> <i>33</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c6">6 AMBULANCE CALL</a> <i>42</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c7">7 AN EMPTY BED</a> <i>50</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c8">8 IN SEARCH OF JERRY</a> <i>58</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c9">9 THE WIDOW JONES</a> <i>64</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c10">10 INSIDE THE WOODSHED</a> <i>73</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c11">11 AN ABANDONED CAR</a> <i>81</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c12">12 A JOB FOR PENNY</a> <i>91</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c13">13 INTO THE SWAMP</a> <i>100</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c14">14 A CODE MESSAGE</a> <i>107</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c15">15 BEYOND THE BOARDWALK</a> <i>113</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c16">16 TREED BY A BOAR</a> <i>121</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c17">17 RESCUE</a> <i>128</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c18">18 WANTED—A GUIDE</a> <i>136</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c19">19 PENNY’S PLAN</a> <i>146</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c20">20 TRAILING HOD HAWKINS</a> <i>153</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c21">21 THE TUNNEL OF LEAVES</a> <i>160</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c22">22 HELP FROM TONY</a> <i>166</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c23">23 LOST IN THE HYACINTHS</a> <i>175</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c24">24 UNDER THE FENCE POST</a> <i>183</i></dt> +<dt><a href="#c25">25 OUTWITTED</a> <i>192</i></dt> +</dl> +<div class="pb" id="Page_1">[1]</div> +<h2 id="c1"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">1</span> +<br /><i>THE BEARDED STRANGER</i></h2> +<p>With slow, smooth strokes, Penny Parker sent +the flat-bottomed skiff cutting through the still, sluggish +water toward a small point of wooded land near +the swamp’s edge.</p> +<p>In the bottom of the boat, her dark-haired companion, +Louise Sidell, sat with her hand resting carelessly +on the collar of her dog, Bones, who drowsed +beside her. The girl yawned and shifted cramped +limbs.</p> +<p>“Let’s go home, Penny,” she pleaded. “We have all +the flowers you’ll need to decorate the banquet tables +tonight.”</p> +<p>“But not all I want,” Penny corrected with a grin. +“See those beautiful Cherokee roses growing over +there on the island point? They’re nicer than anything +we have.”</p> +<p>“Also harder to get.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_2">[2]</div> +<p>Louise craned her neck to gaze at the wild, tangled +growth which rose densely from the water’s edge.</p> +<p>“Remember,” she admonished, “when Trapper Joe +rented us this boat his last words were: ‘Don’t go far, +and stay in the skiff.’”</p> +<p>“After we gather the flowers, we’ll start straight +home, Lou. We’re too near the edge of the swamp to +lose our way.”</p> +<p>Disregarding Louise’s frown, Penny tossed a lock +of auburn hair out of her eyes, and dug in again with +the oars.</p> +<p>A giant crane, disturbed by the splash, flapped up +from the tall water grass. As he trumpeted angrily, +Bones stirred and scrambled to his feet.</p> +<p>“Quiet, Bones!” Louise ordered, giving him a reassuring +pat. “It’s only a saucy old crane.”</p> +<p>The dog stretched out on the decking again, but +through half-closed eyes watched the bird in flight.</p> +<p>“Lou, hasn’t it been fun, coming here today?” +Penny demanded in a sudden outbreak of enthusiasm. +“I’ve loved every minute of it!”</p> +<p>“You certainly have! But it’s getting late and +we’re both hot and tired. If you must have those flowers, +let’s get them quickly and start home.”</p> +<p>The two girls, students at Riverview high school, +had rented the skiff early that afternoon from Trapper +Joe Scoville, a swamper who lived alone in a shack +at the swamp’s edge.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_3">[3]</div> +<p>For three hours now, they had idled along the entrance +channel, gathering water lilies, late-blooming +Cherokee roses, yellow jessamine, and iris.</p> +<p>The excursion had been entirely Penny’s idea. +That night in a Riverview hotel, her father, Anthony +Parker, publisher of the <i>Riverview Star</i>, was acting +as host to a state newspapermen’s convention. He had +handed Penny twenty dollars, with instructions to buy +flowers for the banquet tables.</p> +<p>Penny, with her usual flare for doing things differently, +had decided to save the money by gathering +swamp blooms.</p> +<p>“These flowers are nicer than anything we could +have bought from a florist,” she declared, gazing appreciatively +at the mass of blooms which dripped +water in the basket at her feet.</p> +<p>“And think what you can do with twenty dollars!” +her chum teased.</p> +<p>“Seventeen. Remember, we owe Trapper Joe +three dollars for boat rental.”</p> +<p>“It will be four if we don’t call it a day. Let’s get +the flowers, if we must, and start home.”</p> +<p>“Fair enough,” Penny agreed.</p> +<p>Squinting at the lowering sun, she guided the skiff +to a point of the low-lying island. There she held it +steady while her chum stepped out on the spongy +ground.</p> +<p>Bones, eager to explore, leaped after her and was +off in a flash before Louise could seize his collar.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_4">[4]</div> +<p>Penny followed her chum ashore, beaching her +skiff in a clump of water plants. “This place looks +like a natural haunt for cottonmouths or moccasins,” +she remarked. “We’ll have to watch out for snakes.”</p> +<p>Already Louise was edging along in the soft muck, +alertly keeping an eye upon all overhead limbs from +which a poisonous reptile might drop.</p> +<p>Annoyed by thorny bushes which teethed into her +jacket, she turned to protest to Penny that the roses +were not worth the trouble it would take to gather +them.</p> +<p>But the words never were spoken.</p> +<p>For just then, from some distance inland, came the +sound of men’s voices. Louise listened a moment and +retreated toward the boat.</p> +<p>“Someone is here on the island,” she whispered +nervously. “Let’s leave!”</p> +<p>All afternoon the girls had floated through the +outer reaches of the swamp without seeing a single human +being. Now to hear voices in this isolated area +was slightly unnerving even to Penny. But she was +not one to turn tail and run without good reason.</p> +<p>“Why should we leave?” she countered, careful to +keep her voice low. “We have a perfect right to be +here. They’re probably fishermen from Riverview.”</p> +<p>Louise was not so easily reassured.</p> +<p>“We have all the flowers you need, Penny. Please, +let’s go!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_5">[5]</div> +<p>“You wait for me in the boat, Lou. I’ll slip over to +the bank and get the roses. Only take a minute.”</p> +<p>Stepping carefully across a half-decayed log, Penny +started toward the roses, visible on a bank farther up +shore.</p> +<p>Bones trotted a few feet ahead of her, his sensitive +nose to the ground.</p> +<p>“Go back, Bones,” Penny ordered softly. “Stay +with Louise!”</p> +<p>Bones did not obey. As Penny overtook him and +seized the trailing leash, she suddenly heard voices +again.</p> +<p>Two men were talking several yards away, completely +hidden by the bushes. Their words brought +her up short.</p> +<p>“There hain’t no reason to be afeared if we use our +heads,” the one was saying. “Maybe me and the boys +will help if ye make it worth our while, but we hain’t +aimin’ to tangle with no law.”</p> +<p>The voice of the man who answered was low and +husky.</p> +<p>“You’ll help me all right, or I’ll tell what I know! +Only one thing brought me back here. I aim to get +the guy who put me up! I was in town last night but +didn’t get sight of him. I’m going back soon’s I leave +here.”</p> +<p>Penny had been listening so intently that she completely +forgot Bones.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_6">[6]</div> +<p>The dog tugged hard at the leash which slipped +from the girl’s hand. She scrambled for it, only to +have Bones elude her and dart into the underbrush.</p> +<p>From the boat, Louise saw her pet escaping. Fearful +that he would be lost, she called shrilly: +“Bones! Bones! Come back here!”</p> +<p>The dog paid no heed. But Louise’s cry had carried +far and served to warn those inland that someone +had landed on the point.</p> +<p>A moment of dead silence ensued. Then Penny +heard one of the men demand sharply: “What was +that?”</p> +<p>Waiting for no more, she backtracked toward the +boat. Before she could reach it, the bushes behind +her parted.</p> +<p>A tall, square-shouldered man whose jaw was covered +with a jungle growth of red beard, peered out at +her. He wore a wide-brimmed, floppy, felt hat and +loose fitting work clothes with sturdy boots.</p> +<p>His eyes, fierce and hostile, fastened directly upon +Penny.</p> +<p>“Git!” he said harshly.</p> +<p>Penny retreated a step, then held her ground.</p> +<p>“Please, sir, our dog is lost in the underbrush,” she +began. “We can’t leave without him—”</p> +<p>“Git!” the man repeated. As he started toward +her, Penny saw that he carried a gun in the crook of +his arm.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_7">[7]</div> +<h2 id="c2"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">2</span> +<br /><i>ALERTING ALL CARS</i></h2> +<p>Penny was no coward; neither was she foolhardy.</p> +<p>A second look at the bearded stranger, and her mind +telegraphed the warning: “This man means business! +Better play along.”</p> +<p>The man fingered his gun. “Git goin’ now!” he +ordered sharply. “And don’t come back!”</p> +<p>In the boat, Louise already had reached nervously +for the oars. She wet her fingers and whistled for +Bones, but the dog, off on a fascinating scent, had +been completely swallowed up by the rank undergrowth.</p> +<p>“Ye heard me?” the stranger demanded. “I be a +patient man, but I hain’t speakin’ agin.”</p> +<p>Penny hesitated, half tempted to defy the swamper.</p> +<p>“Let Bones go,” Louise called. “Come on.”</p> +<p>Thus urged, Penny backed toward the skiff. Stumbling +over a vine, she caught her balance and scrambled +awkwardly into the boat.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_8">[8]</div> +<p>Louise pushed off with the oars, stroking fast until +they were well out into the channel. Only then did +she give vent to anger.</p> +<p>“That mean man! Now we’ve lost Bones for good. +We’ll never get him back.”</p> +<p>“Maybe we will.”</p> +<p>“How? We’ll never dare row back there today. +He’s still watching us.”</p> +<p>Penny nodded, knowing that anything she might +say would carry clearly over the water.</p> +<p>The stranger had not moved since the skiff had +pulled away. Like a grim statue, he stood in the +shadow of a towering oak, gazing straight before him.</p> +<p>“Who does he think he is anyhow?” Louise demanded, +becoming bolder as they put greater distance +between themselves and the island. “Does he own +this swamp?”</p> +<p>“He seems to think he does—or at least this section +of it. Don’t feel too badly about Bones, Lou. We’ll +come back tomorrow and find him.”</p> +<p>“Tomorrow may be too late. He’ll be hopelessly +lost, or maybe that man will shoot him! Oh, Penny, +Bones was such a cute little dog. He always brought +me the morning paper, and he knew so many clever +tricks.”</p> +<p>“It was all my fault for insisting upon landing there. +Lou, I feel awful.”</p> +<p>“You needn’t.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_9">[9]</div> +<p>Louise forced herself into a cheerful tone. “Maybe +we’ll find him again or he’ll come home. If not—well—” +her voice broke.</p> +<p>Both girls fell into a gloomy silence. Water swished +gently against the skiff as Louise sent it forward with +vicious stabs of the oars.</p> +<p>With growing distaste, Penny eyed the mass of +flowers in the bottom of the boat. Already the blooms +were wilting.</p> +<p>“I wish we never had come to the swamp today, +Lou. It was a bum idea.”</p> +<p>“No, we had a good time until we met that man. +Please, Penny, it wasn’t your fault.”</p> +<p>Penny drew up her knees for a chin rest and gloomily +watched her chum row. A big fish broke the +surface of the still water. Across the channel, the sun +had become a low-hanging, fiery-red disc. But Penny +focused her eyes on the receding island.</p> +<p>“Lou,” she said, “there were two men on the point. +Did you hear what they were saying?”</p> +<p>“No, only a murmur of voices.”</p> +<p>Her curiosity aroused, Louise waited patiently for +more information. Penny plucked at a floating hyacinth +plant and then added:</p> +<p>“I can’t quite dope it out, Lou. One of those men +seemed to be asking the other to hide him, and there +was talk of evading the law—also a threat to ‘get’ +someone.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_10">[10]</div> +<p>“Us probably.”</p> +<p>“No, until you called Bones, they apparently didn’t +know anyone was around. Who could those men +be?”</p> +<p>“Crooks, I’ll bet,” Louise said grimly. “Thank +goodness, we’re almost out of the swamp now. I can +see the clearing ahead and a little tumbledown house +and barn.”</p> +<p>“Not Trapper Joe’s place?” Penny asked, straightening +up to look.</p> +<p>The skiff had swung into faster water.</p> +<p>“We’re not that far yet,” Louise replied as she +rested on the oars a moment. “Don’t you remember—it’s +a house we passed just after we rented the boat.”</p> +<p>“So it is. My mind is only hitting on half its cylinders +today. Anyway, we’re out of the swamp. Let’s +pull up and ask for a drink of cool water.”</p> +<p>With a sigh of relief, Louise guided the skiff to a +sagging, make-shift dock close to the farmhouse.</p> +<p>Some distance back from the river, enclosed by a +broken fence, stood an unpainted, two-story frame +house.</p> +<p>Beyond the woodshed rose a barn, its roof shingles +badly curled. At the pump near the house, a middle-aged +woman in loose-fitting faded blue dress, vigorously +scrubbed a copper wash boiler.</p> +<p>She straightened quickly as the skiff grated against +the dock.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_11">[11]</div> +<p>“Howdy,” she greeted the girls at their approach. +Her tone lacked cordiality.</p> +<p>“Good afternoon,” said Penny. “May we have a +drink at the pump?”</p> +<p>“Help yourself.”</p> +<p>The woman jerked a gnarled hand toward a gourd +cup attached to the pump with a string. She studied +the girls intently, almost suspiciously.</p> +<p>Louise and Penny drank only a few sips, for the +water was warm and of unpleasant taste.</p> +<p>“You’uns be strangers hereabouts,” the woman observed.</p> +<p>“Yes, we come from Riverview,” Penny replied.</p> +<p>“You hain’t been in the swamp?”</p> +<p>“Why, yes,” answered Louise, eager to relate details +of their adventure. “We gathered flowers, and +then met a horrid man with red whiskers! He drove +us away from the island before I could get my dog.”</p> +<p>The woman gazed at the girls in an odd way.</p> +<p>“Sarved you’uns right to be driv off,” she said in a +grim voice. “The swamp’s no place fer young gals. +You might o’ been et by a beast or bit by a snake.”</p> +<p>“I don’t believe the man we saw was much worried +about that,” Penny said dryly. “I wonder who he +was?”</p> +<p>The farm woman shrugged and began to scour +the copper boiler again. After a moment she looked +up, fixing Penny with a stern and unfriendly eye.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_12">[12]</div> +<p>“Let me give you a pocketful o’ advice,” she said. +“Don’t fret that purty head o’ yourn about the swamp. +And don’t go pokin’ yer nose into what ain’t none o’ +your consarn. If I was you, I wouldn’t come back. +These here parts ain’t none too health fer strangers, +even young ’uns.”</p> +<p>“But I want my dog,” Louise insisted. “He’s lost +on the island.”</p> +<p>“Hain’t likely you’ll ever see that dawg agin. And +if you know what’s good ’n smart, you’uns won’t go +back there agin.”</p> +<p>Having delivered herself of this advice, the woman +turned her back and went on with her work. Made +increasingly aware of her hostility, Penny and Louise +said goodbye and returned to the skiff.</p> +<p>As they shoved off, they could see that the woman +was watching them.</p> +<p>“We’re certainly popular today,” Penny remarked +when the skiff had floated on toward Trapper Joe’s +rental dock. “My, was she a sour pickle!”</p> +<p>Ten minutes later, as the girls brought up at Trapper +Joe’s place, they saw the lean old swamper standing +near the dock, skinning a rabbit. His leathery, +weather-beaten face crinkled into smiles.</p> +<p>“Sure am glad yer back safe an sound,” he greeted +them cheerfully. “After I let you take the skiff I got +to worryin’ fer fear you’d go too fur and git lost. +’Pears like you had good sense after all.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_13">[13]</div> +<p>“The only thing we lost was my dog,” Louise declared, +stepping out on the dock. “Bones is gone for +good, I guess.”</p> +<p>She quickly told the old trapper what had happened +on the island. He listened attentively, making no +comment until she had finished.</p> +<p>“’Pears like you must have run afoul of Ezekiel +Hawkins,” he said then. “Leastwise, he’s the only +one hereabouts with a grizzly red beard.”</p> +<p>“Is he a crook or a fugitive from the law?” Penny +demanded.</p> +<p>“Not that nobody ever heard of. Ezekiel and his +two boys, Hod and Coon, tend purty much to their +own business. But they don’t go fer strangers hangin’ +around.”</p> +<p>“And do they own the island?”</p> +<p>“Not an inch of it—all that swamp’s government +land. Can’t figure why, if ’twas Ezekiel, he’d drive +you away from there. Unless—”</p> +<p>“Unless what?” Penny asked as the trapper fell +silent.</p> +<p>“Jest a’thinkin’. Well, I’ll keep an eye out fer the +dog and maybe have a talk with Ezekiel.”</p> +<p>Penny and Louise thanked the swamper and paid +him for use of the boat. Gathering up the flowers +they had picked, they started toward the road where +they had parked Penny’s coupe.</p> +<p>The trapper walked with them to the front gate.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_14">[14]</div> +<p>“By the way,” Penny remarked, “who is the woman +on the farm just above here?”</p> +<p>“At the edge of the swamp? That’s the Ezekiel +Hawkins’ place.”</p> +<p>“Not the farm of that bearded man we met today!”</p> +<p>“Reckon so.”</p> +<p>“We stopped there for a drink and talked to a tall, +dark-haired woman. She was rather short with us.”</p> +<p>“That would be Manthy, Ezekiel’s wife. She’s +sharp-tongued, Manthy is, and not too friendly. +Works hard slavin’ and cookin’ fer them two no-good +boys of hers.”</p> +<p>Penny and Louise asked no more questions, but +again saying goodbye to Trapper Joe, went on down +the dusty road.</p> +<p>Once they were beyond earshot, Penny observed: +“What a joke on us, Lou! There we were, complaining +to Mrs. Hawkins about her own husband! No +wonder she was short with us.”</p> +<p>“We had good reason to complain.”</p> +<p>“Yes we did,” Penny soberly agreed. “Of course, +we can’t be dead certain the bearded man was Ezekiel +Hawkins. But Manthy did act unpleasant about it.”</p> +<p>“If it weren’t for Bones, I’d never set foot near this +place again! Oh, I hope he finds his way home.”</p> +<p>The girls had reached Penny’s car, parked just off +the sideroad. A clock on the dashboard warned them +it was after five o’clock.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_15">[15]</div> +<p>“Jeepers!” Penny exclaimed, snapping on the ignition. +“I’ll have to step on it to get dressed in time for +the banquet! And I still have the tables to decorate!”</p> +<p>A fast drive over the bumpy sideroad brought the +girls to the main paved highway. Much later, as they +neared Riverview, Penny absently switched on the +shortwave radio.</p> +<p>A number of routine police calls came through. +Then the girls were startled to hear the dispatcher at +headquarters say:</p> +<p>“Attention all scout cars! Be on the alert for +escaped convict, Danny Deevers alias Spike Devons. +Five-feet nine, blue eyes, brown hair. Last seen in +state prison uniform. Believed heading for Riverview.”</p> +<p>“Danny Deevers!” Penny whispered, and quickly +turned the volume control. “I repeat,” boomed the +dispatcher’s voice. “Be on lookout for Danny Deevers, +a dangerous escaped criminal. Believed heading +this way.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_16">[16]</div> +<h2 id="c3"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">3</span> +<br /><i>UNFINISHED BUSINESS</i></h2> +<p>“Did you hear that?” Penny demanded of her chum +as the police dispatcher went off the air. “Danny +Deevers has escaped!”</p> +<p>The name rang no bell in Louise’s memory.</p> +<p>“And who is Danny Deevers?” she inquired. +“Anyone you know?”</p> +<p>“Not exactly. But Jerry Livingston has good reason +to remember him.”</p> +<p>“Jerry Livingston? That reporter you like so +well?”</p> +<p>A quick grin brought confession from Penny. +“Jerry is only one of my friends,” she said. “But it’s +a known fact he’s better looking and smarter than all +the other <i>Star</i> reporters put together.”</p> +<p>“It’s a fact known to <i>you</i>,” teased her chum. +“Well, what about this escaped convict, Danny +Deevers?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_17">[17]</div> +<p>Penny stopped for a red light. As it changed to +green she replied:</p> +<p>“Don’t you recall a series of stories Jerry wrote in +our paper nearly a year ago? They exposed shortages +which developed at the Third Federal Loan Bank. +Jerry dug up a lot of evidence, and the result was, +thefts were pinned on Danny Deevers. He was convicted +and sent to the penitentiary for twenty years.”</p> +<p>“Oh, yes, now I remember.”</p> +<p>“At the time of his conviction, Deevers threatened +if ever he went free, he would get even with Jerry.”</p> +<p>“And now he’s on the loose!”</p> +<p>“Not only that, but heading for Riverview, according +to the police.”</p> +<p>“You don’t think he’d dare try to carry out his +threat?”</p> +<p>Penny frowned and swerved to avoid hitting a cat +which scuttled across the highway.</p> +<p>“Who knows, Lou? The police evidently are hot +on Deevers’ trail, but if they don’t get him, he may +try to seek revenge. It’s odd he turns up today—and +those men talking in the swamp—”</p> +<p>Louise’s eyes opened wide. “Penny, you don’t +think Danny Deevers could have taken refuge in the +swamp!”</p> +<p>“It’s possible. Wouldn’t it be a good hideout?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_18">[18]</div> +<p>“Only for a very courageous person,” Louise shivered. +“At night, all sorts of wild animals must prowl +about. And one easily could be bitten by a poisonous +snake and could die before help came.”</p> +<p>“I’m not saying Danny Deevers was on the island +today, Lou. But it’s a thought. Maybe I’ll pass it on +to the police.”</p> +<p>Penny fell into thoughtful silence as she reflected +upon the strange snatch of conversation she had overheard +between the two men in the underbrush. Had +the bearded stranger really been Ezekiel Hawkins, and +if so, with whom had he talked? The chance that +the second man might have been Danny Deevers +seemed slim, but it was a possibility.</p> +<p>When the car finally reached Riverview, Penny +dropped Louise at the Sidell home and drove on to +her own residence.</p> +<p>As she entered her own house, Mrs. Weems, the +Parker family housekeeper, met the girl in the living +room archway.</p> +<p>“Oh, Penny, where have you been!” she exclaimed. +“Your father has telephoned twice. He’s waiting for +you now at the newspaper office.”</p> +<p>“Do telephone him I’m practically on my way,” +Penny pleaded. “I’ll grab a bath, dress, and be out of +here in two shakes.”</p> +<p>Midway up the stairs, the girl already had stripped +off her sports shirt.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_19">[19]</div> +<p>“I’ll call your father,” Mrs. Weems agreed, “but +please, after this, pay more heed to time. You know +how much the success of tonight’s newspaper convention +means to your father.”</p> +<p>Penny’s mumbled reply was blotted out by the slam +of the bathroom door. The shower began to run +full blast.</p> +<p>With a sigh, Mrs. Weems went to telephone Mr. +Parker at the <i>Riverview Star</i> office.</p> +<p>For several years now, the housekeeper had efficiently +supervised the motherless Parker home. She +loved Penny, an only child, as her own, but there were +times when she felt the girl was allowed too much +freedom by an indulgent father.</p> +<p>Penny’s active, alert mind was a never-ending source +of amazement to Mrs. Weems. She had not entirely +approved when Mr. Parker allowed the girl to spend +her summers working as a reporter on the newspaper +he owned.</p> +<p>Nevertheless, the housekeeper had been very proud +because Penny had proved her ability. Not only had +the girl written many fine stories which brought recognition, +but also she had demonstrated a true “nose +for news.”</p> +<p>One of Penny’s first lessons learned on the <i>Star</i> was +that a deadline must always be met. Knowing now +that she dared not be late, she hurriedly brushed her +hair and wriggled into a long, full-skirted evening +dress.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_20">[20]</div> +<p>Almost before Mrs. Weems had completed the telephone +call, she was downstairs again searching frantically +for a beaded bag and gloves.</p> +<p>“Here they are, on the table,” the housekeeper said. +“Your father said he would wait just fifteen minutes.”</p> +<p>“That’s all I need, if the lights are green,” Penny +flung over her shoulder, as she ran to the parked car. +“See you later, Mrs. Weems!”</p> +<p>Leaving an exhausted housekeeper behind, the girl +made a quick trip to the downtown newspaper office.</p> +<p>As she reached the building, newsboys were on the +streets crying the first edition, just off the press.</p> +<p>Upstairs, in the newsroom, reporters were relaxing +at their desks, taking a few minutes’ “breather” between +editions.</p> +<p>Swinging through the entrance gate, Penny created +a slight stir. At one of the desks under a neon light, +Jerry Livingston, pencil behind one ear and hair +slightly rumpled, tapped aimlessly at the keys of a +typewriter. His quick eye appreciatively took in the +long flowing skirt and the high heeled slippers.</p> +<p>“Well, if it isn’t our little glamor girl!” he teased. +“Cinderella ready for the ball!”</p> +<p>At another time, Penny would have paused to chat. +Now she flashed a quick smile and clicked on toward +the city desk.</p> +<p>Editor DeWitt, a quick-tempered, paunchy man of +middle-age stood talking to her father, who looked +more than ever distinguished in a new gray suit.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_21">[21]</div> +<p>“Here she comes now,” Mr. DeWitt said as Penny +approached. “Your daughter never missed a deadline +yet, Mr. Parker.”</p> +<p>“Perhaps not,” the publisher admitted, “but it always +gives me heart failure, figuring she will.”</p> +<p>“Dad, I’m sorry to have annoyed you,” Penny said +quickly before he could get in another word. “I was +out at the swamp with Louise.”</p> +<p>“The swamp!”</p> +<p>“Gathering flowers for the banquet table,” Penny +added hastily. “Oh, Dad, they’re simply beautiful—so +much nicer than any florist could have supplied.”</p> +<p>“I can imagine.” Mr. Parker smiled and looked at +the wall clock. “We’re due at the theater in ten minutes. +I’m chairman of the program, unfortunately.”</p> +<p>Penny gently broke the news. “Dad, I haven’t had +time to decorate the banquet table at the hotel. Will +you drive me there?”</p> +<p>“I can’t,” Mr. Parker said, slightly exasperated. +“I’m late now. Have one of the photographers take +you. By the way, where’s Salt Sommers?”</p> +<p>Hearing his name spoken, a young photographer +whose clothes looked as if he had slept in them, moved +out from behind a newspaper he had been reading.</p> +<p>“Coming right up, Chief,” he answered.</p> +<p>“Run my daughter over to the Hillcrest Hotel,” the +publisher instructed. “Make it your job to see that +she reaches the theater promptly.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_22">[22]</div> +<p>“I guess I can handle her,” Salt said, winking at +Penny.</p> +<p>“And now, where is Jerry?” the publisher asked. +“Has anyone seen him?”</p> +<p>“Relax, Dad,” said Penny. “He’s right here.”</p> +<p>“I am jumpy tonight,” Mr. Parker admitted, “but +I have a lot on my mind. That stunt we’ve planned +for the entertainment of our out-of-town men—is +everything set?”</p> +<p>“Sure,” DeWitt assured him. “There’ll be no hitch. +As the mayor winds up his address of welcome, the +stage electrician turns off the stage lights. Jerry, in +view of the audience, orders him to turn ’em on again. +He refuses an’ they argue over union rules. The fight +gets hotter until finally the workman pulls a revolver +and lets him have it full blast. Jerry falls, clutching +his chest. Our newsboys gallop down the aisles with +copies of the <i>Riverview Star</i> and screaming headlines +telling all about the big murder. Everyone gets a +swell laugh, figuring it’s pretty snappy coverage.”</p> +<p>“You certainly make it sound corny the way you +tell it,” Mr. Parker sighed. “Who thought up the idea +anyhow?”</p> +<p>“Why, you did, Chief,” grinned Salt. “Remember?”</p> +<p>“It was a poor idea. Maybe we ought to call it off.”</p> +<p>“After we got the extras all printed an’ everything?” +Mr. DeWitt asked, looking injured. “The +boys went to a lot of trouble.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_23">[23]</div> +<p>“All right, we’ll go ahead just as we planned, but I +hope there is no slip-up. How about the revolver?”</p> +<p>“Right here,” said Salt, whipping it from an inside +pocket. “Loaded with blanks.” He pointed it at a +neon light, pulled the trigger and a loud bang resulted.</p> +<p>Jerry Livingston sauntered over. “So that’s the +lethal weapon,” he observed. “Can I trust you guys +not to slip a real bullet in when I’m not looking?”</p> +<p>“I’ve got to go,” cut in Mr. Parker, looking again +at the clock. “The program starts as soon as I get to +the theater. Speeches should take about an hour. +Then the stunt. And don’t be late!”</p> +<p>“We’ll be there,” Salt promised. “Jerry, you riding +with Penny and me?”</p> +<p>“I’ll come later in my own car. Have a story to +write first.”</p> +<p>Going back to his typewriter, the reporter slipped +carbons and paper into the machine and began pecking +the keys.</p> +<p>At that moment a Western Union boy came +through the newsroom. Catching Penny’s eye, he +pushed a telegram toward her and asked her to sign.</p> +<p>She wrote her name automatically, before noticing +that the envelope bore Jerry’s name.</p> +<p>“For you,” she said, tossing it onto the roller of his +typewriter. “More fan mail.”</p> +<p>“It’s probably a threat to bring suit if I don’t pay +my dry cleaning bill,” Jerry chuckled.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_24">[24]</div> +<p>He glanced at the envelope briefly, then slit it up +the side. As he read the wire, his face became a study. +His jaw tightened. Then he relaxed and laughed.</p> +<p>“This is a threat all right,” he commented, “but +not from the dry cleaners!”</p> +<p>Jerry reread the telegram, snorted with disgust, and +then handed it to Penny.</p> +<p>In amazement she read: “ARRIVED IN TOWN +TODAY TO TAKE CARE OF A LITTLE UNFINISHED +BUSINESS. WILL BE SEEING +YOU.”</p> +<p>The telegram bore the signature, Danny Deevers.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_25">[25]</div> +<h2 id="c4"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">4</span> +<br /><i>A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT</i></h2> +<p>As word spread through the office that Jerry had +received a threat from the escaped convict, reporters +gathered to read the telegram and comment upon it.</p> +<p>“Great stuff!” exclaimed Editor DeWitt, thinking +in terms of headlines. “<i>Riverview Star</i> reporter +threatened by Danny Deevers! We’ll build it up—post +a reward for his capture—provide you with a bodyguard.”</p> +<p>“But I don’t want a bodyguard,” Jerry retorted. +“Build up the story if you want to, but skip the kindergarten +trimmings.”</p> +<p>“You ought to have a bodyguard,” DeWitt insisted +seriously. “Danny Deevers is nobody’s playboy. He +may mean business. Reporters are hard to get these +days. We can’t risk having you bumped off.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_26">[26]</div> +<p>“Oh, this telegram is pure bluff,” Jerry replied, +scrambling up the yellow sheet and hurling it into a +tall metal scrap can. “I’ll not be nursemaided by any +bodyguard, and that’s final!”</p> +<p>“Okay,” DeWitt gave in, “but if you get bumped +off, don’t come crying to me!”</p> +<p>Jerry took a long drink at the fountain and then +said thoughtfully: “You know, I have a hunch about +Danny.”</p> +<p>“Spill it,” invited DeWitt.</p> +<p>“He didn’t come back here to get even with me +for those articles I wrote—or at least it’s a secondary +purpose.”</p> +<p>“Then why did he head for Riverview?”</p> +<p>“I have an idea he may have come back to get +$50,000.”</p> +<p>“The money he stole from the Third Federal +Bank?”</p> +<p>“Sure. The money disappeared, and when Danny +took the rap, he refused to tell where he had hidden it. +I’ll bet the money is in a safe place somewhere in +Riverview.”</p> +<p>“You may be right at that,” DeWitt agreed. “Anyway, +it’s a good story. Better write a couple pages +before you go over to the theater—let that other +stuff go.”</p> +<p>Jerry nodded and with a quick glance at the clock, +sat down at his typewriter.</p> +<p>“Ready, Penny?” called Salt, picking up his camera +and heading for the door.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_27">[27]</div> +<p>“In a minute.”</p> +<p>Penny hesitated and then walked over to Jerry’s +desk.</p> +<p>“Jerry, you’ll be careful, won’t you?” she asked +anxiously.</p> +<p>“Oh, sure,” he agreed. “If I see Danny first, I’ll +start running.”</p> +<p>“Do be serious, Jerry! You know, there’s a chance +Danny may be hiding in the swamp.”</p> +<p>The carriage of Jerry’s typewriter stopped with a +jerk. He now gave Penny his full attention.</p> +<p>“What’s that about Danny being in the swamp?”</p> +<p>“I didn’t say he is for sure, but today when Louise +and I were out there, we heard a very strange conversation.”</p> +<p>Penny swiftly related everything that had occurred +on the tiny island near the swamp entrance. She also +described the bearded stranger who had ordered her +away.</p> +<p>“That couldn’t have been Danny,” Jerry decided. +“Not unless he’s disguised his appearance.”</p> +<p>“There was another man,” Penny reminded him. +“Louise and I never saw his face.”</p> +<p>“Well, the swamp angle is worth investigating,” the +reporter assured her. “Personally, I doubt Danny +would ever try living in the swamp—he’s a city, slum-bred +man—but I’ll tell the police about it.”</p> +<p>“Do be careful,” Penny urged again, turning away.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_28">[28]</div> +<p>Salt was waiting in the press car when she reached +the street. Quickly transferring the flowers from her +own automobile to his, she climbed in beside him.</p> +<p>“The Hillcrest?” he inquired, shifting gears.</p> +<p>“Yes, I’ll decorate the tables. Then we’ll drive to +the theater.”</p> +<p>With a complete disregard for speed laws, safety +stops, and red lights, Salt toured the ten blocks to the +hotel in record time. Pulling up at the entrance, he +said:</p> +<p>“While you’re in there, I’ll amble across the street. +Want to do a little inquiring at the Western Union +office.”</p> +<p>“About the telegram Danny Deevers sent Jerry?”</p> +<p>“Figured we might find from where it was sent.”</p> +<p>“I should have thought of that myself! Do see +what you can learn, Salt. It won’t take me long to fix +those tables.”</p> +<p>Penny disappeared into the hotel but was back in +fifteen minutes. A moment later, Salt sauntered +across the street from the Western Union office.</p> +<p>“Learn anything?” Penny asked.</p> +<p>“A little. The manager told me a boy picked up +the message from a rooming house on Clayton street. +That’s all they know about it.”</p> +<p>“Did you get the address?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_29">[29]</div> +<p>“Sure—1497 Clayton Street—an apartment building. +The clue may be a dud one though. Danny +wouldn’t likely be dumb enough to leave a wide open +trail.”</p> +<p>“All the same, oughtn’t we to check into it?”</p> +<p>“We?”</p> +<p>“Naturally I’m included,” grinned Penny. “By the +way, aren’t we near Clayton street now?”</p> +<p>“It’s only a couple of blocks away.”</p> +<p>“Then what’s delaying us?”</p> +<p>“My conscience for one thing,” Salt said, climbing +into the car beside Penny. “Your father’s expecting +us at the theater. I’m supposed to take pictures of the +visiting big-boys.”</p> +<p>“We’ll get there in time. This may be our only +chance to trace Danny.”</p> +<p>“You’re a glutton for adventure,” Salt said dubiously, +studying his wristwatch. “Me—I’m not so +sure.”</p> +<p>“Danny probably won’t be hiding out at the rooming +house,” Penny argued. “But someone may be +able to tell us where he went.”</p> +<p>“Okay,” the photographer agreed, jamming his foot +on the starter. “We got to make it snappy though.”</p> +<p>The dingy old brick apartment house at 1497 Clayton +Street stood jammed against other low-rent buildings +in the downtown business section.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_30">[30]</div> +<p>“You wait here,” Salt advised as he pulled up near +the dwelling. “If I don’t come back in ten minutes, +put in a call to the police. And arrange to give me +a decent burial!”</p> +<p>The photographer disappeared into the building.</p> +<p>He was back almost at once. “It was a dud,” he +said in disgust. “The telegram was sent from here all +right, but Danny’s skipped.”</p> +<p>“You talked to the building manager?”</p> +<p>Salt nodded. “A fellow that must have been Danny +rented a room last night, but he pulled out early this +morning.”</p> +<p>“Why, the telegram didn’t come until a few minutes +ago!”</p> +<p>“Danny took care of that by having the janitor send +it for him. He evidently escaped from the pen late +yesterday, but authorities didn’t give out the story +until today.”</p> +<p>Disappointed over their failure, Penny and Salt +drove on toward the theater in glum silence.</p> +<p>Suddenly at the intersection of Jefferson and Huron +Streets, a long black sedan driven by a woman, failed +to observe a stop sign. Barging into a line of traffic, +it spun unsteadily on two wheels and crashed into an +ancient car in which two men were riding.</p> +<p>“Just another dumb woman driver,” observed Salt. +He brought up at the curb and reached for his camera.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_31">[31]</div> +<p>“Nobody’s hurt so it’s hardly worth a picture. But +if I don’t grab it, DeWitt’ll be asking me why I +didn’t.”</p> +<p>Balancing the camera on the sill of the open car +window, he snapped the shutter just as the two men +climbed out of their ancient vehicle.</p> +<p>“Looks as if they’re going to put up a big squawk,” +Salt observed with interest. “What they beefin’ +about? That old wreck isn’t worth anything, and +anyhow, the lady only bashed in a couple of fenders.”</p> +<p>The driver of the black sedan took a quick glance +at the two men and said hastily:</p> +<p>“Please don’t call a policeman. I’ll gladly pay for +all the damage. I’m covered by insurance. Just give +me your names and where you live. Or, if you prefer, +I’ll go with you now to a garage where your car can +be repaired.”</p> +<p>The two men paid her no heed. In fact, they appeared +not to be listening. Instead, they were gazing +across the street at Salt and his camera.</p> +<p>“Button up your lip, lady!” said one of the men +rudely.</p> +<p>He was a heavy-set man, dressed in a new dark blue +serge suit. His face was coarse, slightly pale, and his +steel-blue eyes had a hard, calculating glint.</p> +<p>His companion, much younger, might have been a +country boy for he wore a lumber jacket, corduroy +pants, and heavy shoes caked with mud.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_32">[32]</div> +<p>The older man crossed the street to Salt’s car. He +glanced at the “press” placard in the windshield and +said curtly:</p> +<p>“Okay, buddy! I saw you take that picture! Hand +over the plate!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_33">[33]</div> +<h2 id="c5"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">5</span> +<br /><i>THE RED STAIN</i></h2> +<p>“Hand over the plate, buddy!” the motorist repeated +as Salt gave no hint that he had heard. “You’re +from a newspaper, and we don’t want our pictures +printed—see?”</p> +<p>“Sure, I see,” retorted Salt. “I’m not turning over +any pictures.”</p> +<p>The man took a wallet from his suit pocket. +“Here’s a five spot to make it worth your while.”</p> +<p>“No, thanks. Anyway, what’s your kick? Your +car didn’t cause the accident. You’re in the clear.”</p> +<p>“Maybe we’ll use the picture to collect damages,” +the man said. “Here, I’ll give you ten.”</p> +<p>“Nothing doing.”</p> +<p>To put an end to the argument, Salt drove on.</p> +<p>“Wonder who those birds were?” he speculated.</p> +<p>Penny craned her neck to look back through the +rear car window.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_34">[34]</div> +<p>“Salt!” she exclaimed. “That man who argued with +us is writing down our license plate number!”</p> +<p>“Let him!”</p> +<p>“He intends to find out who you are, Salt! He must +want that picture badly.”</p> +<p>“He’ll get it all right—on the front page of the <i>Star</i> +tomorrow! Maybe he’s a police character and doesn’t +want any publicity. He looked like a bad egg.”</p> +<p>“I wish we’d taken down <i>his</i> license number.”</p> +<p>“We’ve got it,” replied Salt. “It’ll show up in the +picture.”</p> +<p>Penny settled back in the seat, paying no more attention +to the traffic behind them. Neither she nor Salt +noticed that they were being followed by the car +with battered fenders.</p> +<p>At the theater, Salt parked in the alleyway.</p> +<p>“Go on in,” he told Penny, opening the car door +for her. “I want to collect some of my stuff and then +I’ll be along.”</p> +<p>At the stagedoor, Penny was stopped by Old Jim, +the doorman.</p> +<p>“You can’t go in here without a pass, Miss,” he said. +“There’s a newspaper convention on. My orders are +not to let anyone in without a pass.”</p> +<p>Penny flashed her press card.</p> +<p>“My mistake,” the doorman mumbled.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_35">[35]</div> +<p>Once inside, Penny wandered backstage in search +of her father or Jerry. The program had started, but +after listening a moment to a singer, she moved out of +range of his voice.</p> +<p>Now and then, from the audience of newspapermen +out front, came an occasional ripple of laughter or +clapping of hands as they applauded a speaker.</p> +<p>“Sounds pretty dull,” thought Penny. “Guess it’s +lucky Dad cooked up the shooting stunt. If everything +goes off right, it should liven things up a bit.”</p> +<p>Wandering on down a hall, she came to one of the +dressing rooms. Stacked against the outside wall were +hundreds of freshly printed newspapers ready for distribution.</p> +<p>Penny flipped one from the pile and read the headline: +“REPORTER SHOT IN ARGUMENT +WITH ELECTRICIAN!”</p> +<p>Beneath the banner followed a story of the staged +stunt to take place. So convincingly was it written, +Penny had to think twice to realize not a word was +true. Other columns of the paper contained regular +wire news stories and telephoto pictures. Much of +the front page also was given over to an account of +the convention itself.</p> +<p>“This will make a nice souvenir edition,” Penny +thought. “Wonder where Jerry is? The stunt will +be ruined if he doesn’t get here.”</p> +<p>Salt came down the corridor, loaded heavily with +his camera, a tripod, a reflector, and other photographic +equipment.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_36">[36]</div> +<p>“Jerry here yet?” he inquired.</p> +<p>“I haven’t seen him. It’s getting late too.”</p> +<p>“He’ll be here,” Salt said confidently. “Wonder +where I’d better leave this revolver?”</p> +<p>Setting the photographic equipment on the floor, he +took the revolver from his coat pocket, offering it to +Penny.</p> +<p>“Don’t give it to me,” she protested.</p> +<p>“Put it in the dressing room,” he advised. “I can’t +keep it, because I’ve got to go out front and shoot +some pictures.”</p> +<p>“Is the revolver loaded?” Penny asked, taking it unwillingly.</p> +<p>“Sure, with blanks. It’s ready for the stunt.”</p> +<p>Penny carried the weapon into the dressing room +and deposited it on one of the tables. When she returned +to the corridor, Salt had gathered up his equipment +and was starting away.</p> +<p>However, before he could leave, an outside door +slammed. Jim, the doorman, burst in upon them.</p> +<p>“Young feller, is that your car parked in the alley?”</p> +<p>“Yeah!” exclaimed Salt, startled. “Don’t tell me +the cops are handing me a ticket!”</p> +<p>“Some feller’s out there, riflin’ through your +things!”</p> +<p>Salt dropped his camera and equipment, racing for +the door. Penny was close behind.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_37">[37]</div> +<p>Reaching the alley, they were just in time to see a +man in a dark suit ducking around the corner of the +building.</p> +<p>“Hey, you!” shouted Salt angrily.</p> +<p>The man turned slightly and vanished from view.</p> +<p>“Wasn’t that the same fellow who was in the auto +accident?” Penny demanded.</p> +<p>“Looked like him! Wonder if he got away with +anything?”</p> +<p>“Didn’t you lock the car, Salt?”</p> +<p>“Only the rear trunk compartment. Should have +done it but I was in a hurry.”</p> +<p>“Shall I call the police, Salt?”</p> +<p>“Why bother? That bird’s gone now. Let’s see if +he stole anything first.”</p> +<p>Salt muttered in disgust as he saw the interior of the +car. A box of photographic equipment had been +scattered over the back seat. The door of the glove +compartment was open, its contents also helter-skelter.</p> +<p>“Anything missing?” Penny asked.</p> +<p>“Not that I can tell. Yes, there is! Some of the +photographic plates!”</p> +<p>“Oh, Salt, I was afraid of it! The thief must have +been one of those two men who were in the auto accident! +You wouldn’t sell them the picture they +wanted so they followed you here and stole it!”</p> +<p>“They may have tried,” the photographer corrected.</p> +<p>“You mean you still have it?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_38">[38]</div> +<p>“The plates that are missing are old ones, extras I +exposed at a society tea and never bothered to develop.”</p> +<p>“Then you have the one of the auto accident?”</p> +<p>“Right here in my pocket.”</p> +<p>“Oh, Salt, how brilliant of you!” Penny laughed.</p> +<p>“It wasn’t brilliancy on my part—just habit,” Salt +returned. “I wonder why that bird set such great +store by the picture? Maybe for some reason he’s +afraid to have it come out in the paper.”</p> +<p>“I can hardly wait to see it developed!”</p> +<p>As Penny and the photographer walked back to the +theater entrance, a taxi skidded to a stop at the curb. +Jerry alighted.</p> +<p>“Anything wrong?” he inquired, staring curiously +at the pair.</p> +<p>Salt told him what had happened.</p> +<p>“Maybe you’ve got dynamite packed in that plate,” +Jerry commented when he had heard the story. “Better +shoot it to the office and have it developed.”</p> +<p>“I’m tied up here for half an hour at least.”</p> +<p>“Send it back by the cab driver. He can deliver it +to DeWitt.”</p> +<p>“Good idea,” agreed Salt.</p> +<p>He scribbled a note to accompany the plate and gave +it to the cab driver, together with the holder.</p> +<p>“Take good care of this,” he warned. “Don’t turn +it over to any one except the city editor.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_39">[39]</div> +<p>After the cab had driven away, Salt, Jerry, and +Penny re-entered the theater. Mr. Parker had come +backstage and was talking earnestly to the doorman. +Glimpsing the three, he exclaimed:</p> +<p>“There you are! And just in time too! The stunt +goes on in five minutes.”</p> +<p>“Are the newsboys here?” Jerry asked. “And +Johnny Bates, the electrician?”</p> +<p>“The boys are out front. Johnny’s waiting in the +stage wings. Where’s the revolver, Salt?”</p> +<p>“I’ll get it,” Penny volunteered, starting for the +dressing room.</p> +<p>The revolver lay where she had left it. As she +reached for the weapon, she suddenly sniffed the air. +Plainly she could smell strong cigarette smoke.</p> +<p>Penny glanced swiftly about the room. No one +was there and she had seen no one enter in the last few +minutes.</p> +<p>“Someone must have been here,” she thought. “Perhaps +it was Old Jim, but he smokes a pipe.”</p> +<p>“Penny!” her father called impatiently from outside. +“We haven’t much time.”</p> +<p>Picking up the revolver, she hurriedly joined him.</p> +<p>“Dad, why not call the stunt off?” she began. +“Something might go wrong—”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_40">[40]</div> +<p>“We can’t call it off now,” her father cut in impatiently. +Taking the revolver from her hand he gave +it to Jerry. “Do your stuff, my boy, and don’t be +afraid to put plenty of heat into the argument. Remember +your cue?”</p> +<p>“I’m to start talking just as soon as the Mayor finishes +his speech.”</p> +<p>“He’s winding it up now. So get up there fast.”</p> +<p>As Jerry started up the stairway, Penny trailed him.</p> +<p>“Someone must have been in the dressing room after +I left the revolver there,” she revealed nervously. “Be +sure to check it before you turn it over to Mr. Bates.”</p> +<p>The reporter nodded, scarcely hearing her words. +His ears were tuned to the Mayor’s closing lines. A +ripple of applause from the audience told him the +speech already had ended.</p> +<p>Taking the last few steps in a leap, Jerry reached +the wings where John Bates was waiting. He gave +him the revolver and at once plunged into his lines. +So convincingly did he argue about the stage lights +that Penny found herself almost believing the disagreement +was genuine.</p> +<p>The argument waxed warmer, and the actors moved +out on the stage in full view of the audience.</p> +<p>“Jerry’s good,” remarked Salt, who had joined +Penny. “Didn’t know he had that much ham in him!”</p> +<p>The quarrel now had reached its climax. As if in +a sudden fit of rage, the electrician raised the revolver +and pointed it at Jerry.</p> +<p>“Take that—and that—and that!” he shouted, thrice +pulling the trigger.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_41">[41]</div> +<p>Jerry staggered back, clutching in the region of his +heart. Slowly, his face contorted, he crumpled to the +floor.</p> +<p>Scarcely had he collapsed, than newsboys armed +with their papers, began to rush through the aisles of +the theater.</p> +<p>“Read all about it!” they shouted. “Reporter Shot +in Argument! Extra! Extra!”</p> +<p>The newspapermen chuckled at the joke as they +accepted the free papers.</p> +<p>On the stage, Jerry still lay where he had fallen. +The electrician, his part ended, had disappeared to +attend to regular duties.</p> +<p>“Come on, Jerry!” Salt called to him. “What are +you waiting for? More applause? Break it up!”</p> +<p>The reporter did not stir. But on the floor beside +him, a small red stain began to spread in a widening +circle.</p> +<p>Penny and Salt saw it at the same instant and were +frozen with horror.</p> +<p>“Ring down the curtain!” the photographer cried +hoarsely. “Jerry’s really been shot!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_42">[42]</div> +<h2 id="c6"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">6</span> +<br /><i>AMBULANCE CALL</i></h2> +<p>Penny ran across the stage to kneel beside Jerry, +who lay limp on the floor. In horror, she saw that +the red stain covered a jagged area on his shirt front.</p> +<p>“Oh, Jerry!” she cried frantically. “Speak to me!”</p> +<p>The reporter groaned loudly and stirred.</p> +<p>“Hold me in your arms,” he whispered. “Let my +last hours on this earth be happy ones.”</p> +<p>Penny’s hands dropped suddenly to her sides. She +straightened up indignantly.</p> +<p>“You faker!” she accused. “I should think you’d be +ashamed to frighten us so! That’s not blood on your +shirt! It’s red ink!”</p> +<p>Jerry sat up, chuckling. “Ruined a good shirt too!”</p> +<p>“You shouldn’t have done it,” Penny said, still provoked.</p> +<p>“I wanted to put a little drama into the act. Also, +I was curious to see how you would react.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_43">[43]</div> +<p>Penny tossed her head, starting away. “You needn’t +be so smug about it, Jerry Livingston! And don’t +flatter yourself I was concerned about you! I was +thinking what a scandal it would mean for Dad and +the paper!”</p> +<p>“Oh, sure,” Jerry agreed, pursuing her backstage +and down a corridor. “Listen, Penny, it was only a +joke—”</p> +<p>“Not a very funny one!”</p> +<p>“Penny, I’m sorry—I really am. I didn’t realize +anyone would get so worked up about it.”</p> +<p>“I’m not worked up!” Penny denied, spinning on a +heel to face him. “It just gave me a little shock, that’s +all. First, that threat from Danny Deevers. Then +when I saw you flattened out, for a minute I thought +someone had substituted a real bullet in the revolver +and that you had been shot.”</p> +<p>“It was a rummy joke—I realize that now. Forgive +me, will you, Penny?”</p> +<p>“I suppose so. Just don’t try anything like it again.”</p> +<p>“I won’t,” Jerry promised. “Now that my part is +finished here, suppose we go somewhere for a bite +to eat?”</p> +<p>“With that blotch of red ink on your shirt front?”</p> +<p>“Oh, I’ll change it. I brought an extra shirt along. +Wait here and I’ll be right with you.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_44">[44]</div> +<p>Jerry stepped into the dressing room to make the +change. Penny, while waiting, wandered back to the +stage wings to talk to Salt. However, the photographer +had gone out front and was busily engaged taking +pictures of visiting celebrities.</p> +<p>After a few minutes, Penny went downstairs again. +Jerry was nowhere to be seen.</p> +<p>The door of the dressing room stood slightly ajar. +Penny tapped lightly on it, calling: “Get a move on, +Jerry! You’re slower than a snail!”</p> +<p>No answer came from inside.</p> +<p>Penny paced up and down the corridor and returned +to listen at the door. She could hear no sound +inside the room.</p> +<p>“Jerry, are you there?” she called again. “If you +are, answer!”</p> +<p>Still there was no reply.</p> +<p>“Now where did he go?” Penny thought impatiently.</p> +<p>She hesitated a moment, then pushed open the door. +Jerry’s stained shirt lay on the floor where he had +dropped it.</p> +<p>The reporter no longer was in the dressing room. +Or so Penny thought at first glance.</p> +<p>But as her gaze roved slowly about, she was startled +to see a pair of shoes protruding from a hinged decorative +screen which stood in one corner of the room.</p> +<p>Jerry, very definitely was attached to the shoes. +Stretched out on the floor again, his face remained +hidden from view.</p> +<p>Penny resisted an impulse to run to his side.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_45">[45]</div> +<p>“Jerry Livingston!” she exclaimed. “You’ve carried +your stupid joke entirely too far! Our date is off!”</p> +<p>Turning her back, she started away. But in the +doorway, something held her. She glanced back.</p> +<p>Jerry had not moved.</p> +<p>“Jerry, get up!” she commanded. “Please!”</p> +<p>The reporter made not the slightest response. +Penny told herself that Jerry was only trying to +plague her, yet she could not leave without being +absolutely certain.</p> +<p>Though annoyed at herself for such weakness, she +walked across the room to jerk aside the decorative +screen.</p> +<p>Jerry lay flat on his back, eyelids closed. A slight +gash was visible on the side of his head where the skin +was bruised.</p> +<p>One glance convinced Penny that the reporter was +not shamming this time. Obviously, he had been +knocked unconscious, perhaps by a fall.</p> +<p>“Jerry!” she cried, seizing his hand which was cold +to the touch.</p> +<p>Badly frightened, Penny darted to the door and +called loudly for help.</p> +<p>Without waiting to learn if anyone had heard her +cry, she rushed back to Jerry. On the dressing table +nearby stood a pitcher of water and a glass.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_46">[46]</div> +<p>Wetting a handkerchief, Penny pressed it to the +reporter’s forehead. It seemed to produce no effect. +In desperation, she then poured half a glass of water +over his face.</p> +<p>To her great relief, Jerry sputtered and his eyelids +fluttered open.</p> +<p>“For crying out loud!” he muttered. “What you +trying to do? Drown me?”</p> +<p>Raising a hand to his head, the reporter gingerly +felt of a big bump which had risen there. He pulled +himself to a sitting position.</p> +<p>“What happened, Jerry?” Penny asked after giving +him a few minutes to recover his senses. “Did you +trip and fall?”</p> +<p>The question seemed to revive Jerry completely. +Without answering, he got to his feet, and walked unsteadily +to the window overlooking the alley.</p> +<p>Penny then noticed for the first time that it was +open. She also became aware of a heavy scent of +tobacco smoke in the room—the same cigarette odor +she had noticed earlier. Now however, it was much +stronger.</p> +<p>Jerry peered out the window. “He’s gone!” he +mumbled.</p> +<p>“Who, Jerry? Tell me what happened.”</p> +<p>“Things aren’t too clear in my mind,” the reporter +admitted, sinking into a chair. “Wow! My head!”</p> +<p>“Did someone attack you?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_47">[47]</div> +<p>“With a blackjack. I came in here and changed my +shirt. Had a queer feeling all the while, as if someone +were in the room.”</p> +<p>“Were you smoking a cigarette, Jerry?”</p> +<p>“Why, no.”</p> +<p>“Did you notice smoke in the room? The odor still +is here.”</p> +<p>Jerry sniffed the air. “Neco’s,” he decided. +“They’re one of the strongest cigarettes on the market +and not easy to get. Now that you mention it, the +odor was in the room when I came in! But I didn’t +think about it at the time.”</p> +<p>“Then whoever struck you must have been in here +waiting!”</p> +<p>“Sure. Whoever it was, came in the window. He +was hidden behind that screen. As I started to leave, +he reared up and let me have it from behind! That’s +all I remember.”</p> +<p>“Then you didn’t see him?”</p> +<p>“No, it happened too fast.”</p> +<p>“Jerry, it may have been Danny Deevers!”</p> +<p>“Maybe so,” the reporter agreed. “But I always +figured if he caught up with me, he wouldn’t fool +around with any rabbit punches.”</p> +<p>“He may have been frightened away, hearing me in +the hall,” Penny said. “Jerry, do you have other enemies +besides Danny?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_48">[48]</div> +<p>“Dozens of them probably. Every reporter has. +But I don’t know of anyone who hates me enough to +try to lay me out.”</p> +<p>The dressing room door now swung open to admit +Mr. Parker and several other newspapermen.</p> +<p>“Penny, did you call for help?” her father demanded. +“What’s wrong?”</p> +<p>“Jerry was slugged,” Penny answered, and told +what had happened.</p> +<p>“How do you feel, Jerry?” the publisher inquired. +“That’s a nasty looking bump on your head.”</p> +<p>“I’m fit as a fiddle and ready for a dinner date,” +Jerry announced brightly, winking at Penny. “How +about it?”</p> +<p>“Well, I don’t know,” she replied. “Are you sure +you feel up to it?”</p> +<p>“I’m fine.” To prove his words, Jerry got to his +feet. He started across the room, weaving unsteadily.</p> +<p>Had not Mr. Parker and another man seized him by +the arms, he would have slumped to the floor.</p> +<p>“Jerry, you’re in no shape for anything except a +hospital checkup,” the publisher said firmly. “That’s +where you’re going!”</p> +<p>“Oh, Chief, have a heart!”</p> +<p>Mr. Parker turned a deaf ear upon the appeal.</p> +<p>“For all we know, you may have a fractured skull,” +he said, helping to ease the reporter into a chair. +“We’ll have you X-rayed.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_49">[49]</div> +<p>“I don’t want to be X-rayed,” Jerry protested. “I’m +okay.”</p> +<p>“Besides, with Danny Deevers still at large, a hospital +is a nice safe place,” Mr. Parker continued, thinking +aloud. “Perhaps we can arrange for you to stay +there a week.”</p> +<p>“A week! Chief, I’m not going!”</p> +<p>“No arguments,” said Mr. Parker. “You’re the +same as in Riverview Hospital now. Penny, telephone +for an ambulance.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_50">[50]</div> +<h2 id="c7"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">7</span> +<br /><i>AN EMPTY BED</i></h2> +<p>At Riverview hospital twenty minutes later, +Jerry was given a complete physical check-up.</p> +<p>“The X-rays won’t be developed for another half +hour,” an interne told him, “but you seem to be all +right.”</p> +<p>“I not only seem to be, I am,” the reporter retorted. +“Told you that when I came here! But would anyone +listen to me?”</p> +<p>“Twenty-four hours rest will fix you right up. +We have a nice private room waiting for you on the +third floor. Bath and everything.”</p> +<p>“Now listen!” exclaimed Jerry. “You said yourself +I’m all right. I’m walking out of here now!”</p> +<p>“Sorry. Orders are you’re in for twenty-four hours +observation.”</p> +<p>“Whose orders?”</p> +<p>“Dr. Bradley. He had a little talk with the publisher +of your paper—”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_51">[51]</div> +<p>“Oh, I get it! A conspiracy! They’re keeping me +here to keep me from checking up on Danny Deevers!”</p> +<p>“What’s that?” the interne inquired curiously.</p> +<p>“Never mind,” returned Jerry, closing up like a +clam. “I’ll slip you a fiver to get me out of here.”</p> +<p>“Sorry. No can do.”</p> +<p>The interne went to the door, motioning for two +other internes who came in with a stretcher.</p> +<p>“Hop aboard,” he told Jerry. “Better come peaceably.”</p> +<p>Jerry considered resistance. Deciding it was useless, +he rolled onto the stretcher and was transported via +the elevator to the third floor. There he was deposited +none too ceremoniously in a high bed.</p> +<p>“Just to make sure you stay here, I’m taking your +clothes,” said the interne. “Now just relax and take it +easy.”</p> +<p>“Relax!”</p> +<p>“Sure, what you got to kick about? Your bills are +all being paid. You get twenty-four hours rest, a good +looking nurse, and a radio. Also three meals thrown +in.”</p> +<p>Jerry settled back into the pillow. “Maybe you’ve +got something after all,” he agreed.</p> +<p>“That’s the attitude, boy. Well, I’ll be seeing you.”</p> +<p>Satisfied that Jerry would make no more trouble, he +took his clothes and went outside.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_52">[52]</div> +<p>Penny and Salt, who had been waiting in the reception +room below, stepped from the elevator at that moment.</p> +<p>“How is Jerry?” Penny inquired anxiously as she +stopped the interne in the corridor.</p> +<p>“He’s all right. Go on in if you want to talk to +him.”</p> +<p>“Which room?”</p> +<p>“Wait until I put these clothes away and I’ll show +you.”</p> +<p>The interne hung Jerry’s suit in a locker at the end +of the corridor and then returned to escort Penny and +Salt to Room 318.</p> +<p>Jerry, a picture of gloom, brightened as his friends +entered.</p> +<p>“I’m sure glad you came!” he greeted them. “I +want you to help me get out of here.”</p> +<p>“Not a chance,” said Salt, seating himself on the +window ledge. “This is just the place for you—nice +and quiet and safe.”</p> +<p>Jerry snorted with disgust.</p> +<p>“Dad and Mr. DeWitt both think Danny Deevers +means business,” Penny added. “The paper is offering +$10,000 reward for his capture.”</p> +<p>“Ten thousand smackers! I could use that money +myself. And I have a hunch about Danny—”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_53">[53]</div> +<p>“Forget it,” Salt advised. “This is a case for the police. +Just lie down like a nice doggy and behave yourself. +We’ll keep you informed on the latest news.”</p> +<p>“That reminds me,” added Penny. “After the ambulance +took you away, Dad had the theater searched +and the alley. No clues.”</p> +<p>Jerry lay still for several minutes, his eyes focused +thoughtfully on the ceiling. “If it’s the verdict that I +stay here, I suppose I may as well give up and take my +medicine.”</p> +<p>“Now you’re showing sense,” approved Salt. +“Penny and I have an idea that may help trace Deevers. +We’ll tell you about it later.”</p> +<p>“Sure,” retorted Jerry ironically, “spare me the +shock now. By the way, did you meet an interne in +the hall? He was carrying off my clothes.”</p> +<p>“Yes, he brought us here,” Penny nodded.</p> +<p>“You didn’t happen to notice where he hid my +clothes?”</p> +<p>“They’re safe, Jerry,” Penny assured him. “In a +locker at the end of the hall.”</p> +<p>The information seemed to satisfy Jerry. Wrapping +himself like a cocoon in a blanket, he burrowed +down and closed his eyes.</p> +<p>“I want to catch forty winks now,” he said. “If you +folks have a big idea that will lead to Danny’s capture, +don’t let me detain you.”</p> +<p>“Jerry, don’t be cross with us,” Penny pleaded. +“We know how you feel, but honestly, you’ll be so +much safer here.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_54">[54]</div> +<p>Jerry pretended not to hear.</p> +<p>After a moment, Salt and Penny quietly left the +room.</p> +<p>“He’s taking it hard,” the photographer commented +as they sped in the press car toward the <i>Riverview +Star</i> building. “In a way, you can’t blame him. Jerry’s +not the type to be shut up in a nice safe place.”</p> +<p>“Dad wants to keep him in the hospital until Danny +Deevers is captured, but it will be hard to do it.”</p> +<p>Salt, driving with one hand, looked at his watch.</p> +<p>“It’s after nine o’clock,” he announced. “Penny, +you’ve missed the dinner at the Hillcrest.”</p> +<p>“I don’t mind. So much has happened today, I’ve +had no time to be hungry.”</p> +<p>“Want me to drop you off there now?”</p> +<p>“No, the banquet will be nearly over. I couldn’t +bear to listen to speeches. Let’s go straight to the office +and find out what that traffic accident picture +shows.”</p> +<p>“Suits me, only I’m hungry.” On impulse, Salt +pulled up in front of a hamburger shop offering curb +service. “Let’s grab a bite before we really go to work +to crack this case.”</p> +<p>He tooted the horn and a uniformed girl came hurrying +to take his order.</p> +<p>Fortified by sandwiches, coffee, and ice cream, the +pair then drove on to the <i>Riverview Star</i> office.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_55">[55]</div> +<p>Avoiding the busy newsroom, Salt and Penny went +up the back stairs to the photographic studio. Bill +Jones, a studio helper, was busy at the wire photo machine.</p> +<p>“Has that picture of the traffic accident I sent over +come up yet?” Salt asked him.</p> +<p>“On the desk,” the boy answered. “Not too sharp.”</p> +<p>Salt picked up a dozen pictures which had been +printed on glossy paper and rapidly ran through them +until he found the one he sought.</p> +<p>Eagerly Penny peered over his shoulder. The two +cars involved in the accident were plainly shown, the +license numbers of both visible. In the ancient vehicle, +the younger man had lowered his head so that +his face was completely hidden. The camera had +caught a profile view of the older man, also not clear.</p> +<p>“Lousy picture,” said Salt contemptuously.</p> +<p>“It shows the license number of the car. Can’t we +trace the driver that way?”</p> +<p>“The Motor Vehicle Department is closed now. +But I know a fellow who works there. Maybe he’ll do +us a favor and go back to the office tonight and look +up the information.”</p> +<p>Salt made the telephone call, and after ten minutes +of argument, convinced his friend that the requested +information was a matter of life and death.</p> +<p>“He’ll do it,” the photographer said, hanging up the +receiver. “Soon’s he gets the information, he’ll telephone +us here.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_56">[56]</div> +<p>Penny had been studying the photograph again. +She now was ready with a second suggestion. “Even +if the faces aren’t very clear, let’s compare them with +pictures of Danny Deevers in the morgue.”</p> +<p>“Good idea,” agreed Salt.</p> +<p>The newspaper morgue or library where photographs, +cuts and newspaper clippings were carefully +filed for reference, was just a few steps down the hall. +Miss Adams, the librarian, had gone to lunch, so Salt +obtained a key and they searched for their own information.</p> +<p>“Here’s an envelope marked Danny Deevers!” +Penny cried, pulling it from one of the long filing +drawers. “All sorts of pictures of him too!”</p> +<p>Critically, the pair studied the photographs.</p> +<p>The escaped convict was a middle-aged, sullen looking +man with hard, expressionless eyes. In one of the +pictures, parted lips revealed a set of ugly, uneven +teeth.</p> +<p>“This shot I took is so blurred, it’s hard to tell if +they’re the same person or not,” Salt complained. +“But it looks like Danny.”</p> +<p>“If it is, that would explain why he tried to make +you give up the plate.”</p> +<p>“Sure, he knew the car license number would be a +tip-off to the police. But maybe the bird isn’t Danny.”</p> +<p>“I wish we were certain. Salt, couldn’t Jerry identify +him from the picture you took?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_57">[57]</div> +<p>“Maybe. Jerry saw Deevers several times before he +was put away in the pen.”</p> +<p>“Then why not take the picture to the hospital +now?”</p> +<p>“Okay,” agreed Salt. “Let’s go.”</p> +<p>Fifteen minutes later, at the hospital, they sought unsuccessfully +to pass a receptionist who sat at a desk in +the lobby.</p> +<p>“Sorry, visiting hours are over,” she explained.</p> +<p>“We’re from the <i>Star</i>,” Salt insisted. “We have to +see Jerry Livingston on an important business matter.”</p> +<p>“That’s different,” the receptionist replied. “You +may go up to his room, but please make the call brief.”</p> +<p>An automatic elevator carried the pair to the third +floor. Jerry’s door near the end of the corridor stood +slightly ajar. Salt tapped lightly on it, and hearing no +answer, pushed it farther open.</p> +<p>“Well, what d’you know!” he exclaimed.</p> +<p>Penny, startled by his tone of voice, peered over his +shoulder.</p> +<p>The room was deserted. Jerry’s bed, unmade, stood +empty.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_58">[58]</div> +<h2 id="c8"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">8</span> +<br /><i>IN SEARCH OF JERRY</i></h2> +<p>“Now what could have become of Jerry?” +Penny murmured as she and Salt gazed about the deserted +room in amazement. “Surely we’ve made no +mistake.”</p> +<p>“He was assigned this room all right,” the photographer +declared. “But maybe they changed it later.”</p> +<p>“That’s it,” agreed Penny in relief. “For a minute +it gave me a shock seeing that empty bed. I thought +perhaps he had taken a bad turn and been removed for +emergency treatment.”</p> +<p>The pair sought Miss Brent, a floor supervisor.</p> +<p>“Why, the patient in Room 318 hasn’t been changed +elsewhere,” she replied. “At least, not to my knowledge. +I’ve been off the floor for the last half hour.”</p> +<p>Inspecting Room 318 to satisfy herself that the bed +was empty, Miss Brent questioned several nurses and +an interne. No one seemed to know what had become +of the patient. There was a whispered conference and +then Miss Brent made a call to the superintendent.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_59">[59]</div> +<p>“Something has happened to Jerry!” Penny told +Salt tensely. “He may have been abducted!”</p> +<p>A nurse came flying up the hall from the locker +room.</p> +<p>“Mr. Livingston’s clothes are gone!” she reported.</p> +<p>Light began to dawn on Penny. She recalled the +seemingly innocent question Jerry had asked earlier +that night as to the location of the clothes locker.</p> +<p>“He’s probably walked out of the hospital!” she exclaimed.</p> +<p>“Impossible!” snapped Miss Brent, though her voice +lacked conviction. “Nurses have been on duty here +all the time. Mr. Livingston couldn’t have obtained +his clothes without being observed.”</p> +<p>“The floor was deserted for about ten minutes,” an +interne recalled. “An emergency case came in and everyone +was tied up.”</p> +<p>Penny re-entered Jerry’s room. The window remained +closed and it was a straight drop of three stories +to the yard below. She was satisfied the reporter had +not taken that escape route.</p> +<p>A sheet of paper, propped against the mirror of the +dresser attracted her eye. As she unfolded it, she saw +at once that the handwriting was Jerry’s.</p> +<p>“I’m too healthy a pup to stay in bed,” he had +scrawled. “Sorry, but I’m walking out.”</p> +<p>Penny handed the note to Miss Brent who could not +hide her annoyance as she read it.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_60">[60]</div> +<p>“Nothing like this ever happened before!” she exclaimed. +“How could the young man have left this +floor and the building without being seen? He’s in no +condition to be wandering about the streets.”</p> +<p>“Then Jerry really did need hospitalization?” inquired +Penny.</p> +<p>“Certainly. He suffered shock and the doctor was +afraid of brain injury. The patient should have been +kept under observation for at least twenty-four hours. +Wandering off this way is a very bad sign.”</p> +<p>“We’ll get him back here pronto!” Salt promised. +“He can’t have gone far.”</p> +<p>In the lobby he and Penny paused to ask the receptionist +if she had observed anyone answering Jerry’s +description leave the building.</p> +<p>“Why, no,” she replied, only to correct herself. +“Wait! A young man in a gray suit left here about +twenty minutes ago. I didn’t really notice his face.”</p> +<p>“That must have been Jerry!” cried Penny. +“Which way did he go?”</p> +<p>“I’m sorry, I haven’t the slightest idea.”</p> +<p>“Jerry may have gone to his room,” Penny said +hopefully. “Let’s call his hotel.”</p> +<p>Using a lobby telephone, they dialed the St. Agnes +Hotel Apartments where the reporter lived. The desk +clerk reported that Jerry had not been seen that night.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_61">[61]</div> +<p>“Oh, where could he have gone?” Penny said as she +and Salt left the hospital. “He may be wandering the +streets in a dazed condition. Shouldn’t we ask police +to try to find him?”</p> +<p>“Guess it’s all we can do,” the photographer agreed. +“Jerry sure will be sore at us though.”</p> +<p>A taxi cab pulled up near the hospital steps.</p> +<p>“Taxi?” the driver inquired.</p> +<p>Salt shook his head. “We don’t know where we +want to go yet. We’re looking for a friend of ours +who left the hospital about twenty minutes ago.”</p> +<p>“A girl?”</p> +<p>“No, a man in a gray suit,” Penny supplied. “He +probably wasn’t wearing a hat.”</p> +<p>“Say, he musta been the one that asked me about the +fare to the swamp!”</p> +<p>At the pair’s look of intense interest, the cab driver +added: “I was waitin’ here for a fare when some ladies +came out of the hospital. I pulled up and took ’em +aboard. Just then this young feller comes out.</p> +<p>“He didn’t seem to notice I had my cab filled, and +says: ‘How much to take me to Caleb Corners?’”</p> +<p>“Caleb Corners?” Penny repeated, having never +heard of the place.</p> +<p>“That’s a long ways out, almost to the swamp. I +says to him, ‘Sorry, buddy, but I got a fare. If you +can wait a few minutes I’ll be right back and pick +you up.’”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_62">[62]</div> +<p>“What did Jerry say?” Salt asked.</p> +<p>“He said he wanted to get started right away. +Reckon he picked up another cab.”</p> +<p>Thanking the driver for the information, Penny and +Salt retreated a few steps for a consultation.</p> +<p>“If Jerry started for the swamp at this time of night +he must be wacky!” the photographer declared. +“That knock on the head must have cracked him up +and he doesn’t know what he’s doing!”</p> +<p>“Why would he start for the swamp? Maybe he +remembers what I told him about seeing a stranger +there today, and in his confusion, has an idea he’ll find +Danny Deevers!”</p> +<p>“Jerry can’t have had much of a start, and we know +he headed for Caleb Corners! I’ll go after him.”</p> +<p>“We’ll both go,” Penny said quickly. “Come on, +let’s get the car.”</p> +<p>Before they could leave the hospital steps, the receptionist +came hurrying outside.</p> +<p>“Oh, I’m glad you’re still here!” she said breathlessly, +looking at the photographer. “Aren’t you Mr. +Sommers?”</p> +<p>“That’s me,” agreed Salt.</p> +<p>“A telephone call for you.”</p> +<p>“Say, maybe it’s Jerry! Wait here, Penny. I’ll be +right back.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_63">[63]</div> +<p>Salt was gone perhaps ten minutes. When he returned, +his grim expression instantly informed Penny +that the call had not been from Jerry.</p> +<p>“It was from my friend in the Motor Vehicle Department,” +he reported. “He traced the license number +of the car that was in the accident.”</p> +<p>“How did he know you were here, Salt?”</p> +<p>“Telephoned the office, and someone told him to +try the hospital.”</p> +<p>“Who owns the car, Salt?”</p> +<p>“A woman by the name of Sarah Jones, Route 3, +Crissey Road.</p> +<p>“Crissey Road! Why, that’s out near the swamp, +not far from Trapper Joe’s place! I recall seeing the +name on a signpost when Louise and I were out there +this afternoon.”</p> +<p>“All roads lead to the swamp tonight,” Salt commented. +“I’m worried about Jerry. I called the office +and he hasn’t shown up there.”</p> +<p>“Then he must have started for Caleb Corners! +Salt, we’re wasting time!”</p> +<p>“We sure are,” he agreed. “Let’s go!”</p> +<p>The press car had been parked in a circular area +fifty yards from the hospital. Salt and Penny ran to +it, and soon were on their way, speeding into the night +on a deserted, narrow road.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_64">[64]</div> +<h2 id="c9"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">9</span> +<br /><i>THE WIDOW JONES</i></h2> +<p>Caleb Corners scarcely was a stopping point on +the narrow, dusty, county highway.</p> +<p>By night the crossroads were dark and gloomy, unlighted +even by a traffic signal. To the right stood a +filling station, and directly across from it, a little grocery +store, long since closed for the day.</p> +<p>Salt turned in at the filling station, halting the press +car almost at the doorway of the tiny office.</p> +<p>Inside, a young man who was counting change at a +cash register, turned suddenly and reached for an object +beneath the counter. As Salt came in, he kept his +hand out of sight, regarding the photographer with +suspicion.</p> +<p>“Relax, buddy,” said Salt, guessing that the station +owner feared robbery. “We’re from the <i>Riverview +Star</i> and need a little information.”</p> +<p>“What do you want to know?” The young man +still kept his hand beneath the counter.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_65">[65]</div> +<p>“We’re looking for a friend of ours who may have +come out here a few minutes ago in a taxi.”</p> +<p>“No cab’s been through here in the last hour,” the +filling station man said. “This is a mighty lonesome +corner at night. I should have closed up hours ago, +only I’m expecting a truck to fill up here.”</p> +<p>“Why not put that gun away?” Salt suggested +pointedly. “We’re not here to rob you. Do we look +like crooks?”</p> +<p>“No, you don’t,” the man admitted, “but I’ve been +taken in before. This station was broken into three +times in the past six months. Only two weeks ago a +man and woman stopped here about this same time of +night—they looked okay and talked easy, but they got +away with $48.50 of my hard earned cash.”</p> +<p>“We really are from the <i>Star</i>,” Penny assured him. +“And we’re worried about a friend of ours who slipped +away from the hospital tonight. He was in an accident +and wasn’t entirely himself. He may get into serious +trouble if we don’t find him.”</p> +<p>Her words seemed to convince the filling station +man that he had nothing to fear. Dropping the revolver +into the cash drawer, he said in a more friendly +tone:</p> +<p>“I guess you folks are on the square. Anyway, you +wouldn’t get much if you robbed the till tonight. I +only took in $37.50. Not enough to pay me for keeping +open.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_66">[66]</div> +<p>“You say a cab hasn’t been through here tonight?” +Salt asked impatiently.</p> +<p>“There’s been cars through, but no taxi cabs.”</p> +<p>“Where do these roads lead?”</p> +<p>“One takes you to Belle Plain and on to Three +Forks. The other doesn’t go much of anywhere—just +on to the swamp.”</p> +<p>“Any houses on the swamp road?” Salt inquired.</p> +<p>“An old trapper has a place up there, and the Hawkins’ +farm is on a piece. Closest house from here is the +Widow Jones’.”</p> +<p>“How far?”</p> +<p>“Oh, not more than three—four miles.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Jones drives a car?” Salt asked casually.</p> +<p>“Her?” The filling station man laughed. “Not on +your life! She has an old rattle-trap her husband left +her when he died, but she doesn’t take it out of the +shed often enough to keep air in the tires.”</p> +<p>Penny and Salt inquired the way to the widow’s +home.</p> +<p>“You can’t miss it,” replied the station man. +“Straight on down the swamp road about three miles. +First house you come to on the right hand side of Crissey +Road. But you won’t likely find the widow up at +this hour. She goes to bed with the chickens!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_67">[67]</div> +<p>On the highway once more, Salt and Penny debated +their next move. Jerry’s failure to show up at Caleb +Corners only partially relieved their anxiety. Now +they could only speculate upon whether the reporter +had remained in Riverview or had driven past the filling +station without being seen.</p> +<p>“Since we’ve come this far, why not go on to the +Widow Jones’ place?” Salt proposed. “She may have +seen Jerry. In any case, we can question her about +that car she owns.”</p> +<p>Bumping along on the rutty road, they presently +rounded a bend and on a sideroad saw a small, square +house which even in its desolation had a look of sturdy +liveability.</p> +<p>“That must be the place,” Salt decided, slowing the +car. “No lights so I guess she’s abed.”</p> +<p>“I see one at the rear!” Penny exclaimed. “Someone +is up!”</p> +<p>With a jerk, Salt halted the car beside a mailbox +which stood on a high post. A brick walk, choked +with weeds, led to the front door and around to a back +porch.</p> +<p>Through an uncurtained window, the pair glimpsed +a tall, wiry woman filling an oil lamp in the kitchen.</p> +<p>As Salt rapped on the door, they saw her start and +reach quickly for a shotgun which stood in a corner of +the room.</p> +<p>“Who’s there?” she called sharply.</p> +<p>“We’re from Riverview,” answered Penny.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_68">[68]</div> +<p>Reassured by a feminine voice, the woman opened +the door. She towered above them, a quaint figure in +white shirtwaist and a long flowing black skirt which +swept the bare floor of the kitchen.</p> +<p>“Good evening,” said Penny. “I hope we didn’t +startle you.”</p> +<p>Slowly the widow’s eyes traveled over the pair. She +laid the shotgun aside and then said evenly:</p> +<p>“’Pears like you did. Hain’t in the habit o’ having +visitors this time o’ night. Whar be ye from and what +do you want?”</p> +<p>Salt told of their search for Jerry, carefully describing +the reporter.</p> +<p>“Hain’t seen anyone like that,” the Widow Jones +said at once. “No one been by on this road since sundown +’cepting old Ezekiel Hawkins.”</p> +<p>“By the way, do you drive a car?” Salt questioned.</p> +<p>“Not if I kin keep from it,” the widow retorted. +“Cars is the ruination o’ civilization! Last time I tried +to drive to town, backed square into a big sycamore +and nigh onto knocked all my teeth out!”</p> +<p>“So you sold your car?” Salt interposed.</p> +<p>“It’s a settin’ out in the shed. That no-good +young’un o’ Ezekiel’s, Coon Hawkins, tried to buy it +off’en me a year ago, but I turned him down flat.”</p> +<p>“Didn’t he offer enough?” Penny asked curiously.</p> +<p>“’Twasn’t that. Fust place, I don’t think much o’ +Coon Hawkins! Second place, that car belonged to +my departed husband, and I don’t aim nobody else +ever will drive it.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_69">[69]</div> +<p>“Then you didn’t have the car out today or loan it +to anyone?”</p> +<p>“No, I didn’t! Say, what you gittin’ at anyway +with all these questions?”</p> +<p>“Your car was involved in an accident this afternoon +in Riverview,” Salt explained.</p> +<p>“What you sayin’?” the woman demanded. “You +must be out o’ yer mind! My car ain’t been out of the +shed fer a month.”</p> +<p>“We may have been mistaken,” Penny admitted. +“The license number of the car was K-4687.”</p> +<p>“Why, that’s the plate number of mine!” the +Widow Jones exclaimed. “Leastwise, I recollect it is!”</p> +<p>“You’re certain the car still is in the shed?” Salt +asked.</p> +<p>“You got me all confused now, and I hain’t cartain +of anything. Come in while I get a lantern, and we’ll +look!”</p> +<p>Penny and Salt stepped into a clean kitchen, slightly +fragrant with the odor of spicy catsup made that afternoon. +On a table stood row upon row of sealed bottles +ready to be carried to the cellar.</p> +<p>The Widow Jones lighted a lantern and threw a +woolen shawl over her bony shoulders.</p> +<p>“Follow me,” she bade.</p> +<p>At a swift pace, she led the way down a path to a +rickety shed which stood far back from the road.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_70">[70]</div> +<p>The woman unfastened the big door which swung +back on creaking hinges. Raising her lantern, she +flashed the light on the floor of the shed.</p> +<p>“Hit’s gone!” she exclaimed. “Someone’s stole the +car!”</p> +<p>Only a large blotch of oil on the cracked concrete +floor revealed where the automobile had stood.</p> +<p>“Have you no idea who took the car?” Penny inquired.</p> +<p>Grimly the Widow Jones closed the shed door and +slammed the hasp into place.</p> +<p>“Maybe I have an’ maybe I han’t! Leastwise, I +larned forty years ago to keep my lips shut less I could +back up my words with proof.”</p> +<p>In silence the widow started back toward the house. +Midway to the house, she suddenly paused, listening +attentively.</p> +<p>From a nearby tree an owl hooted, but Penny and +Salt sensed that was not the sound which had caught +the woman’s ear.</p> +<p>She blew out the lantern and wordlessly motioned +for the pair to move back into the deep shadow of the +tree.</p> +<p>Holding her shirt to keep it from blowing in the +night breeze, the woman gazed intently toward a +swamp road some distance from the boundary of her +land. For the first time, Salt and Penny became aware +of a muffled sound of a running truck motor.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_71">[71]</div> +<p>“Sounds like a car or truck back there in the +swamp,” Salt commented. “Is there a road near here +leading in?”</p> +<p>“There’s a road yonder,” the widow answered +briefly.</p> +<p>“It goes into the swamp?”</p> +<p>“Only for a mile or so.”</p> +<p>“What would a truck be doing in there at this time +of night?” Penny probed.</p> +<p>“I wouldn’t know,” answered the widow dryly. +“There’s some things goes on in this swamp that smart +folkses don’t ask questions about.”</p> +<p>Without relighting the lantern, she walked briskly +on. Reaching the rear porch, she paused and turned +once more to Salt and Penny.</p> +<p>“I be much obliged to ye comin’ out here to tell me +about my car being stole. Will ye come in and set a +spell?”</p> +<p>“Thanks, we’ll have to be getting back to Riverview,” +Salt declined the invitation. “It’s late.”</p> +<p>“You’ll catch your death if you stay out in this damp +swamp air,” the woman said, her gaze resting disapprovingly +on Penny’s flimsy dress and low-cut slippers. +“I’d advise you to git right back to town. ’Evenin’ to +you both.”</p> +<p>She went inside and closed the door.</p> +<p>“Queer character,” Salt commented as he and Penny +made their way to the roadside, “Forthright to say +the least.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_72">[72]</div> +<p>“I rather liked her, Salt. She seemed genuine. And +she has courage to live here alone at the edge of the +swamp.”</p> +<p>“Sure,” the photographer agreed. “Plenty of iron +in her soul. Wonder what she saw there at the edge of +the swamp?”</p> +<p>“It seemed to me she was afraid we might try to investigate. +Did you notice how she advised us to go +directly to Riverview?”</p> +<p>“She did make the remark a little pointed. The +Widow Jones is no dumbbell! You could tell she has +a good idea who stole her auto, and she wasn’t putting +out anything about that truck.”</p> +<p>Salt had started the car and was ready to turn +around. Penny placed a detaining hand on the steering +wheel.</p> +<p>“Let’s go the other direction, Salt!”</p> +<p>“On into the swamp?”</p> +<p>“It’s only a short distance to that other road. If the +truck is still there, we might see something interesting.”</p> +<p>Salt’s lips parted in a wide grin.</p> +<p>“Sure thing,” he agreed. “What have we got to +lose?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_73">[73]</div> +<h2 id="c10"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">10</span> +<br /><i>INSIDE THE WOODSHED</i></h2> +<p>The throaty croak of frogs filled the night as +Salt, car headlights darkened, brought up at a bend of +the road near the swamp’s edge.</p> +<p>Entrance to the pinelands could be gained in any +one of three ways. A road, often mired with mud, had +been built by a lumber mill, and led for nearly a mile +into the higher section of the area. There it ended +abruptly.</p> +<p>Half a mile away, near Trapper Joe’s shack, lay the +water course Penny and Louise had followed. From +it branched a maze of confusing channels, one of +which marked the way to the heart of the swamp. But +only a few persons ever had ventured beyond Lookout +Island, close to the exit.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_74">[74]</div> +<p>The third entrance, also not far from Trapper Joe’s, +consisted of a narrow boardwalk path nailed to fallen +trees and stumps just above the water level. The walk +had fallen into decay and could be used for only five +hundred feet.</p> +<p>“Seems like a funny time for a truck to be coming +out of the swamp road,” Salt remarked, peering into +the gloom of the pine trees. “Hear anything?”</p> +<p>Penny listened intently and shook her head. But a +moment later, she explained: “Now I do! The truck’s +coming this way.”</p> +<p>“Let’s get closer to the road exit,” Salt proposed. +“We’d better leave the car here, if we don’t want to +be seen.”</p> +<p>Penny’s high heels kept twisting on the rutty road, +and finally in exasperation, she took them off, stripped +away her stockings, and walked in her bare feet.</p> +<p>The truck now was very close and the pair could +hear its laboring engine. Salt drew Penny back +against the bottle-shaped trunk of a big tree at the road +exitway. There they waited.</p> +<p>Presently the truck chugged into view, its headlights +doused. On the main road, not ten yards from +where Salt and Penny crouched, it came to a jerky +halt.</p> +<p>The driver was a husky fellow who wore a heavy +jacket and cap which shadowed his face. With him in +the cab were two younger men of athletic build. Both +wore homespun clothes and stout boots.</p> +<p>As the truck halted, the two younger men sprang to +the ground.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_75">[75]</div> +<p>Instantly Penny and Salt were certain they had seen +one of the strangers before.</p> +<p>“He’s the man who drove the accident car this afternoon!” +Penny whispered. “The auto stolen from +Widow Jones!”</p> +<p>Salt nodded, placing his hand over the girl’s lips. +He drew her back behind the tree.</p> +<p>The precaution was a wise one, for a moment later, +a flashlight beam played over the spot where they had +been standing.</p> +<p>“Thought I heard something!” one of the truckers +muttered.</p> +<p>“Jest them frogs a-croakin’,” his companion answered. +“You’re gettin’ jumpy.”</p> +<p>“Let’s get a move on!” growled the driver of the +truck. “I gotta get this load to Hartwell City before +dawn. You keepin’ any of the stuff?”</p> +<p>“A couple o’ gallons will do us. Too durn heavy to +carry.”</p> +<p>From the rear end of the truck, the two young men +who had alighted, pulled out a large wooden container +with handles.</p> +<p>“When do you want me to stop by again?” the truck +driver called above the rumble of the motor.</p> +<p>“Can’t tell yet,” one of the men answered, swinging +the heavy container across his shoulder. “Pappy’ll +send word.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_76">[76]</div> +<p>The truck pulled away, and the two young men +started down the road in the opposite direction. Not +until they were a considerable distance away, did +Penny speak.</p> +<p>“What do you make of it all, Salt?”</p> +<p>“It’s got me puzzled,” he admitted. “If I’d have +seen the truck come out of the swamp at any other +time I wouldn’t have thought much about it. But considering +the way Mrs. Jones acted, some funny business +seems to be going on here.”</p> +<p>“I’m certain one of those young men was the driver +of the accident car this afternoon!”</p> +<p>“It did look like him.”</p> +<p>“They must be the Hawkins boys, Coon and Hod,” +Penny went on, thinking aloud. “What were they +doing in the swamp so late at night? And what are +they trucking?”</p> +<p>“Echo answers ‘what’,” Salt replied. “Well, shall +we start for Riverview?”</p> +<p>“Without learning for certain who those two fellows +are?”</p> +<p>“I would like to know. The only thing is, your father’s +going to be plenty annoyed when he finds how +late I’ve kept you out.”</p> +<p>“Leave Dad to me.”</p> +<p>“Okay, but if we run into trouble tonight, we can +figure we went out of our way to ask for it.”</p> +<p>By this time, the two swampers had vanished into +the darkness far up the road.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_77">[77]</div> +<p>“They’re heading toward Trapper Joe’s place,” +Penny observed. “The Hawkins’ farm is just beyond, +on the waterway.”</p> +<p>“We may as well give them a good start and then +follow in the car,” Salt decided.</p> +<p>They walked back to the parked automobile where +Penny put on her shoes and stockings again. After +giving the two strangers a good five minutes start, Salt +drove slowly after them, keeping headlights turned +off.</p> +<p>Trapper Joe’s dismal shack loomed up dark and +deserted.</p> +<p>“We’ll have to park here,” Penny instructed, “The +road beyond is terrible and it plays out.”</p> +<p>Alighting, the couple looked about for a glimpse of +the two swampers. The nearby marsh seemed cold, +unfriendly and menacing. Heavy dew lay on the +earth and a thick mist was rising from among the trees.</p> +<p>From behind a shadowy bush, two gleaming eyes +gazed steadily and unblinkingly at the pair. Penny +drew back, nervously gripping Salt’s hand.</p> +<p>“It’s only a cat,” he chuckled.</p> +<p>“A wild one, maybe,” Penny shivered. “All sorts of +animals live in the swamp, Trapper Joe told me.”</p> +<p>“Want to stay in the car and spare those pretty +shoes of yours?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_78">[78]</div> +<p>“No, let’s go on.” The gleaming eyes now had vanished +and Penny felt courageous again. Nevertheless, +she kept close beside Salt as they tramped along the +dark road.</p> +<p>A pale moon was rising over the treetops, providing +faint illumination. Penny and Salt no longer could see +the pair they had followed, and were afraid they had +lost them completely.</p> +<p>Then they spied the swampers crawling over a fence +some distance away.</p> +<p>“There they are!” Penny whispered. Just as I +thought! They’re taking a short cut to the Hawkins’ +place.”</p> +<p>Unaware that they were being followed, the two +swampers crossed a plowed field, frequently shifting +their heavy burden.</p> +<p>Coming at length to the Hawkins’ farm, they vanished +into the woodshed.</p> +<p>“Guess you were right, Penny,” Salt acknowledged, +pausing by the fence. “Evidently they’re the Hawkins’ +boys.”</p> +<p>The door of the house had opened and a light now +glowed in the window. A bulky figure stood silhouetted +on the threshold.</p> +<p>“Who’s there?” the man called sharply. “That you, +Coon?”</p> +<p>From inside the shed came a muffled reply: “Yep, +it’s me and Hod.”</p> +<p>“How’d you make out, son?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_79">[79]</div> +<p>“She’s all took care of an’ on ’er way to Hartwell +City. Ike says he’ll fetch you the cash in a day or +two.”</p> +<p>“Git to bed soon’s you kin,” the older man said, apparently +pleased by the information. “Your Ma’s +tired and wants to git to sleep ’for mawning.”</p> +<p>He moved back into the house, closing the door.</p> +<p>“Guess we’ve learned all we can,” Salt remarked. +“We may as well get a little shut-eye ourselves.”</p> +<p>Penny, however, was unwilling to leave so soon.</p> +<p>“I wish we could find out what is in that big container, +Salt! After those Hawkins’ boys leave, maybe +we could sneak a peek.”</p> +<p>“And get caught!”</p> +<p>“We can be careful. Salt, we’ve stumbled into a lot +of information tonight that may prove very valuable. +We’ll never have another chance like it. Come on, +Salt, it’s worth a try.”</p> +<p>Despite his better judgment, Salt allowed himself to +be persuaded. For ten minutes the pair waited near +the fence. Finally they saw Hod and Coon Hawkins +emerge from the shed and enter the house.</p> +<p>Another ten minutes they waited. By that time the +light had been extinguished inside the house.</p> +<p>“Everyone’s abed now,” Penny said in satisfaction. +“Now for the woodshed!”</p> +<p>Crossing the field, the pair approached the tumbledown +building from the side away from the house. +The woodshed door was closed.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_80">[80]</div> +<p>Penny groped for the knob and instead, her hand +encountered a chain and padlock.</p> +<p>“Locked!” she muttered impatiently. “Just our +luck!”</p> +<p>The rattle of the chain had disturbed a hound +penned inside the shed. Before Salt and Penny could +retreat, the animal’s paws scratched against the door +and he uttered a deep and prolonged bay.</p> +<p>“Jeepers!” exclaimed Salt. “We’ve got to get away +from here—and fast!”</p> +<p>Already it was too late. A window on the second +floor of the house flew up and Mrs. Hawkins in cotton +nightdress and lace cap, peered down into the yard.</p> +<p>“Who’s there?” she called sharply. “Answer up if +you ain’t hankerin’ fer a bullet through yer innards!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_81">[81]</div> +<h2 id="c11"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">11</span> +<br /><i>AN ABANDONED CAR</i></h2> +<p>For Salt and Penny, the moment was a perilous +one. In plain view of the upstairs window, they could +not hope to escape detection.</p> +<p>But shrewdly, they reasoned that Mrs. Hawkins +could not be certain they had been trying to break into +the woodshed.</p> +<p>“Oh, is that you, Mrs. Hawkins?” Penny called as +cheerily as if greeting an old friend. “I hope we didn’t +awaken you.”</p> +<p>The farm woman leaned far out the window. +“Who be ye folkses?” she demanded suspiciously. +“What you doin’ here?”</p> +<p>“Don’t you remember me?” Penny asked. “I +stopped here this afternoon with my girl friend. We +had a drink at your pump.”</p> +<p>“Humph! That ain’t no gal with you now! Who +is he?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_82">[82]</div> +<p>“Oh, just a friend who works at—” Penny was on +the verge of saying the <i>Riverview Star</i>, but caught +herself in time and finished—“a friend who works +where I do.”</p> +<p>“And what you spyin’ around here for?”</p> +<p>“We’re looking for another friend of ours.”</p> +<p>“’Pears to me you got a heap o’ friends,” the woman +said harshly. “This afternoon you was cryin’ you lost +a dog.”</p> +<p>“It was Louise who lost the dog,” said Penny, well +realizing that her story would never convince the +woman.</p> +<p>“Whatever you lost, man or beast, git off this property +and don’t come back!” Mrs. Hawkins ordered. +“We hain’t seen no dog, and we hain’t seen none o’ yer +friends. Now git!”</p> +<p>Another face had appeared at the window—that of +the bearded stranger Penny had seen earlier in the day +on Lookout Point. No longer could she doubt that he +was Ezekiel Hawkins, the man who a few minutes earlier +had ordered his two sons to bed.</p> +<p>“We’re leaving now,” said Salt, before Penny had +an opportunity to speak again of Louise’s missing dog. +“Sorry to have bothered you.”</p> +<p>Taking Penny firmly by an elbow, he pulled her +along. Not until they had reached the fence safely +did they look back.</p> +<p>In the upper window of the Hawkins’ house a light +continued to burn dimly.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_83">[83]</div> +<p>“We’re still being watched,” Salt commented. He +helped Penny over the fence, disentangling her dress +which snagged on a wire. “Whew! That was a close +call! That old biddy would have enjoyed putting a +bullet through us!”</p> +<p>“She dared to say Louise’s dog hadn’t been seen! +All the while her husband stood right there! He’s the +one who refused to let us go after Bones this afternoon!”</p> +<p>“Sure?”</p> +<p>“Almost positive.”</p> +<p>“Well, all I can say is the Hawkins’ are mean customers,” +Salt sighed. “Stealing a dog probably is right +in their line.”</p> +<p>“They’re up to other tricks too!”</p> +<p>“Oh, undoubtedly. Wish we could have learned +what was in those cans they were trucking to the city.”</p> +<p>In the press car, speeding toward Riverview, the +pair discussed all phases of their night’s adventure. +Failure to learn anything about Jerry’s whereabouts +worried them.</p> +<p>Presently, worn out, Penny slumped against Salt’s +shoulder and fell asleep. She was awakened when the +car stopped with a jerk.</p> +<p>“Where are we?” she mumbled drowsily. “Home?”</p> +<p>“Not yet, baby,” he answered, shutting off the engine.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_84">[84]</div> +<p>Penny straightened in the seat, brushing away a lock +of hair which had tumbled over her left eye. Peering +through the window she saw that they still were out in +the country.</p> +<p>“What are we stopping here for, Salt?” she asked in +astonishment. “Don’t tell me we’ve run out of gas!”</p> +<p>“Nothing like that,” he said easily. “Just go back to +sleep. I’ll be right back.”</p> +<p>“You’ll be right back! Where are you going, Salt +Sommers?”</p> +<p>“Only down the road a ways. We passed a car, and +I want to have a better look at it.”</p> +<p>By now Penny was fully awake.</p> +<p>“I’m going with you,” she announced.</p> +<p>Salt held the door open for her. “This probably is +a waste of time,” he admitted.</p> +<p>“Was it a car you saw in the ditch?” Penny questioned, +walking fast to keep up with him. “An accident?”</p> +<p>“Don’t think so. The car seemed to be parked back +in the bushes on a road bisecting this one.”</p> +<p>“What’s so unusual in that?”</p> +<p>“Nothing perhaps. Only the car looked familiar.”</p> +<p>“Not Jerry’s coupe?”</p> +<p>“No. There it is now—see!” Salt pointed through +the trees to an old upright vehicle of antiquated style. +His flashlight picked up the numbers on the rear license +plate.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_85">[85]</div> +<p>“K-4687!” Penny read aloud. “Mrs. Jones’ stolen +auto!”</p> +<p>“It sure is,” the photographer agreed in satisfaction. +“Abandoned!”</p> +<p>“By whom? The Hawkins’ boys?”</p> +<p>“Maybe. Let’s have a closer look.”</p> +<p>While Penny stood by, Salt made a thorough inspection +of the old car. The battery was dead. Ignition +keys, still in the lock, had been left turned on.</p> +<p>As the photographer flashed his light about, Penny +noticed a package of cigarettes lying on the seat. She +picked them up and sniffed.</p> +<p>“Necos,” she declared. “Salt, one of the persons +who rode in this car must have slugged Jerry at the +theater!”</p> +<p>“Maybe, but we can’t be sure. Necos aren’t a common +brand of cigarettes. On the other hand, I’ve +known several fellows who smoke them.”</p> +<p>A thorough inspection of the car revealed no other +clues.</p> +<p>“We may as well get back to town,” Salt said finally. +“Mrs. Jones will be glad to learn her car has +been recovered. We can let her know tomorrow after +police have had a chance to inspect it.”</p> +<p>Neither he nor Penny had much to say as they motored +toward Riverview. Both were deeply discouraged +by their failure to find any trace of Jerry.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_86">[86]</div> +<p>“It’s barely possible hospital officials were able to +catch up with him,” Penny said after a while, her eyes +on the dark ribbon of highway ahead. “We might +stop somewhere and telephone.”</p> +<p>“Good idea,” agreed Salt. “We’re practically in the +city now.”</p> +<p>Already they could see the twinkling lights, laid out +in rectangular street patterns. Directly ahead, at the +corporation boundary, Penny saw the flashing electric +sign of a hamburger hut operated by Mark Fiello, a +genial old Italian.</p> +<p>“We might stop there,” she suggested. “Mark will +let us use his phone.”</p> +<p>“Also, he has good hamburgers and coffee,” Salt +added. “I could go for some food!”</p> +<p>Mark, a stout, grizzled man in slightly soiled apron, +was frying bacon and hamburgers at the grill as he +shouted orders to a helper in the kitchen.</p> +<p>“You, Frankey!” he bellowed. “Git your nose +outta dat ice cream and squeeze another quart of +orange juice! What you think I pay you for—to eat +me out of business?”</p> +<p>As Penny and Salt slid onto stools in front of the +counter, he turned toward them to ask briskly: +“What’ll it be, folks?”</p> +<p>“Now Mark, don’t give us the professional brush +off,” Salt joked. “Make mine a hamburger with everything +on.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_87">[87]</div> +<p>“And mine with everything off—especially onions,” +added Penny.</p> +<p>“Two hamburgers coming right up,” chuckled +Mark, flattening twin hunks of ground meat on the +grill. “I giva you good beeg ones. One-a with, and +one-a without. Haven’t seen you folks in a long +while. How you been?”</p> +<p>“Pretty well, Mark, until tonight,” replied Penny. +“May we use your phone?”</p> +<p>“It’s your nickel, ain’t it?” chuckled Mark. “Go +right ahead.”</p> +<p>“Looks as if we’ll have to wait until your helper gets +through using it,” observed Salt.</p> +<p>“That worthless no-good!” Mark snorted. “I pay +him thirty dolla a week to eat his head off and all the +time calla dat girl of his! You, Frankey! Git off dat +phone and git to work on them oranges!”</p> +<p>Frank, a youth of sallow complexion and unsteady +gaze, dropped the telephone receiver as if it were a red +hot coal.</p> +<p>He mumbled a “call you later,” into the transmitter, +hung up, and ducked into the kitchen.</p> +<p>“Such bad luck I have this summer,” sighed Mark, +expertly turning the hamburgers and salting them. +“Six helpers I hire and fire. All no good. They talka +big, eat big—but work? Naw!”</p> +<p>“It’s a tough life,” Salt agreed, fishing for a coin in +his pocket. “Change for a dime, Mark?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_88">[88]</div> +<p>“Sure. Who you calla tonight? Big scoop for de +paper, eh?”</p> +<p>“I wish it were,” said Salt. “We’ve had a tough +night.”</p> +<p>“Jerry’s missing,” Penny added earnestly. “He was +taken to the hospital this afternoon, but he walked out. +We’re trying to find him because he’s in no condition +to be wandering about.”</p> +<p>Mark’s jaw had dropped and for a moment he forgot +the hamburgers sizzling on the grill.</p> +<p>“You looka for Jerry? Jerry Livingston?”</p> +<p>“Sure, you know him,” Salt replied, starting for the +telephone. “He used to be one of your favorite customers.”</p> +<p>“Well, what do y’know!” mumbled Mark, obviously +surprised. “What do y’know! Listen, I tell +you something!”</p> +<p>“About Jerry?” Penny asked eagerly.</p> +<p>“You looka for your friend too late!”</p> +<p>“Too late? What do you mean, Mark? Jerry +hasn’t been hurt?”</p> +<p>“No! No! Your friend is all right like always. +Twenty minutes ago, he eata three hamburgs on dis +same stool where you sit now!”</p> +<p>“Jerry was here!” Penny cried joyfully. “Mark, +are you sure?”</p> +<p>“Sure, I am sure! Jerry eata three beeg hamburgs, +drinka two beeg cups of java, then go away.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_89">[89]</div> +<p>“Did he seem dazed or confused?”</p> +<p>“Your friend the same as always. Make-a the joke.”</p> +<p>On the grill, the hamburgers were beginning to burn +at the edges. Mark flipped them between buns, adding +generous quantities of mustard, pickle, catsup, and +sliced onions to Salt’s sandwich.</p> +<p>Penny now was so excited she scarcely could take +time to eat.</p> +<p>“Which way did Jerry go when he left here?” she +questioned eagerly.</p> +<p>“He crossa de street. After dat, I did not see.”</p> +<p>“Jerry lives in the St. Agnes Apartments not far +from here,” Salt recalled. “Maybe he’s there now!”</p> +<p>Quickly finishing their sandwiches, the pair gave +Mark a dollar, refusing to accept change. As they +started away, he followed them to the door.</p> +<p>“You know-a somebody who wanta good job, good +pay?” he whispered. “Frankey is eating me outta all +my profits. You know-a somebody?”</p> +<p>“Afraid we don’t,” Salt replied. “We’ll keep it in +mind though, and if we hear of anyone wanting work, +we’ll send him around.”</p> +<p>From the hamburger hut, Penny and Salt drove directly +to the St. Agnes Apartment Hotel. The clerk +on duty could not tell them if Jerry were in his room +or not.</p> +<p>“Go on up if you want to,” he suggested. “Room +207.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_90">[90]</div> +<p>Climbing the stairs, they pounded on the door. +There was no answer. Salt tried again. Not a sound +came from inside the room.</p> +<p>“It’s no use,” the photographer said in disappointment. +“Mark may have been mistaken. Anyway, +Jerry’s not here.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_91">[91]</div> +<h2 id="c12"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">12</span> +<br /><i>A JOB FOR PENNY</i></h2> +<p>Penny gazed at Salt in grim despair. “I was so +sure Jerry would be here,” she murmured. “What can +we do now?”</p> +<p>“We’ve run down every clue,” he replied gloomily. +“If he isn’t at the hospital, I’m afraid it’s a case for the +police.”</p> +<p>“But Mark was so sure he had seen Jerry tonight. +Try once more, Salt.”</p> +<p>“Okay, but it’s useless. He’s not here.”</p> +<p>Again Salt hammered on the door with his fist. He +was turning away when a sleepy voice called: “Who’s +there?”</p> +<p>“Jerry is in there!” Penny cried. “Thank goodness, +he’s safe!”</p> +<p>“Open up, you lug!” ordered Salt.</p> +<p>A bed creaked, footsteps padded across the carpet +and the door swung back. Jerry, in silk dressing +gown, blinked sleepily out at them.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_92">[92]</div> +<p>“What do you want?” he mumbled. “Can’t you let +a fellow catch forty winks without sending out the +riot squad?”</p> +<p>“How are you feeling, Jerry, my boy?” Salt inquired +solicitously.</p> +<p>“Never felt better in my life, except I’m sleepy.”</p> +<p>“Then what made you walk out of the hospital?”</p> +<p>“I don’t like hospitals.”</p> +<p>“We ought to punch you in the nose for making us +so much trouble,” Salt said affectionately. “Here we +spent half the night searching the swamp for you!”</p> +<p>Jerry’s face crinkled into a broad grin. “The +swamp! That’s good!”</p> +<p>“Didn’t you ask a taximan at the hospital how much +it would cost to go there?” Penny reminded him.</p> +<p>“Sure, but I decided not to go.”</p> +<p>“You got a nerve!” Salt muttered. “Climb into +your clothes and we’ll take you back to your cell.”</p> +<p>“Oh, no, you don’t!” Jerry backed away from the +door. “I’m no more sick than you are, and I’m not +going back to the hospital!”</p> +<p>“You’re an advanced case for a mental institution!” +the photographer snapped. “Maybe you don’t know +Danny Deevers is out to get you and he means business!”</p> +<p>“I’m not worried about Danny.”</p> +<p>“Maybe you don’t think he cracked you on the head +tonight at the theater?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_93">[93]</div> +<p>“I’ve been thinking it over,” Jerry replied slowly. +“Probably it was Danny, but I doubt he’ll dare show +his face again. Police are too hot on his trail.”</p> +<p>“Says you!” snorted Salt. “By the way, why were +you so interested in going to the swamp tonight? Any +clues?”</p> +<p>“Only the information you and Penny gave me.”</p> +<p>“We learned a little more this evening,” Penny informed +him eagerly. “And we have a photograph we +want you to identify.”</p> +<p>The story of their findings at Caleb Corners and beyond, +was briefly told. Salt then showed Jerry the +picture of the ancient car which had been involved in +the traffic accident.</p> +<p>“This older man is Danny Deevers,” Jerry positively +identified him after studying the photograph a minute. +“I don’t recognize the driver of the car.”</p> +<p>“We’re almost sure he’s one of the Hawkins’ boys,” +Penny declared. “You know, the swamper we told +you about.”</p> +<p>Jerry nodded. “In that case, putting the finger on +Deevers should be easy for the police. The Hawkins +family could be arrested on suspicion. Like as not, +Deevers is hiding in the swamp just as Penny suspected!”</p> +<p>“If he is, it won’t be easy to capture him,” commented +Salt. “They say a man could hide there a year +without being found. And if the Hawkins’ boy is arrested, +he’ll naturally lie low.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_94">[94]</div> +<p>Jerry thoughtfully studied the photograph again. +“That’s so,” he admitted. “Anyway, our evidence is +pretty weak. We couldn’t pin anything on either of +the Hawkins’ boys on the strength of this photograph.”</p> +<p>“It would only involve Mrs. Jones,” contributed +Penny. “Why turn it over to the police?”</p> +<p>“Well, it would relieve us of a lot of responsibility. +Tell you what! I know the Chief pretty well. Suppose +I give the picture to him and ask him to go easy on +Mrs. Jones? I think he would play along with us.”</p> +<p>“Sounds like a good idea to me,” approved Salt. +“The police can watch the Hawkins place and maybe +learn Danny’s hideout without tipping their hand.”</p> +<p>The matter of the photograph settled, he and Penny +turned to leave.</p> +<p>“We’ll send the hospital ambulance after you, +Jerry,” Salt said by way of farewell. “Better get into +some duds.”</p> +<p>“I’m not going back there!”</p> +<p>“It’s no use trying to make him,” said Penny who +knew from experience that the reporter could be stubborn. +“But do be careful, won’t you, Jerry?”</p> +<p>“Sure,” he promised. “And thanks to both of you +for all your trouble!”</p> +<p>The hour now was well past midnight. Saying +goodbye to Jerry, Penny had Salt take her directly +home.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_95">[95]</div> +<p>Quietly she slipped into the house and upstairs to +her own room without disturbing Mrs. Weems.</p> +<p>However, next morning, explanations were in order, +and as was to be expected, the housekeeper did not +look with approval upon the trip to the swamp.</p> +<p>“Your motives may have been excellent,” she told +Penny, “but your judgment was very poor. Even +with Salt as an escort you shouldn’t have gone.”</p> +<p>To make amends, Penny stayed close at home that +morning, helping with an ironing. At noon when her +father came for luncheon, she eagerly plied him with +questions about the Danny Deevers case.</p> +<p>“There’s nothing new to report,” Mr. Parker said. +“He’s still at large. The <i>Star</i> has posted a $10,000 reward +for his capture.”</p> +<p>“Ten thousand!” echoed Penny, her eyes sparkling. +“I could use that money!”</p> +<p>Mr. Parker carefully laid down his knife and fork, +fixing his daughter with a stern gaze.</p> +<p>“You’re to forget Danny Deevers,” he directed. +“Just to make certain you do, I’ve arranged with Mr. +DeWitt to give you a few days’ work at the office. +Kindly report at one-thirty this afternoon for your +first assignment.”</p> +<p>“Oh, Dad! Of all times—I had plans!”</p> +<p>“So I figured,” her father replied dryly. “Mr. DeWitt, +I trust, will keep you busy until after Danny +Deevers has been rounded up by the police.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_96">[96]</div> +<p>Penny knew that protests were quite useless, for +when her father really set down his foot, he seldom +changed his mind. At another time, she would have +welcomed an opportunity to work at the <i>Star</i> office, +but this day she regarded it as nothing less than punishment.</p> +<p>As her father had predicted, Penny was kept more +than busy at the office. There were telephones to answer, +obituaries to write, wire stories to redo, and a +multitude of little writing jobs which kept her chained +to a desk.</p> +<p>Penny pounded out page after page of routine copy, +her face becoming longer and longer. Whenever the +shortwave radio blared, she listened attentively. +Never was there any news to suggest that police were +even taking an interest in Danny Deevers’ escape.</p> +<p>“Oh, they’re working hard on the case,” Jerry assured +her when she talked it over with him. “You’ll +hear about it in good time.”</p> +<p>“Everyone treats me as if I were a child!” Penny +complained. “Just wait! If ever I get any more information, +I’m keeping it under my hat!”</p> +<p>For two long days she worked and suffered in the +newspaper office. Then late one afternoon, Mr. DeWitt +beckoned her to his desk.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_97">[97]</div> +<p>“You act as if you need a little fresh air,” he said. +“Take a run over to the Immigration Office. See a +man named Trotsell. He’ll tell you about a boy who +entered this country illegally. They’re looking for +him now.”</p> +<p>“I’ll hippety-hop all the way!” Penny laughed, glad +to escape from the office.</p> +<p>At the Immigration Building, Mr. Trotsell, an official +of brisk manner and crisp speech, gave her the +facts of the case in rapid-fire order.</p> +<p>“The boy is only sixteen,” he said. “His name is +Anthony Tienta and he was befriended by G.I.’s in +Europe. Early in the war, his parents were killed. +Anthony was put in an orphan’s asylum by Fascists. +He and another lad escaped to the mountains. For six +months they lived in a cave on berries and what they +could pilfer.”</p> +<p>“Interesting,” commented Penny, “but what is your +connection with the case?”</p> +<p>“I’m coming to that. When G.I.’s entered Italy, +Anthony left his mountain hideout to become a guide. +He learned English and later joined an American division +as a mascot. When the war ended, Anthony +sought permission to come to this country and was +turned down repeatedly.”</p> +<p>“So he stowed aboard a troopship?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_98">[98]</div> +<p>“Yes, we don’t know yet how he eluded Immigration +officials in New York. Somehow he slipped into +the country. Later he was traced to a farm in Michigan. +We were closing in on him, when someone +tipped him off and he fled. We know he’s somewhere +in this state.”</p> +<p>“Near here?”</p> +<p>“It’s very possible. We thought if a story appeared +in the paper, someone who has seen the boy may report +to us.”</p> +<p>“Do you have a picture of him?”</p> +<p>“Unfortunately, no. He is sixteen, with dark eyes +and dark, curly hair. The lad is athletic and very +quick witted. His English is fairly good, heavily +sprinkled with G.I. slang.”</p> +<p>“I’ll write the story for you,” Penny promised as she +arose to leave. “The truth is, though, my sympathy is +with Anthony.”</p> +<p>“So is mine,” replied the official. “However, that +does not change the law. He entered this country illegally +and must be returned to Italy.”</p> +<p>Penny left the office and was midway to the newspaper +office when she bumped squarely into her friend, +Louise Sidell, who had been downtown shopping.</p> +<p>“Oh, Lou!” she exclaimed. “I called you twice but +you weren’t at home. Did Bones ever find his way +back?”</p> +<p>Louise shook her head. “He never will either. +Those men probably kept him on the island. I’m going +out there tomorrow.”</p> +<p>“To the island?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_99">[99]</div> +<p>“If I can get Trapper Joe to take me. My father +says I may offer him twenty-five dollars to help me get +Bones back.”</p> +<p>“It was entirely my fault, Lou. I’ll pay the money.”</p> +<p>“You needn’t.”</p> +<p>“I want to,” said Penny firmly. “I’ve earned a little +money the past two days at the newspaper office.”</p> +<p>The two girls walked together to the next corner.</p> +<p>“What time are you starting for Trapper Joe’s tomorrow?” +Penny asked.</p> +<p>“I’d like to leave right after breakfast. Any chance +you could take me in your car?”</p> +<p>“I was thinking the same thing,” grinned Penny. +“It may take a little doing—but yes, I’m sure you can +count on me! I’m long overdue for a date myself with +Old Man Swamp!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_100">[100]</div> +<h2 id="c13"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">13</span> +<br /><i>INTO THE SWAMP</i></h2> +<p>By eleven o’clock the next morning, the two girls +were on their way to Caleb Corners in Penny’s car. +Both wore high boots, heavy shirts, and riding +breeches, having dressed carefully for the swamp.</p> +<p>“I had one awful time convincing Dad and Mrs. +Weems I should make this trip,” Penny remarked as +they parked the car under a giant oak not far from +Trapper Joe’s shack on the river creek. “If we hadn’t +had Bones for an excuse, they never would have allowed +me to go.”</p> +<p>Louise stared curiously at her chum.</p> +<p>“Why else would we make the trip?” she inquired.</p> +<p>“Oh, we’re going there to find Bones,” Penny assured +her hastily. “But if we should meet Ezekiel +Hawkins or whoever was on the island—”</p> +<p>“My parents made it very clear I’m not to go to the +island unless Trapper Joe is with us.”</p> +<p>“So did my father, unfortunately,” sighed Penny.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_101">[101]</div> +<p>As the girls approached Trapper Joe’s shack, they +saw smoke issuing in a straight column from the rear +of the premises.</p> +<p>Investigating, they found the old guide roasting a +fat turkey on a spit which slowly revolved above a +fire of cherry red coals.</p> +<p>“Howdy,” the old man greeted them. “You’re jest +in time fer some victuals.”</p> +<p>“Lunch so early?” Louise asked in surprise.</p> +<p>“It hain’t breakfast and it hain’t lunch,” the trapper +chuckled. “I eat when I’m hongry, an’ right now I +feel a hankerin’ fer food. Kin I give you a nice turkey +leg?”</p> +<p>The girls looked at the delicately browned fowl +and wavered.</p> +<p>“I’ll fetch you’uns each a plate,” the trapper offered.</p> +<p>From the shack he brought two cracked ones and +forks with bent tines. To each of the girls he gave a +generous helping, saving for himself a large slice of +breast.</p> +<p>“What brings ye here today?” he presently asked. +“Be ye aimin’ to rent my boat again?”</p> +<p>“Providing your services go with it,” Penny replied. +“We want to search for Louise’s dog.”</p> +<p>“’Tain’t likely you’ll ever see him again.”</p> +<p>“All the same, we’ve planned on searching the island +thoroughly. Will you take us?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_102">[102]</div> +<p>Trapper Joe tossed away a turkey bone as he observed: +“There’s cottonmouths on that island and all +manner o’ varmints.”</p> +<p>“That’s why we want you to go with us,” Penny +urged. “We’ll be safe with you.”</p> +<p>“I hain’t so sartain I’ll be safe myself,” Joe argued. +“My gun’s been stole. Some thieven scalawag made +off with it late last night while I was skinnin’ an animal. +Left it a-settin’ against a post down by the dock. The +rascal took my gun and some salted meat I had in a +crock!”</p> +<p>“Someone who came from the swamp?” Penny +asked quickly.</p> +<p>“’Pears he must o’ come from there.”</p> +<p>“Could the thief have been one of the Hawkins +family?”</p> +<p>“’Tain’t likely,” the guide replied. “They all got +good guns o’ their own. Anyhow, the Hawkins’ +hain’t never stooped so low they’d steal from a neighbor.”</p> +<p>“Will you take us in your boat?” Louise urged impatiently. +“We’ll pay you well for your time. If we +find Bones, you’ll receive an extra twenty-five dollars.”</p> +<p>“It hain’t the money. Lookin’ fer that dog would +be like lookin’ fer a needle in a haystack.”</p> +<p>“You might accidently run into the person who +stole your gun,” Penny suggested.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_103">[103]</div> +<p>“Now, there’d be some sense to that,” the trapper +said with sudden interest. “I’d like to lay hands on +him!”</p> +<p>“Then you’ll go?” the girls demanded together.</p> +<p>“’Pears like I will,” he said, his leathery face cracking +into a smile. “’Tain’t smart going into the swamp +without a gun, but we kin trust to Providence an’ our +wits, I calculate.”</p> +<p>Pleased that the trapper had consented, the girls +leaped to their feet and started toward the skiff which +was tied up at the dock.</p> +<p>“Not so fast!” the trapper brought them up short. +“We got to take some water and some victuals with +us.”</p> +<p>“But we’re not going far,” Louise said in surprise. +“We just ate.”</p> +<p>“Ye can git mighty hongry and thirsty, rowin’ in a +broiling hot sun. When I go into the swamp, I always +takes rations along jest in case.”</p> +<p>“Surely you don’t expect to lose your way,” Penny +said teasingly. “An old timer like you!”</p> +<p>“I’m an old timer ’cause I always prepares fer the +wust,” the trapper retorted witheringly. “Many a +young punk’s give his life being show-off and foolhardy +in that swamp. I was lost there oncst years ago. +I hain’t never forgot my lesson.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_104">[104]</div> +<p>Properly put in their places, Penny and Louise said +no more as Trapper Joe prepared for the trip into the +swamp. He wrapped the remains of the turkey in a +paper, depositing it in a covered metal container in the +bottom of the skiff.</p> +<p>Also, he dropped in a jug of water and an extra +paddle.</p> +<p>“Tell us about the swamp,” Louise urged as they +finally shoved off. “Is it filled with wild and dangerous +animals?”</p> +<p>“Bears mostly been killed off,” the old trapper replied, +sending the skiff along with powerful stabs of +the oars. “The rooters are about the wust ye run +into now.”</p> +<p>“Rooters?” Louise repeated, puzzled.</p> +<p>“Wild hogs. They got a hide so tough even the +rattlers can’t kill ’em. It’s most likely yer dogs been +et by one.”</p> +<p>“Oh, no!” Louise protested in horror.</p> +<p>“Rooters’ll go straight fer a dog or a deer or a lamb. +They’ll attack a man too if they’re hongry enough. +Their tusks are sharp as daggers.”</p> +<p>Penny quickly changed the subject by asking +Trapper Joe if he thought Pretty Boy Danny Deevers +might be hiding in the swamp.</p> +<p>“’Tain’t likely,” he replied briefly.</p> +<p>“Why do you think not?”</p> +<p>“City bred, waren’t he?”</p> +<p>“That’s what I was told.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_105">[105]</div> +<p>“No city bred feller could live in the swamp many +days. He wouldn’t have sense enough to git his food; +at night the sounds would drive him crazy, and he’d +end up bein’ bit by a snake.”</p> +<p>“Yet someone stole your gun,” Penny reminded +him.</p> +<p>“It waren’t Danny,” said the old trapper with +finality.</p> +<p>The skiff glided on. As the sun rose high overhead +pouring down upon their backs, Penny and Louise +began to feel drowsy. Repeatedly, they reached for +Joe’s jug of water.</p> +<p>As the channel became congested with floating +plants and rotted logs, the trapper shipped the oars and +used a paddle.</p> +<p>Presently they came within view of Lookout Island. +In the bow, Penny leaned forward to peer at the +jungle-like growth which grew densely to the water’s +edge.</p> +<p>“Someone’s on the island!” she exclaimed in a low +voice.</p> +<p>“Sure, it’s Coon Hawkins doin’ a little fishin’,” +agreed the trapper. “His boat’s pulled up on the +point.”</p> +<p>Louise stirred uneasily. “Is anyone with him?” she +whispered.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_106">[106]</div> +<p>“Don’t see no one ’cepting Coon. He won’t hurt +ye. Harmless, ole Coon is, an’ mighty shiftless too.”</p> +<p>“But is Coon really fishing?” Penny demanded suspiciously.</p> +<p>“He’s got a pole and a string o’ fish.”</p> +<p>“Also, he’s watching us very closely,” whispered +Penny. “I don’t trust him one bit! He’s hiding something +on that island! I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t try +to keep us from landing.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_107">[107]</div> +<h2 id="c14"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">14</span> +<br /><i>A CODE MESSAGE</i></h2> +<p>The old trapper appeared not to have heard +Penny’s whispered observation. He paddled the skiff +on until it drifted within ten yards of the point where +Coon Hawkins sat fishing.</p> +<p>“Howdy!” called the trapper.</p> +<p>“Howdy,” responded Coon, his gaze on the bobbing +cork.</p> +<p>“Seen anything of a dog on the island?”</p> +<p>“Hain’t no animal hereabouts,” Coon replied.</p> +<p>“’Pears like the gals has lost a dog,” said the old +trapper, dipping his paddle again. “We’re landin’ to +have a look around.”</p> +<p>Coon’s gaze shifted from the cork to the party in +the boat. He scowled and then coldly turned his back.</p> +<p>“Suit yerself,” he said indifferently. “You won’t +find no dawg here.”</p> +<p>Trapper Joe beached the skiff very nearly where +Penny had landed a few days earlier.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_108">[108]</div> +<p>“Have a keer,” he advised as the girls trod through +the muck. “Watch out fer snakes.”</p> +<p>“Here are Bones’ tracks!” Louise cried a moment +later, spying the prints which led away from the shore.</p> +<p>A short distance in, the tracks abruptly ended, but +nearby were prints of a man’s shoe and larger ones +made from a heavy boot.</p> +<p>Trapper Joe noted them in silence, signaling for +Penny and Louise to make no comment.</p> +<p>“Wait here while I look around,” he instructed.</p> +<p>Penny and Louise sat down on a mossy log to wait. +Coon paid them no heed, completely ignoring their +presence. The sun climbed higher overhead.</p> +<p>Presently the old trapper returned, his clothing +soaked with perspiration.</p> +<p>“Did you see anything of Bones?” Louise asked +eagerly.</p> +<p>“Nary a sign. The dog hain’t on the island.”</p> +<p>“Told ye, didn’t I?” Coon demanded triumphantly.</p> +<p>“That ye did, son,” agreed Trapper Joe. “We’ll be +gittin’ along.” On his way to the skiff, he asked carelessly: +“Come here offen, do ye?”</p> +<p>“When I feels like it,” Coon retorted.</p> +<p>“Fishin’ good?”</p> +<p>“Fair to middlin’.”</p> +<p>The old trapper helped the girls into the skiff and +shoved off.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_109">[109]</div> +<p>“Please, must we turn back now?” Louise asked +earnestly. “I hate to return without finding a trace +of poor old Bones.”</p> +<p>“’Tain’t likely you’ll ever see the dog again.”</p> +<p>“We realize that,” said Penny, “but it would be a +satisfaction to keep looking.”</p> +<p>“If the dog was still alive, it hain’t likely he’d of +swum away from the island.”</p> +<p>“He could have been carried,” Penny said, keeping +her voice low.</p> +<p>The swamper stared steadily at her a moment, saying +nothing.</p> +<p>“Besides, we’d like to go deeper into the swamp just +to see it,” Penny urged, sensing that he was hesitating. +“It must be beautiful farther in.”</p> +<p>“It is purty,” the old guide agreed. “But you have +to be mighty keerful.”</p> +<p>“Do take us,” Louise pleaded.</p> +<p>The old trapper raised his eyes to watch a giant +crane, and then slowly turned the skiff. As he sought +a sluggish channel leading deeper into the swamp, +Penny noticed that Coon Hawkins had shifted his +position on the point, the better to watch them.</p> +<p>The skiff moved on into gloomy water deeply +shadowed by overhanging tree limbs. Only then did +Penny ask the trapper what he thought really had +happened to Louise’s dog.</p> +<p>“’Tain’t easy to say,” he replied, resting on the paddle +a moment and taking a chew of tobacco.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_110">[110]</div> +<p>Penny sensed that the old man was unwilling to +express his true opinion. He stared moodily at the +sluggish water, lost in deep thought.</p> +<p>“The Hawkins’ are up to something!” Penny declared. +She was tempted to reveal what she and Salt +had seen a few nights before on the swamp road, but +held her tongue.</p> +<p>“After all, what do I know about Joe?” she reflected. +“He may be a close friend of the Hawkins +family for all his talk about them being a shiftless lot.”</p> +<p>Penny remained silent. Sensing her disappointment +because he had not talked more freely, Trapper Joe +presently remarked:</p> +<p>“You know, things goes on in the swamp that it’s +best not to see. Sometimes it hain’t healthy to know +too much.”</p> +<p>“What things do you mean?” Penny asked quickly.</p> +<p>Old Joe however, was not to be trapped by such a +direct question.</p> +<p>“Jest things,” he returned evasively. “Purty here, +hain’t it?”</p> +<p>The guide was now paddling along a sandy shore. +Overhead on a bare tree branch, two racoons drowsed +after their midday meal.</p> +<p>“In this swamp there’s places where no man has ever +set foot,” the guide continued. “Beyond Black Island, +in the heart o’ the swamp, it’s as wild as when everything +belonged to the Indians.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_111">[111]</div> +<p>“How does one reach Black Island?” Louise inquired.</p> +<p>“Only a few swampers that knows all the runs +would dast go that far,” said Old Joe. “If ye take a +wrong turn, ye kin float around fer days without +findin’ yer way out.”</p> +<p>“Is there only one exit—the way we came in?” +Penny asked.</p> +<p>“No, oncst ye git to Black Island, there’s a faster +way out. Ye pick yer way through a maze o’ channels +’till ye come to the main one which takes ye to the +Door River.”</p> +<p>“You’ve made the trip?”</p> +<p>“Did when I was young. Hain’t been to Black Island +in years lately.”</p> +<p>“How long does the trip take?”</p> +<p>“Not many hours if ye know the trail. But if ye +take a wrong twist, y’er apt to wind up anywheres. +We’re headin’ toward Black Island now.”</p> +<p>“Then why not go on?” cried Penny eagerly. “It’s +still early.”</p> +<p>The old guide shook his head as he paddled into +deeper water. “It’s jest a long, hard row and there +hain’t nothin’ there. I’m takin’ ye to a place where +some purty pink orchids grow. Then we’ll turn +back.”</p> +<p>Penny suddenly sat up very straight, listening intently.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_112">[112]</div> +<p>From some distance away came a faint, metallic +pounding sound.</p> +<p>“What’s that noise?” she asked, puzzled.</p> +<p>The old trapper also was listening alertly.</p> +<p>Again the strange noise was repeated. Bing-ping-ping! +Ping-ping!</p> +<p>“It sounds like someone pounding on a sheet of +metal!” exclaimed Penny. “I’d say it’s coming from +the edge of the swamp—perhaps Lookout Island!”</p> +<p>The trapper nodded, still listening.</p> +<p>Again they heard the pounding which seemed in a +queer pattern of dots and dashes.</p> +<p>“It’s a code!” Penny declared excitedly. “Perhaps +a message is being sent to someone hiding here in the +swamp!”</p> +<p>“In all the times I’ve been in these waters, I never +before heard nothin’ like that,” the guide admitted. +“I wonder—”</p> +<p>“Yes?” Penny prodded eagerly.</p> +<p>But the old guide did not complete the thought. +The boat now was drifting in a narrow run where +boughs hung low over the water, causing the three +occupants to lean far forward to avoid being brushed.</p> +<p>A tiny scream came from Louise’s lips. The bow +of the skiff where she sat had poked its nose against a +protruding tree root.</p> +<p>Within inches of her face, staring unblinkingly into +her eyes, was a large, ugly reptile!</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_113">[113]</div> +<h2 id="c15"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">15</span> +<br /><i>BEYOND THE BOARDWALK</i></h2> +<p>“Steady! Steady!” warned the old swamper as +Louise shrank back in horror from the big snake. +“Don’t move or he’ll strike!”</p> +<p>Digging his paddle into the slimy bed of the narrow +run, Trapper Joe inched the skiff backwards. Should +the boat jar against the tree root, he knew the snake +almost certainly would strike its poisonous fangs into +Louise’s face.</p> +<p>“Hurry!” she whispered.</p> +<p>Slowly the skiff moved backwards through the still +water, until at last it lay at a safe distance. The snake +had not moved from its resting place.</p> +<p>Now that the danger was over, Louise collapsed +with a shudder.</p> +<p>“You saved me!” she declared gratefully.</p> +<p>“It weren’t nothin’,” he replied as he sought another +run. “There’s thousands o’ varmints like him in this +swamp.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_114">[114]</div> +<p>“And to think Penny and I dared come here by ourselves +the other day! We didn’t realize how dangerous +it was!”</p> +<p>The incident had so unnerved both of the girls, that +some minutes elapsed before they recalled the strange +pounding sound which had previously held their attention.</p> +<p>“I don’t hear it now,” Penny said, listening intently. +“Just before we ran into that snake, you were about +to say something, Joe.”</p> +<p>The guide stopped paddling a moment. “Was I +now?” he asked. “I don’t recollect.”</p> +<p>“We were talking about the strange noise. You +said you never had heard anything like it before in +the swamp. Then you added—‘I wonder—’”</p> +<p>“Jest a-thinkin’,” Joe said, picking up the paddle +once more. “One does a lot o’ that in the swamp.”</p> +<p>“And not much talking,” rejoined Penny, slightly +annoyed. “What do you think made the noise?”</p> +<p>“Couldn’t rightly say.”</p> +<p>Realizing it was useless to question the old man +further, Penny dropped the subject. However, she +was convinced that Joe had at least a theory as to the +cause of the strange pounding sound.</p> +<p>“He knows a lot he isn’t telling,” she thought. +“But I’ll never get a word out of him by asking.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_115">[115]</div> +<p>If Joe were unwilling to discuss the signal-like tappings, +he showed no reluctance in telling the girls +about the swamp itself.</p> +<p>Wild turkey, one of the wariest fowls in the area, +could be found only on the islands far interior, they +learned. Although there were more than a dozen +species of snakes, only three needed to be feared, the +rattlers, the coral snake, and the cottonmouth.</p> +<p>“Ye have to be keerful when yer passin’ under tunnels +o’ overhanging limbs,” Old Joe explained. “Sometimes +they’ll be hangin’ solid with little snakes.”</p> +<p>“Don’t tell us any more,” Louise pleaded. “I’m +rapidly losing enthusiasm for this place!”</p> +<p>“Snakes mostly minds their own business ’less a feller +goes botherin’ ’em,” Trapper Joe remarked. “Too +bad more folks ain’t that way.”</p> +<p>The boat floated on, and the heat rising from +the water became increasingly unpleasant. Penny +mopped her face with a handkerchief and considered +asking the old man to turn back.</p> +<p>Before she could speak, Joe who had been peering +intently at the shore, veered the skiff in that direction.</p> +<p>“Are the orchids here?” Louise asked in surprise.</p> +<p>Old Joe shook his head. “Jest want to look at +something,” he remarked.</p> +<p>He brought the skiff to shore, and looking carefully +about for snakes, stepped out.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_116">[116]</div> +<p>“May we go with you?” asked Penny, whose limbs +had become cramped from sitting so long in one position.</p> +<p>“Kin if yer a mind to, but I only aim to look at that +dead campfire.”</p> +<p>“A campfire?” Penny questioned. “Where?”</p> +<p>The old trapper pointed to a barren, dry spot a few +feet back from the water’s edge, where a circle of +ashes and a few charred pieces of wood lay.</p> +<p>“Why, I hadn’t noticed it,” Penny said. Wondering +why the trapper should be interested in a campfire, +she started to ask, but thought better of it. By remaining +silent, she might learn—certainly not if she +inquired directly.</p> +<p>Trapper Joe gazed briefly at the camp-site, kicking +the dead embers with the toe of his heavy boot.</p> +<p>“Thet fire hain’t very old—must have been built +last night,” he observed.</p> +<p>“By a swamper, I suppose,” said Penny casually. +“One of the Hawkins’ family perhaps.”</p> +<p>“It hain’t likely they’d be comin’ here after nightfall. +An’ that fire never was built by a swamper.”</p> +<p>“Then a stranger must be hiding in the area!” Penny +cried. “Danny Deevers!”</p> +<p>“Maybe so, but Danny was city-bred and never +could survive long in the wilds. One night here would +likely be his last.”</p> +<p>“Supposing someone who knew the swamp were +helping him?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_117">[117]</div> +<p>“Thet would make it easier, but it weren’t Danny +Deevers who built this fire.”</p> +<p>“How can you be so positive?”</p> +<p>“Deevers was a big man, weren’t he?”</p> +<p>“Why, fairly large, I guess.”</p> +<p>“Then would he be leavin’ little tracks?” Joe +pointed to several shoeprints visible in the soft muck. +“This man, whoever he be, didn’t have anyone campin’ +with him. Leastwise, there hain’t no tracks except +from the one kind o’ shoe.”</p> +<p>“I guess you’re right,” agreed Penny, disappointed +to have her theory exploded. “I wonder who did +camp here?”</p> +<p>“I’m a-wonderin’ myself,” replied the old trapper. +“If it’s the feller thet stole my gun, I’d like pow’ful +well to catch up with him.”</p> +<p>Joe inspected the ground for some distance inland, +satisfying himself that no one was about. As they +returned to the boat, he said thoughtfully:</p> +<p>“Not in years heve I been as far as Black Island, but +I’ve got an itch to go there now.”</p> +<p>“Good!” chuckled Penny. “I want to see the place +myself.”</p> +<p>“It’s a long, hard row. I couldn’t rightly take +you’uns.”</p> +<p>“Why not?”</p> +<p>“Fer one thing, I hain’t sure what I’ll find at the +island.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_118">[118]</div> +<p>“All the better,” laughed Penny.</p> +<p>But the old trapper was not to be persuaded. “The +trip ain’t one fer young’uns. Likewise, with three in +a boat, it’s hard goin’. Part o’ the way, the run’s so +shallow, ye have to pole.”</p> +<p>“In a polite way, he’s telling us we’re excess baggage,” +Louise said, grinning at Penny. “To me it +sounds like a long, hot trip.”</p> +<p>“I kin go another day,” said the trapper. “There +hain’t no hurry.”</p> +<p>“But you’re well on your way there now,” Penny +remarked. “How long would it take to go and return +here—that is, if you went alone?”</p> +<p>“Two hours if I made it fast.”</p> +<p>“Then why not go?” Penny urged generously. +“Isn’t there somewhere Louise and I could wait?”</p> +<p>“Without a boat?” Louise interposed in alarm.</p> +<p>“I hain’t suggestin’ ye do it,” said the old trapper. +“But there is a safe place ye could wait.”</p> +<p>“Where?” asked Penny.</p> +<p>“On the plank walk.”</p> +<p>“Does it extend so far into the swamp?”</p> +<p>“This is a section of an old walk that was put in +years ago,” Joe explained. “It used to hook up with +the planking at the entranceway, but it went to pieces. +Folks never went to the trouble to rebuild this section.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_119">[119]</div> +<p>“All right, take us there,” Penny urged, ignoring +Louise’s worried frown. “If we’re above the water, +we should be safe enough.”</p> +<p>The old trapper rowed the girls on a few yards to a +series of shallow bays where water lilies and fragrant +pink orchids grew in profusion. As they drew in +their breath at the beautiful sight, he chuckled with +pleasure.</p> +<p>“Purty, hain’t it?” he asked. “Gatherin’ posies +should keep ye busy for awhile. The boardwalk’s +right here, and goes on fer quite a spell before it plays +out. If ye stay on the walk, you’ll be safe until I git +back.”</p> +<p>Louise gazed with misgiving at the old planks which +were decayed and broken. As she and Penny alighted, +the boards swayed at nearly every step.</p> +<p>“I’ll pick ye up right here, soon’s I can,” the old +guide promised. “If ye keep to the shade, ye won’t +git so much sunburn.”</p> +<p>“What if you shouldn’t get back before nightfall,” +Louise said nervously. “Wouldn’t we be stranded +here?”</p> +<p>“I’ll git back.”</p> +<p>“Where does the walk lead?” Penny asked.</p> +<p>“Nowheres in particular any more. Ye’d best not +foller it far. Jest wait fer me purty close here, and I’ll +be back soon’s I kin.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_120">[120]</div> +<p>Reaching into the bottom of the skiff, the trapper +tossed a parcel of lunch to Penny.</p> +<p>“Here’s some meat if ye git hongry while I’m gone. +Mind ye stay on the planks!”</p> +<p>With this final warning, Joe paddled away and soon +was lost to view behind the tall bushes.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_121">[121]</div> +<h2 id="c16"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">16</span> +<br /><i>TREED BY A BOAR</i></h2> +<p>Left to themselves, Penny and Louise walked a +few steps on the sagging planks which had been nailed +to tree stumps. The boards beneath them creaked +protestingly and dipped nearly into the water.</p> +<p>“We must have been crazy!” Louise exclaimed. +“We’ll die of boredom waiting here. Two hours +too!”</p> +<p>“It is a long time.”</p> +<p>“And if Joe shouldn’t come back, we’re stranded—absolutely +stranded.”</p> +<p>“We did take a chance, Louise, but I’m sure Joe can +be trusted.”</p> +<p>“He seems all right, but what do we really know +about him?” Louise argued. “If anything queer is +going on here in the swamp, he may be mixed up in it!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_122">[122]</div> +<p>“I thought about that,” Penny admitted. “Anyway, +if we’re to learn anything, we had to take a certain +amount of chance. I’m sure everything will be all +right.”</p> +<p>Slowly they walked on along the rickety planks, +now and then bending down to pluck a water lily. +Louise quickly jerked back her hand as a water snake +slithered past.</p> +<p>“Ugh!” she gasped. “Another one of those horrid +things!”</p> +<p>Interested to learn where the planks led, the girls +followed the bridge-like trail among the trees. Louise, +however, soon grew tired. As they presently came +to a stump which offered a perfect resting place, she +sat down.</p> +<p>“This is as far as I’m going,” she announced.</p> +<p>“But we have lots of time to explore, Louise. Don’t +you want to learn where this boardwalk goes?”</p> +<p>“Not at the risk of falling into the water! At any +rate, I’m tired. If you want to explore, go on alone. +I’ll wait for you here.”</p> +<p>Penny hesitated, reluctant to leave her chum alone.</p> +<p>“Sure you won’t mind, Louise?”</p> +<p>“I’d much rather wait here. Please go on. I know +you’ll never rest until you reach the end of the walk.”</p> +<p>Thus urged. Penny, with the package of lunch still +tucked under her arm, picked her way carefully along.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_123">[123]</div> +<p>The board path curved on between the trees for +some distance only to end abruptly where boards had +rotted and floated away. After a break of several yards, +the walk picked up again for a short ways, but Penny +had no intention of wading through water to follow +it further.</p> +<p>Pausing to rest before starting back, she noticed +beyond the water oaks a narrow stretch of higher land +covered with dense, wild growth. Above the trees a +huge buzzard soared lazily.</p> +<p>“Ugly bird!” she thought, watching its flight.</p> +<p>Penny was about to turn and retrace her steps, when +she noticed something else—footsteps in the muck +not far from the end of the boardwalk.</p> +<p>“Someone has been here recently,” she reflected. +“Those prints must have been made since the last +rain.”</p> +<p>Even from some distance away. Penny could see that +the shoemarks were small ones.</p> +<p>“Probably the person who made them is the same +fellow who built the campfire,” she thought. “Wonder +where the footprints lead?”</p> +<p>Penny tried to draw her eyes away, but the footprints +fascinated and challenged her. She longed to +investigate them further. However, she had not forgotten +Trapper Joe’s warning that it was unsafe to +leave the boardwalk.</p> +<p>“If I watch out for snakes and only go a short ways, +what harm can it do?” she reasoned.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_124">[124]</div> +<p>A moment more and Penny was off the walk, treading +her way cautiously along the muddy bank. She +paused to listen.</p> +<p>All was very quiet—so still that it gave the girl an +uneasy feeling, as if she were being watched by a +multitude of hostile eyes.</p> +<p>The footprints led to a large tree in a fairly open +area. On one of the low, overhanging bushes, a bit +of dark wool had been snagged.</p> +<p>“Someone climbed up there either to rest or sleep,” +Penny thought.</p> +<p>In the bushes close by, the girl heard a faint, rustling +sound.</p> +<p>“Who’s there?” she called sharply.</p> +<p>No one answered. All was still for a moment. +Then again she heard the whisper of disturbed leaves.</p> +<p>Penny’s flesh began to creep. Suddenly losing all +interest in the footprints, she decided to beat a hasty +retreat to the boardwalk.</p> +<p>The decision came too late. Before she could move, +a dozen big rooters led by an old gray boar, swarmed +out of the bushes, surrounding her.</p> +<p>Too frightened and startled to cry out, Penny huddled +back against the tree trunk. The rooters had +spread out in a circle and slowly were coming closer.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_125">[125]</div> +<p>Retreat to the safety of the boardwalk was completely +cut off. The leader of the pack now was so +near that she plainly could see his razor-sharp ivory +tusks. In another moment, the animal would attack.</p> +<p>Throwing off the paralysis of fear which gripped +her, Penny swung herself into the lowermost branch +of the big trees. The package of lunch she had carried, +dropped from her hand, falling at the base of the +trunk.</p> +<p>Instantly, the rooters were upon it, tearing savagely +at the meat and at each other. Sick with horror, Penny +clung desperately to the tree limb.</p> +<p>“If I slip now, I’m a gonner!” she thought. “Those +rooters are half starved. If I fall, they’ll attack me!”</p> +<p>Penny considered shouting for Louise, but dismissed +the thought as quickly as it came. Her chum probably +was too far away to hear her cries. If she did come, +unarmed as she was, she might leave the boardwalk +only to endanger herself.</p> +<p>“Louise can’t help me,” Penny told herself. “I +brought this on myself by not heeding Old Joe’s warning. +Now it’s up to me to get out of the mess the best +way I can.”</p> +<p>The girl lay still on the limb, trying not to draw +the attention of the rooters. Once they finished the +meat, she was hopeful they would go away. Then she +could make a dash for the walk.</p> +<p>Grunting and squealing, the rooters devoured the +meat and looked about for more. To Penny’s relief, +they gradually wandered off—all except the old boar.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_126">[126]</div> +<p>The leader of the pack stayed close to the big tree, +eyeing the girl in the tree wickedly. Even in the dim +light she could plainly see his evil little eyes and working +jaws.</p> +<p>“Go away you big brute!” she muttered.</p> +<p>Penny’s perch on the limb was a precarious one and +her arms began to ache from the strain of holding on. +Unsuccessfully, she tried to shift into a more comfortable +position.</p> +<p>“I may be treed here for hours!” she thought. “Can +I hold on that long?”</p> +<p>The old boar showed no disposition to move off, +but kept circling the tree. It seemed to the now desperate +Penny, that the animal sensed she was weakening +and only awaited the moment when she would +tumble down to the ground.</p> +<p>Breaking off a small tree branch she hurled it defiantly +at the boar. The act caused her to lose her +balance. Frantically, she clawed for a foothold but +could not obtain it. Down she slipped to the base of +the tree.</p> +<p>The old boar, quick to see his opportunity, charged. +With a scream of terror, Penny leaped aside and the +animal rushed past, squealing in rage at having missed +his prey.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_127">[127]</div> +<p>Even now, the boar stood between the girl and the +plank walk. The tree from which she had fallen, offered +her only refuge, and as she measured her chances, +she realized that the probability of regaining the limb +was a slim one.</p> +<p><a href="#front">The boar had turned and was coming for her again.</a></p> +<p>But at that instant, as Penny froze in terror, a shot +was fired from somewhere in the bushes behind her. +The bullet went straight and true, stopping the boar +in his tracks. He grunted, rolled over, twitched twice, +and lay still.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_128">[128]</div> +<h2 id="c17"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">17</span> +<br /><i>RESCUE</i></h2> +<p>With a sob of relief, Penny whirled around to +thank her rescuer. Through the thick leaves of the +bushes she could see the shadowy figure of a man. +But even as she watched, he retreated.</p> +<p>“Wait!” the girl cried.</p> +<p>There was no answer, and before she could call out +a word of thanks for deliverance, the man had vanished.</p> +<p>His disappearance reminded her that though she +had been snatched from the jaws of death, the danger +by no means was over. At any moment the herd of +rooters might return to attack.</p> +<p>Turning, Penny ran swiftly to the planked walk, in +her haste not watching where she stepped. Her boots +sank deeply in muck. Once on the planks well above +the water level, she paused to catch her breath, and +to gaze searchingly toward the bushes. All now was +still.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_129">[129]</div> +<p>“Who could my rescuer have been?” she mused. +“Why didn’t he wait for me to thank him?”</p> +<p>Penny called several times but received no reply. +Finally, giving up, she started slowly back along the +walk toward the bay where she had left Louise.</p> +<p>More than the girl realized, the adventure had unnerved +her. She felt weak all over, and several times +as she gazed steadily at the water, became dizzy and +nearly lost her balance.</p> +<p>“Guess I’m not tough enough for swamp life,” she +reflected. “If ever I get out of here in one piece, I’m +tempted to forget Danny Deevers and let the police +do all the searching.”</p> +<p>Footsteps became audible on the boardwalk some +distance away.</p> +<p>Every sense now alert to danger, Penny halted to +listen.</p> +<p>Someone was coming toward her, moving swiftly +on the creaking planks.</p> +<p>“Penny!” called an agitated voice.</p> +<p>Penny relaxed as she knew that it was her chum. +“Louise!” she answered, running to meet her.</p> +<p>Rounding a clump of bushes, and walking gingerly +on the narrow boards, Louise stopped short as she beheld +her friend.</p> +<p>“Why, you’re as white as a ghost!” she exclaimed. +“And I distinctly heard you shout! What happened? +Did you see a snake?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_130">[130]</div> +<p>“A snake would be mild compared to what I’ve been +through. Were you ever eaten alive?”</p> +<p>“Not that I recall.”</p> +<p>“Well, I escaped it by the skin of my teeth,” Penny +said, rather relishing the adventure now that the story +made such good telling. “I was saved by a mysterious +stranger!”</p> +<p>Louise gazed at her chum anxiously and reached out +to touch her forehead. “You’re hot and feverish,” she +insisted. “This trip has been too much for you.”</p> +<p>“I’m as cool as a piece of artificial ice!” Penny retorted. +“Furthermore, I’m not touched by the heat!”</p> +<p>“Well, something is wrong with you.”</p> +<p>“I’ve just had the fright of my life, that’s all. If +you’ll give me a chance, I’ll tell you what happened.”</p> +<p>“The stage is all yours, sweet. But don’t give me +any tall tale about being rescued by a Prince Charming +disguised as a frog!”</p> +<p>Penny’s lips compressed into a tight line. “I can +see you’ll never believe the truth, Lou. So I’ll prove +it to you! Come with me, and I’ll show you the animal +that nearly made mince meat of me.”</p> +<p>Treading single file, the girls returned the way +Penny had come, to the end of the planks.</p> +<p>“Look over at the base of that big tree,” Penny instructed, +pointing. “What do you see?”</p> +<p>“Nothing.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_131">[131]</div> +<p>“The boar that was shot—why, it should be there!” +Penny scarcely could believe the sight of her own +eyes. “But it’s gone!”</p> +<p>“It’s gone because it never was there. Penny, you’re +suffering from too much heat.”</p> +<p>“I’m not! Neither am I imagining things! That +old boar was there ten minutes ago. Either he came +back to life and went off, or someone dragged him +away.”</p> +<p>“And your mysterious rescuer?” Louise teased. +“What became of him?”</p> +<p>“I wish I knew! Lou, I’m not imagining any of this! +Surely you must have heard the shot?”</p> +<p>“Well, I did hear something that sounded like one.”</p> +<p>“Also, the lunch is gone. All that remains of it, is +the paper lying over there by the tree.”</p> +<p>“I do see a newspaper,” Louise conceded.</p> +<p>“And that broken tree branch lying on the ground? +I was up the tree and threw it at the boar. That’s +how I lost my balance and fell.”</p> +<p>Louise now was convinced the story had solid foundation. +“Start from the beginning,” she urged.</p> +<p>Penny related what had occurred, rather building +up the scene in which she had been delivered from +death by the bullet shot from behind a bush.</p> +<p>“Whoever the man is, he must be somewhere close +by,” Louise said when she had finished. “Perhaps we +can find him.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_132">[132]</div> +<p>“Not a chance! He’s deliberately hiding. Besides, +I know better than to leave the walk again. It’s dangerous!”</p> +<p>“In that case we may as well go back and wait for +Joe,” Louise said.</p> +<p>Treading their way carefully, the girls returned to +the far end of the boardwalk. To their surprise, they +saw a boat approaching.</p> +<p>“Why, it looks like Joe in the skiff!” Penny commented. +“But he isn’t due back for a long while yet.”</p> +<p>Watching the oncoming boat for a moment, Louise +said: “It’s Joe all right, and he’s coming fast. Something +must be wrong.”</p> +<p>Soon the guide brought the skiff alongside the sagging +boardwalk.</p> +<p>“I heard a shot and started back,” he explained. “I +sure am glad to see both o’ ye safe.”</p> +<p>Before Penny could do so, Louise told Joe what had +befallen her chum.</p> +<p>“Ye could have been kilt by that old boar,” he said +soberly. “It was the package o’ meat that drew them +rooters to the tree. They hain’t likely to attack a +human lest they’re half starved.”</p> +<p>“I wish I knew who saved me,” Penny said. “Could +it have been one of the Hawkins’ boys?”</p> +<p>“From the sound, I’d say that shot weren’t fired +from their rifles. More’n likely it came from my own +gun!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_133">[133]</div> +<p>“The stolen one?”</p> +<p>“That’s what I’m a-thinkin’. If I could see the bullet +that was fired, I could tell fer sure.”</p> +<p>“The boar disappeared and the bullet with him,” +Penny said. “That’s another queer thing.”</p> +<p>“Whoever kilt the critter may have drug him off, or +maybe the animal was only stunned.” The guide +squinted at the lowering sun. “I’d like powe’ful well +to see the place, but it’s gitten late. We gotta git +back.”</p> +<p>“What did you learn at Black Island?” Louise asked +as she and Penny climbed into the skiff.</p> +<p>“Never got half way there,” the guide said in disgust. +“Since I went in last time, the main channel’s +clogged thick with hyacinths. To find yer way in +now’s a half day’s job.”</p> +<p>“Can’t we try again tomorrow?” Penny asked +eagerly.</p> +<p>The old guide gazed at her quizzically as he dipped +his paddle. “Hain’t ye had enough o’ the swamp after +today, young’un?”</p> +<p>“When that old boar came for me, I told myself +if ever I got safely away, I’d never come again. But +that was only a passing impulse. Black Island interests +me.”</p> +<p>“It’s the most dangerous part of the swamp.”</p> +<p>“Because of wild animals, you mean?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_134">[134]</div> +<p>“There’s lots wuss things than animals,” said the +old guide soberly.</p> +<p>“For instance?”</p> +<p>Trapper Joe ignored Penny’s question. Becoming +as one deaf, he propelled the skiff with powerful +strokes.</p> +<p>Penny waited patiently, but the guide showed no +inclination to say more about Black Island.</p> +<p>“Shall we make it tomorrow?” she inquired presently.</p> +<p>“Make what?” Joe’s wrinkled face was blank.</p> +<p>“Why, I mean, shall we visit Black Island!”</p> +<p>“I hate to disappoint ye, but we hain’t a-goin’.”</p> +<p>“You may be busy tomorrow. Later in the week +perhaps?”</p> +<p>“Not tomorrer nor never. I hain’t takin’ the responsibility +o’ bringin’ ye young’uns into the swamp +agin.”</p> +<p>“But why?” wailed Penny. “I wish now I hadn’t +told you about that old boar!”</p> +<p>“It hain’t the boar that’s got me worried.”</p> +<p>“Then you must be afraid of something on Black +Island—something you learned today and are keeping +to yourself!”</p> +<p>“Maybe that’s it,” returned Joe briefly. “Anyhow, +we hain’t goin’. And it won’t do no good to try +coaxin’ me with yer female wiles. My mind’s +made up!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_135">[135]</div> +<p>Having delivered himself of this ultimatum, the +guide plied his paddle steadily.</p> +<p>The set of his jaw warned Penny it would be useless +to tease. With a discouraged sigh, she settled down +into the bottom of the skiff to think.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_136">[136]</div> +<h2 id="c18"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">18</span> +<br /><i>WANTED—A GUIDE</i></h2> +<p>Since the eventful trip to the swamp, several days +now had elapsed, and from Penny’s viewpoint, nothing +of consequence had happened.</p> +<p>Each day the <i>Riverview Star</i> carried a story giving +details of the police search for Danny Deevers, and +on each succeeding morning the account became +shorter, with less new information.</p> +<p>Twice, it was rumored police were closing in on the +escaped convict, and twice the rumor proved false.</p> +<p>At the request of Salt Sommers and Jerry Livingston, +posses made several searches of the outer swamp +area. However, no trace of the missing man was +found, and investigators quickly switched their activities +elsewhere.</p> +<p>Spurred by the <i>Star’s</i> reward offer, clues, anonymous +and otherwise, came to both the newspaper and +police officials. All proved worthless.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_137">[137]</div> +<p>“It begins to look as if Danny has pulled out of this +territory,” Mr. Parker remarked to Penny late one +afternoon as she sat in his office at the plant. “At +least he’s made no further attempt to carry out his +threat against Jerry.”</p> +<p>“Maybe he’s only lying low and waiting until the +police search cools off a little.”</p> +<p>“Quite possible,” the publisher agreed, frowning as +he fingered a paperweight. “In that case, Jerry is in +real danger. I’ll never feel entirely easy in my mind +until Deevers is behind bars again.”</p> +<p>“Speaking of me, Chief?” inquired a voice from the +doorway.</p> +<p>Jerry stood there, a long streamer of pasted copy +paper in his hand. He had written a story of a political +squabble at city hall, and needed Mr. Parker’s approval +before handing it over to the typesetters.</p> +<p>The publisher quickly read the article, pencilled an +“okay” at the top, and returned it to the reporter.</p> +<p>“Good stuff, Jerry,” he approved. “By the way, +any news of Danny Deevers?”</p> +<p>“Nothing new.”</p> +<p>“Jerry, I can’t help feeling he’s hiding either in the +swamp or somewhere close by,” Penny interposed +eagerly. “At least something queer is going on out +there.”</p> +<p>“That’s what Salt thinks. We were out there last +night.”</p> +<p>“In the swamp?” Penny asked, caught by surprise.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_138">[138]</div> +<p>“Not in it, but near the Hawkins’ place.”</p> +<p>“What did you learn, Jerry?”</p> +<p>“Frankly, nothing. You remember that swamp +road where you and Salt saw the truck?”</p> +<p>“Yes, of course.”</p> +<p>“We watched there for quite awhile around midnight.”</p> +<p>“Did you see the truck stop there again?”</p> +<p>“No, but we thought we saw a couple of men at the +edge of the swamp—apparently waiting for someone. +We tried to sneak up close, but I’m afraid we gave +ourselves away. Anyway, they vanished back among +the trees.”</p> +<p>“Did you notice or hear anything else unusual, +Jerry?”</p> +<p>“Well, no. Not unless you’d call pounding on a +dishpan out of the ordinary.”</p> +<p>“A dishpan!” Penny exclaimed. “Who did it?”</p> +<p>“We couldn’t tell. Salt and I heard the sound soon +after we had passed the Hawkins’ place on our way +toward the swamp.”</p> +<p>“What sort of sound was it?”</p> +<p>“Just a metallic tap-tap-tap. It may not have been +on a dishpan.”</p> +<p>“Were the taps in code, Jerry?”</p> +<p>“Couldn’t have been a very complicated one for +the pounding only lasted a minute or two. It was irregular +though.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_139">[139]</div> +<p>“Then I’m sure it was a code!” Penny cried. +“Louise and I heard the same sound when we were +with Trapper Joe in the boat!”</p> +<p>“Did the noise come from outside the swamp?”</p> +<p>“Inside, I’d say.”</p> +<p>“Then we may not have heard the same thing. The +pounding noise Salt and I noticed, came from the +direction of the Hawkins’ farm. It may have had no +significance.”</p> +<p>Before Jerry could say more, Editor DeWitt called +him to the copy desk. Mr. Parker turned again to his +daughter.</p> +<p>“Penny, if I were you, I’d try to forget Danny +Deevers,” he advised. “Whatever you do, don’t go +into the swamp again unless you’re with Joe or another +guide. Better still, don’t go at all.”</p> +<p>“Oh, Dad!”</p> +<p>“No good can come of it. Do I have your promise, +Penny?”</p> +<p>“But I feel I should try to recover Louise’s dog!”</p> +<p>“We’ll buy her a new pet.”</p> +<p>“It won’t be Bones.”</p> +<p>“The chance that the dog ever will be found is slim,” +Mr. Parker said. “In any case, he’s not worth the risk +of trying to find him. Your promise, Penny?”</p> +<p>“That I won’t go in without a guide?” she asked, +seizing upon the lesser of two evils. “All right, I +promise.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_140">[140]</div> +<p>The next day it rained, keeping Penny closely confined +at home. However, the following morning gave +promise of being sunny and pleasant.</p> +<p>Arising early, she packed a lunch for herself, dressed +in hiking clothes with heavy boots, and was ready to +leave the house by the time Mrs. Weems came downstairs +for breakfast.</p> +<p>“Up so early, Penny?” she inquired.</p> +<p>“Just going on a little trip. Don’t expect me back +very early.”</p> +<p>The housekeeper regarded her severely. “Penny +Parker, you’re not going to the swamp again!”</p> +<p>“Figured I might.”</p> +<p>“Does your father know you’re going?”</p> +<p>“We talked it over a day or so ago. He doesn’t +mind so long as I go with Trapper Joe or another +guide.”</p> +<p>“In that case I suppose I can’t object,” Mrs. Weems +sighed. “Mind, you don’t set foot in the swamp without +someone along!”</p> +<p>“I’ve already given my promise to Dad.”</p> +<p>“And do be careful,” the housekeeper added. “I’ll +not feel easy until you’re back.”</p> +<p>Though neither she nor Penny knew it then, the +girl’s absence from home was to be a long one, and +both were to have many uncomfortable moments before +her return.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_141">[141]</div> +<p>Reaching the swamp sometime later, Penny parked +the car and walked to Trapper Joe’s shack on the +creek.</p> +<p>The old guide was sitting on the sagging porch, his +feet propped on the railing. Catching sight of Penny +he frowned slightly, but as she came up, greeted her +in a friendly way.</p> +<p>“’Mawnin’,” he said briefly. “What’s on yer mind +this time?”</p> +<p>“Can’t you guess?” Penny asked, sitting down on a +step at his feet.</p> +<p>“If yer wantin’ me to take you into the swamp agin, +yer only wastin’ yer words. I hain’t got the time.”</p> +<p>“I’ll pay you well.”</p> +<p>“It hain’t the money.”</p> +<p>“Then why do you refuse to take me in?”</p> +<p>“Tole ye, didn’t I? I got work to do.”</p> +<p>Penny knew that Joe was only making excuses, for +obviously, one day was very like another in his care-free +life.</p> +<p>“What work do you have this morning that can’t +wait, Joe?”</p> +<p>“Well, fer one thing I gotta smoke out a swarm o’ +bees and git me a nice mess o’ honey fer winter. Want +to go with me?”</p> +<p>“Into the swamp?”</p> +<p>“No, this tree hain’t in the swamp.”</p> +<p>“Then I don’t want to go. Joe, I think you’re stubborn! +You know how much this trip means to me.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_142">[142]</div> +<p>“Reckon I do.”</p> +<p>“Then why not take me? Tell me your reason for +refusing.”</p> +<p>Old Joe gazed steadily at Penny and for a moment +seemed on the verge of making interesting revelations. +But to her disappointment, he shook his head.</p> +<p>“Jest don’t wanter go, thet’s all.”</p> +<p>“You learned something the other day when we +were in the swamp!” Penny accused. “You’re keeping +it from me—probably to protect someone! Isn’t +that it?”</p> +<p>“Hain’t saying.”</p> +<p>“You know Danny Deevers is hidden somewhere in +the swamp! You’re helping to protect him!”</p> +<p>Old Joe’s feet came down from the railing with a +thump. “Now that hain’t so!” he denied. “I got no +time fer the likes o’ Danny Deevers. If I knowed +where he is, I’d give him up to the law.”</p> +<p>“Well, someone is hiding there! I heard Ezekiel +Hawkins talking on Lookout Point, didn’t I? We +found the dead campfire. Your gun was stolen, and +later a mysterious person rescued me when I was +treed by the boar.”</p> +<p>“Could have been one o’ the Hawkins.”</p> +<p>“You don’t honestly believe that, Joe.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_143">[143]</div> +<p>“No, reckon I don’t,” the guide sighed. “You sure +kin shoot questions at a feller faster’n these new Army +rockets I hear tell about. I’d like to tell ye what ye +want to know, but there’s things best not talked about. +Knowin’ too much kin be dangerous.”</p> +<p>Penny scarcely could hide her annoyance, for several +times now the guide had made similar hints.</p> +<p>“I don’t trust the Hawkins’ family at all,” she announced. +“If they’re not involved with Danny +Deevers, they’re up to something here in the swamp. +Otherwise, why would they be so mean?”</p> +<p>“The Hawkins’ family always has been mean an’ +ornery.”</p> +<p>“Another thing—” Penny started to mention how +she and Salt had seen large containers of some unknown +product being removed from the swamp, but +broke off as she decided to keep the information to +herself.</p> +<p>“Yeah?” inquired the guide.</p> +<p>“Nothing,” replied Penny. “If you won’t take me +into the swamp, is there anyone else who will?”</p> +<p>“Couldn’t say fer sure,” Joe replied, “but I reckon +I’m the only guide herebouts fer maybe fifty miles.”</p> +<p>“Won’t you reconsider?”</p> +<p>“You put up a powe’ful strong argument, young’un, +but I gotta say no fer yer own good.”</p> +<p>“You’ve certainly ruined all my plans,” Penny said +crossly. “Well, since you won’t help me, I’ll say +goodbye.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_144">[144]</div> +<p>Back in the car once more, she could not bring herself +to return home so early in the morning. Debating +a moment, she drove to the homestead of the Widow +Jones.</p> +<p>Dressed in a bright calico dress, the woman sat under +a shade tree skillfully cutting up the meat of a turtle +and dropping it into a pan of cold water.</p> +<p>As Penny walked across the weed-choked yard, she +looked up in a startled way, but smiled as she recognized +the girl.</p> +<p>“I’m fixin’ to have me a nice soup,” she explained. +“Ye cook the turtle with diced carrots, potatoes, okra, +and tomatoes and serve it piping hot. Ever et any?”</p> +<p>“No, I never have,” Penny replied, watching the +preparations with interest. “It sounds good.”</p> +<p>“Ye kin stay and have dinner with me,” the woman +invited. “I’ll fix some flour biscuits and we’ll have a +right nice meal.”</p> +<p>“I’m afraid I’ll have to get back home,” Penny said +regretfully. “My trip here today was a failure.”</p> +<p>Because the Widow Jones gave her an inquiring look +of sympathy, she explained that Trapper Joe had refused +to take her into the swamp. She went on to tell +why the trip meant so much to her, and of her belief +that a clever investigator who knew the area might find +clues which would lead to the capture of Danny +Deevers.</p> +<p>“So Joe wouldn’t take ye?” the Widow Jones inquired +softly. “Why?”</p> +<p>“He says it’s dangerous.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_145">[145]</div> +<p>“And since when has Joe got so a-feared of his +shadow?”</p> +<p>“It did sound like an excuse to me. I think he knows +what is going on in the swamp, and wants no part +of it.”</p> +<p>“Ye say it means a lot to ye to make the trip?”</p> +<p>“Oh, yes, I’d do it in a minute, if I could find anyone +who knows the channels. But Joe says he’s the +only guide for fifty miles around.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Jones slapped the last piece of turtle meat into +the water with a splash. She arose, gathering her long +skirts about her.</p> +<p>“Joe’s maybe fergettin’ that as a gal, my paw taught +me every crook and turn of the swamp. Hain’t been +in there fer quite a spell now, but I got a hankerin’ to +go agin.”</p> +<p>Penny stared at her incredulously.</p> +<p>“You mean you’ll take me?” she demanded. “Today? +Now?”</p> +<p>“I’ve got a quilt I should be piecin’ on this afternoon, +but hit can wait. If you hain’t afeared to place +yerself in my hands, I’ll take you.”</p> +<p>“I’ll jump at the chance! But do you have a boat?”</p> +<p>“We’ll make Joe lend us his!” the widow said +grimly. “And if he tries squirmin’, well, I know how +to handle him!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_146">[146]</div> +<h2 id="c19"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">19</span> +<br /><i>PENNY’S PLAN</i></h2> +<p>Making elaborate preparations for the trip +into the swamp, Mrs. Jones packed a lunch, and +donned a huge straw hat and stout boots.</p> +<p>However, she did not change the long, flowing +skirt, which flopped about her ankles as she and Penny +walked through the meadow to Trapper Joe’s dock.</p> +<p>From the porch, the old guide saw the pair and +watched them warily.</p> +<p>“We’re takin’ yer boat, Joe,” the widow called to +him from the creek’s edge. “We’re makin’ a little +trip into the swamp.”</p> +<p>Joe pulled himself from the chair and came quickly +to the dock.</p> +<p>“Hold on now!” he protested. “Two wimmin +can’t go alone into the swamp! Leastwise, not beyond +Lookout Point.”</p> +<p>“Says who?” retorted the widow, already untying +the boat.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_147">[147]</div> +<p>“That young ’un’s talked you into goin’ to Black +Island! Ye can’t do it. You’ll git lost in one o’ the +false channels. The hyacinths are bad this year.”</p> +<p>The widow hesitated, then tossed her head as she +dropped the package of lunch into the skiff.</p> +<p>“Ye forgit I was swamp raised! Git me the paddles +and a pole, Joe. Don’t stand there gawkin’.”</p> +<p>“No wimmin ever went as far as Black Island. It +hain’t safe!”</p> +<p>“My Paw took me there when I was a little girl. I +hain’t forgittin’ the way.”</p> +<p>“Ye’r stubborn as a mule!” Joe accused, glaring at +her. “If you’re dead set on goin’, I see I’ll have to +give in and go with ye. But it’s agin my best judgment.”</p> +<p>“No one asked ye to go with us, Joe,” the widow +said tartly. “We aim to make this trip by ourselves. +Jest git the paddles and pole.”</p> +<p>Joe threw up his hands in a gesture of defeat and +started slowly for the shack. “Wimmin!” he muttered. +“There jest hain’t no sense in ’em!”</p> +<p>He took his time inside the shack, but finally returned +with the requested paddles and pole.</p> +<p>“There ye are!” he snapped. “But I’m warnin’ ye, +if ye git into trouble or lost, don’t expect me to come +after ye.”</p> +<p>“Now I’ll take the kicker motor,” the widow ordered, +paying no heed to his words.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_148">[148]</div> +<p>“Not my motor!” Joe exclaimed defiantly. “I paid +sixty dollars fer it secondhand and I hain’t lettin’ no +female ruin it.”</p> +<p>“Ye can’t expect me to blister my hands rowin’ all +day,” the widow replied. “We aim to make a quick +trip.”</p> +<p>“Ye can’t use the motor in all them hyacinths!”</p> +<p>“Maybe not, but it’ll take us through the open spots +a heap faster. The motor, Joe.”</p> +<p>Grumbling loudly, the guide went to the house once +more. He came back with the motor which he attached +and started for the widow.</p> +<p>“Thank ye kindly, Joe,” she grinned at him as the +boat pulled away from the dock. “I’ll make ye one of +my apple pies when I git back.”</p> +<p>“<i>If ye get back</i>,” the guide corrected morosely.</p> +<p>Propelled by the motor, the skiff sped steadily +through the channel and came presently to the Hawkins’ +farm. The popping of the engine, which could be +heard some distance, drew Mrs. Hawkins to the dock.</p> +<p>She signaled the boat as it drew near.</p> +<p>“Howdy,” the Widow Jones greeted her politely +though with no warmth. She throttled down the +engine and drifted in toward shore.</p> +<p>“Goin’ in fer a little fishin’, I take it,” Mrs. Hawkins +observed by way of inquiry. “But where’s yer fishin’ +poles?”</p> +<p>“Left ’em ter home,” the widow replied.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_149">[149]</div> +<p>“Then you hain’t fishin’.”</p> +<p>“’Pears like yer right smart at usein’ yer eyes,” the +widow agreed dryly.</p> +<p>A slight frown which did not escape Penny, puckered +the farm woman’s forehead. She seemed on the +verge of speaking, then appeared to change her mind. +As the boat drifted on, she watched stolidly.</p> +<p>“Never did like that woman,” Mrs. Jones commented +when the skiff had rounded a bend. “She’s +got sharp eyes, and she don’t approve ’cause we’re +goin’ inter the swamp together.”</p> +<p>“Why should she care?” Penny asked.</p> +<p>“I wonder myself.”</p> +<p>“I’ve noticed that she always seems to be watching +the entrance channel into the swamp,” Penny said +thoughtfully. “Perhaps she is the one who taps out +those signals!”</p> +<p>“Signals? What do you mean, young’un?”</p> +<p>Penny told of the strange pounding noises she had +heard during her previous trip through the swamp.</p> +<p>“I could almost wager Mrs. Hawkins will wait until +we’re a safe distance away, and then signal!” the girl +went on. “Don’t I wish I could catch her though!”</p> +<p>“Maybe ye kin. We could shut off the motor and +drift back and watch.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_150">[150]</div> +<p>Penny’s eyes began to sparkle with excitement. “I’d +love to do it. But won’t she be listening for the sound +of our motor as we go deeper into the swamp? If +she doesn’t hear it, she’s apt to suspect something.”</p> +<p>“Ye’ve got a real head on yer shoulders,” said the +widow approvingly. “By the way, I don’t like to keep +callin’ ye young’un now we’re good friends. What’s +yer name?”</p> +<p>“I thought you knew. I’m sorry. It’s Penny +Parker.”</p> +<p>“Penny! I never did hear o’ a girl named after +money.”</p> +<p>“I wasn’t exactly,” Penny smiled. “My real name +is Penelope, but no one ever liked it. So I’m called +Penny.”</p> +<p>“Penelope, hain’t sich a bad name. That’s what I’ll +call ye.”</p> +<p>“About Mrs. Hawkins—” the girl reminded her.</p> +<p>“Oh, yes, now if ye was a mind to find out about +her, it wouldn’t be so hard.”</p> +<p>“How?”</p> +<p>“We hain’t gone fur into the swamp yet. I could +let ye out here on the bank and ye could slip back +afoot to the bend in the channel.”</p> +<p>“Where I’d be able to watch the house!”</p> +<p>“Ye got the idea, Penelope. All the while, I would +keep goin’ on in the boat until the sound o’ the motor +jest naturally died out. Then I could row back here +and pick ye up agin.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Jones, you’re the one who has a head on your +shoulders!” Penny cried. “Let’s do it!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_151">[151]</div> +<p>The widow brought the skiff alongside the bank, +steadying it as the girl stepped ashore.</p> +<p>“Ye got a watch?” she asked.</p> +<p>“Yes.”</p> +<p>“Then I’ll meet ye right here in ’bout three-quarters +of an hour. I kin keep track o’ the time by lookin’ at +the sun.”</p> +<p>“That may not give me enough time,” Penny said +anxiously.</p> +<p>“If yer late, I’ll wait fer ye,” the widow promised. +“But try to be here. If ye hain’t we may havter give +up the trip, ’cause it hain’t sensible startin’ in late in the +day.”</p> +<p>“I’ll be here,” Penny assured her. “If nothing happens +in three-quarters of an hour, I’ll just give it up.”</p> +<p>The boat, it’s motor popping steadily, slipped away. +Penny scrambled up the muddy bank, and finding a +well-trod path, walked rapidly toward the Hawkins’ +place.</p> +<p>Soon she came to the bend in the creek, and there +paused. From afar, she could hear the retreating sound +of the skiff’s motor.</p> +<p>Through a break in the bushes, the girl peered +toward the distant farmhouse. To her disappointment, +the yard was now deserted, and Mrs. Hawkins +was nowhere in sight.</p> +<p>“Maybe I was wrong,” Penny thought. “I’d hate to +waste all this valuable time.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_152">[152]</div> +<p>For a half hour she waited. Twice Mrs. Hawkins +came out of the house, once to gather in clothes from +the line and the second time to obtain a pail of water.</p> +<p>“I guess my hunch was crazy,” Penny told herself. +“I’ll have to be starting back to meet Mrs. Jones.”</p> +<p>The sound of the motorboat now had died out +completely, so the girl knew the widow already was +on her way to their appointed meeting place.</p> +<p>Turning away from the bushes, Penny paused for +one last glance at the farmhouse. The yard remained +deserted. But as she sighed in disappointment, the +kitchen door again flew open.</p> +<p>Mrs. Hawkins came outside and walked rapidly +to the shed. She listened attentively for a moment. +Then from a peg on the outside wall, she took down +a big tin dishpan and a huge wooden mixing spoon.</p> +<p>Penny watched with mounting excitement. This +was the moment for which she had waited!</p> +<p>Carefully, the farm woman looked about to be +certain no one was nearby. Then with firm precision, +she beat out a tattoo on the dishpan.</p> +<p>“It’s a signal to someone in the swamp!” guessed +Penny. “In code she is tapping out that Mrs. Jones +and I are on our way into the interior!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_153">[153]</div> +<h2 id="c20"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">20</span> +<br /><i>TRAILING HOD HAWKINS</i></h2> +<p>After Mrs. Hawkins had pounded out the +signal, she hung the dishpan on its peg once more, and +went to the door of the shed. Without opening it, she +spoke to someone inside the building. Penny was +too far away to hear what she said.</p> +<p>In a minute, the woman turned away and vanished +into the house.</p> +<p>Penny waited a little while to be certain Mrs. Hawkins +did not intend to come outside again. Then, with +an uneasy glance at her wrist watch, she stole away to +rejoin Mrs. Jones.</p> +<p>The skiff was drawn up to shore by the time she +reached the appointed meeting place.</p> +<p>“I was jest about to give you up,” the widow remarked +as the girl scrambled into the boat. “Did ye +learn what ye wanted to know?”</p> +<p>Penny told her what she had seen.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_154">[154]</div> +<p>“’Pears you may be right about it bein’ a signal,” +the widow agreed thoughtfully. “We may be able +to learn more too, ’cause whoever had his’n ears tuned +to Ma Hawkins’ signal may figure we’re deep in the +swamp by this time.”</p> +<p>“Let’s keep on the alert as we near Lookout Point,” +Penny urged.</p> +<p>Mrs. Jones nodded and silently dipped the paddle.</p> +<p>Soon they came within view of the point. Passing +beneath an overhanging tree branch, the widow +grasped it with one hand, causing the skiff to swing +sideways into a shelter of leaves.</p> +<p>“See anyone, Penelope?” she whispered.</p> +<p>“Not a soul.”</p> +<p>“Then maybe we was wrong about Ma Hawkins +signalling anyone.”</p> +<p>“But I do see a boat beached on the point!” Penny +added. “And see! Someone is coming out of the +bush now!”</p> +<p>“Hod Hawkins!”</p> +<p>Keeping quiet, the pair in the skiff waited to see +what would happen.</p> +<p>Hod came down to the water’s edge, peering with a +puzzled expression along the waterway. He did not +see the skiff, shielded by leaves and dense shade.</p> +<p>“Hit’s all-fired queer,” they heard him mutter. “I +shore didn’t see no boat pass here this mawnin’. But +Maw musta seen one go by or she wouldn’t heve +pounded the pan.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_155">[155]</div> +<p>Hod sat down on a log, watching the channel. +Penny and Mrs. Jones remained where they were. +Once the current, sluggish as it was, swung the skiff +against a projecting tree root. The resulting jar and +scraping sound seemed very loud to their ears. But +the Hawkins youth did not hear.</p> +<p>Penny and the widow were becoming weary of sitting +in such cramped positions under the tree branch. +To their relief, Hod arose after a few minutes. Reaching +into the hollow log, he removed a tin pan somewhat +smaller than the dishpan Mrs. Hawkins had used +a few minutes earlier.</p> +<p>“He’s going to signal!” Penny whispered excitedly. +“Either to his mother, or someone deeper in the +swamp!”</p> +<p>Already Hod was beating out a pattern on the pan, +very similar to the one the girl had heard before.</p> +<p>After a few minutes, the swamper thrust the pan +back into its hiding place. He hesitated, and then to +the surprise of Penny and Mrs. Jones, stepped into his +boat.</p> +<p>“If he comes this way, he’s certain to see us!” Penny +thought uneasily.</p> +<p>With never a glance toward the leafy hideout, Hod +shoved off, rowing deeper into the swamp.</p> +<p>“Dare we follow him?” whispered Penny.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_156">[156]</div> +<p>“That’s what I aim to do,” the Widow Jones rejoined +grimly. “I hain’t afeared o’ the likes o’ Hod +Hawkins! Moreover, fer a long time, I been calculatin’ +to find out what takes him and Coon so offen +into the swamp.”</p> +<p>“You mean recently don’t you, Mrs. Jones. Just +since Danny Deevers escaped from prison?”</p> +<p>“I don’t know nothin’ about Danny Deevers,” the +widow replied as she picked up the paddle again. “I +do know that the Hawkins’ been up to mischief fer +more’n a year.”</p> +<p>“Then you must have an idea what that city truck +was doing on the swamp road the other night.”</p> +<p>“An idear—yes,” agreed Mrs. Jones. “But I hain’t +sure, and until I am, I hain’t makin’ no accusations.”</p> +<p>Now that Hod’s boat was well away, the widow +noiselessly sent the skiff forward.</p> +<p>“We kin follow close enough to jest about keep him +in sight if we don’t make no noise,” she warned. “But +we gotta be keerful.”</p> +<p>Penny nodded and became silent.</p> +<p>Soon the channel was no more than a path through +high water-grass and floating hyacinths. Hod propelled +his boat with powerful muscles, alternating +with forked pole and paddle. At times, when Penny +took over to give the Widow Jones a “breather,” she +was hard pressed not to lose the trail.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_157">[157]</div> +<p>“We’re headin’ straight fer Black Island, hit ’pears +to me,” Mrs. Jones whispered once. “The channel +don’t look the same though as when I was through +here last. But I reckon if we git lost we kin find our +way out somehow.”</p> +<p>Soon the skiff was inching through a labyrinth of +floating hyacinths; there were few stretches of open +water. Shallow channels to confuse the unwary, +radiated out in a dozen directions, many of them with +no outlets.</p> +<p>Always, however, before the hyacinths closed in, +the Widow Jones was able to pick up the path through +which Hod had passed.</p> +<p>“From the way he’s racin’ along, he’s been this way +plenty o’ times,” she remarked. “We’re headin’ fer +Black Island right enough.”</p> +<p>The sun now was high overhead, beating down on +Penny’s back and shoulders with uncomfortable +warmth. Mrs. Jones brought out the lunch and a jug +of water. One ate while the other rowed.</p> +<p>“We’re most to Black Island,” the widow informed +presently. “If ye look sharp through the grass, ye +can see thet point o’ high land. Thet’s the beginnin’ +o’ the island—biggest one in the swamp.”</p> +<p>“But where is Hod?”</p> +<p>“He musta pulled up somewheres in the bushes. +We’ll have to be keerful and go slow now or we’ll be +caught.”</p> +<p>“Listen!” whispered Penny.</p> +<p>Although she could as yet see no one on the island, +voices floated out across the water.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_158">[158]</div> +<p>“We heerd yer signal, Hod,” a man said, “but we +hain’t seen no one.”</p> +<p>“A boat musta come through, or Maw wouldn’t +heve beat the pan.”</p> +<p>“Whoever ’twas, they probably went off somewheres +else,” the other man replied. “Glad yer here +anyhow, Hod. We got a lot o’ work to do and ye +can help us.”</p> +<p>Hod’s reply was inaudible, for obviously the men +were moving away into the interior of the island.</p> +<p>“Thet was old Ezekiel talkin’ to his son,” the +Widow Jones declared, although Penny already had +guessed as much. “They’ve gone off somewheres, so +if we’re a mind to land, now’s our only chance.”</p> +<p>Penny gazed at her companion in surprise and admiration.</p> +<p>“You’re not afraid?” she inquired softly.</p> +<p>“Maybe I am,” the Widow Jones admitted. “But +that hain’t no excuse fer me turnin’ tail! This here’s +a free country ain’t it?”</p> +<p>She poled the skiff around the point to a thick clump +of bushes. There she pulled up, and with Penny’s help +made the skiff secure to a tree root hidden from sight +by overhanging branches.</p> +<p>Scrambling up the muddy bank, the pair paused to +take bearings. Voices now had died away and to all +appearances the island might have been deserted.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_159">[159]</div> +<p>Treading with utmost caution, Penny and the +Widow Jones tramped along the shore until they came +to a path. Abruptly, the girl halted, sniffing the air.</p> +<p>“I smell wood burning,” she whispered. “From a +campfire probably.”</p> +<p>“An’ I smell somethin’ more,” added the Widow +Jones grimly. “Cain’t ye notice thet sickish, sweet +odor in the air?”</p> +<p>“Yes, what is it?”</p> +<p>“We’ll find out,” replied Mrs. Jones. “But if we +git cotched, I’m warnin’ ye we won’t never git away +from here. Ye sure ye want to go on?”</p> +<p>“Very sure.”</p> +<p>“Then come on. And be keerful not to crackle any +leaves underfoot.”</p> +<p>The path led to a low, tunnellike opening in the +thicket. Penny, who again had taken the lead, +crouched low, intending to crawl through.</p> +<p>Before she could do so, she heard a stifled cry behind +her. Turning, she saw that Mrs. Jones had +sagged to one knee, and her face was twisted with pain.</p> +<p>Penny ran to her. “You’re hurt!” she whispered. +“Bitten by a snake?”</p> +<p>Mrs. Jones shook her head, biting her lip to keep +back the tears. She pointed to her ankle, caught beneath +a tree root.</p> +<p>“I stumbled and wrenched it ’most off,” she murmured. +“Hit’s a bad sprain and I’m afeared I can’t +go on.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_160">[160]</div> +<h2 id="c21"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">21</span> +<br /><i>THE TUNNEL OF LEAVES</i></h2> +<p>Penny raised the woman to her feet, but as Mrs. +Jones tried to take a step, she saw that the sprain indeed +was a bad one.</p> +<p>Already the ankle was swelling and skin had been +broken. At each attempted step, the widow winced +with pain, suffering intensely.</p> +<p>“If I kin only git back to the boat, I’ll be all right,” +she said, observing Penny’s worried expression. “Drat +it all! Jest when I wanted to find out what the Hawkins’ +are doin’ on this island!”</p> +<p>Supporting much of the widow’s weight on her +shoulders, Penny helped her back to the skiff.</p> +<p>“I guess we may as well start back,” she said, unable +to hide her bitter disappointment.</p> +<p>The widow reached for an oar, then looked keenly +at Penny and put it back again.</p> +<p>“’Course it would be a risky thing fer ye to go on +by yerself while I wait here in the boat—”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_161">[161]</div> +<p>Penny’s slumped shoulders straightened. Her blue +eyes began to dance.</p> +<p>“You mean you don’t mind waiting here while I see +where that tunnel of leaves leads?” she demanded.</p> +<p>“’Pears like we’ve come too fur not to find out +what’s goin’ on. Think ye can git in there and back +without being cotched?”</p> +<p>“I’m sure of it!”</p> +<p>The widow sighed. “I hain’t sure of it, but you got +more gumpshun than any other young’un I ever met. +Go on if ye’r a-goin’, and if anyone sees ye, light out +fer the boat. I’ll be ready to shove off.”</p> +<p>“Mrs. Jones, you’re a darling!” Penny whispered, +giving the gnarled hand a quick pressure. “I’ll make it +all right!”</p> +<p>Moving directly to the thicket, she dropped on all +fours and started through the leafy tunnel where Hod +had disappeared. The sweetish odor now was much +plainer than before.</p> +<p>She had crawled only a few feet, when a hand +reached out of nowhere and grasped her shoulder.</p> +<p>Penny whirled around, expecting to see a member +of the Hawkins’ family. For a moment she saw no +one, and then from the thicket beside the tunnel, a figure +became visible. The hold on her shoulder relaxed.</p> +<p>“Who are you?” she demanded in a whisper.</p> +<p>“Friend.”</p> +<p>“Then show yourself!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_162">[162]</div> +<p>The leaves rustled, and a dark-haired lad with tangled +curls crawled into the tunnel beside her. His +shoes were ripped, his clothing dirty and in tatters. A +rifle was grasped in his hand.</p> +<p>“Bada men,” he warned, jerking his head in the direction +Penny had been crawling. “Mucha better go +back boat.”</p> +<p>“Who are you and why do you warn me?” Penny +asked, deeply puzzled.</p> +<p>The boy did not reply.</p> +<p>Light dawned suddenly upon Penny. “You’re the +one who saved me from the boar!”</p> +<p>The boy’s quick grin was acknowledgment he had +fired the shot.</p> +<p>“But why did you run away?” Penny asked. “Why +didn’t you wait and let me thank you for saving my +life?”</p> +<p>“You giva me to police maybe,” replied the boy in +broken English. “I staya here—starva first!”</p> +<p>“Who are you?”</p> +<p>“Name no matter.”</p> +<p>Penny’s mind had been working swiftly. She was +convinced the boy who had saved her also was the one +who had stolen Trapper Joe’s gun. Evidently, he had +needed it to survive in the swamp. He was thin and +his eyes had a hungry look, she noted.</p> +<p>“How did you get to this island?” she inquired. +“Do you have a boat?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_163">[163]</div> +<p>“Make-a raft.” The boy’s eyes darted down the +leafy tunnel. “No good here,” he said, seizing Penny’s +arm and pulling her back into the thicket. “Someone-a come!”</p> +<p>Scarcely had the pair flattened themselves on the +ground than Ezekiel Hawkins crawled out through the +tunnel, pushing his gun ahead of him. Standing upright +not three feet from Penny and her companion, he +gazed sharply about.</p> +<p>“Thought I heerd voices,” he muttered.</p> +<p>Penny held her breath, knowing that if the swamper +should walk down the shore even a dozen yards, he +would see the Widow Jones waiting in the skiff.</p> +<p>To her great relief, Ezekiel moved in the opposite +direction. After satisfying himself that no boat approached +the island, he returned through the tunnel +and disappeared.</p> +<p>“What’s going on back in there?” Penny whispered +as soon as it was safe to ask.</p> +<p>“Bada men,” her companion said briefly.</p> +<p>“You’re driving me to distraction!” Penny muttered, +losing patience. “Do those swampers know +you’re here on the island?”</p> +<p>The boy shook his tangled curls, grinning broadly. +“Chasa me once. No catch.”</p> +<p>“You’re Italian, aren’t you?” Penny asked suddenly.</p> +<p>A guarded look came over the lad’s sun-tanned face. +His brown eyes lost some of their friendliness.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_164">[164]</div> +<p>“Now I have it!” Penny exclaimed before he could +speak. “You’re Antonio Tienta, wanted by Immigration +authorities for slipping into this country illegally!”</p> +<p>The boy did not deny the accusation, and the half-frightened, +defiant look he gave her, confirmed that +she had struck upon the truth.</p> +<p>“I no go back!” he muttered. “I starva first!”</p> +<p>“Don’t become so excited, or those men will hear +you and we’ll both be caught,” Penny warned. “Tell +me about yourself, Tony. I already know a little.”</p> +<p>“How mucha you know?” he asked cautiously.</p> +<p>“That you acted as a guide to G.I.’s in Italy and +stowed aboard a troopship coming to this country. +Even now, I guess authorities aren’t certain how you +slipped past New York officials.”</p> +<p>“No trouble,” boasted the lad. “On ship my +friendsa the G.I.’s they feeda me. We dock New +York; I hide under bunk; all G.I.’s leava boat. Boat go +to other dock. Sailor friend giva me clothes. Sailors +leave-a boat. I slippa out. No one geta wise.”</p> +<p>“Then where did you go?”</p> +<p>“Stay in-a New York only two—three days. Go +hitchhike into country. Work-a on farm. No like +it. Hear Immigration men-a come, so I go. Come-a +one day to swamp. Good place; I stay.”</p> +<p>“You’ve not had an easy time keeping alive in this +dismal place,” Penny said sympathetically. “Isn’t that +Trapper Joe’s gun?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_165">[165]</div> +<p>“Steal-a one night,” the boy agreed. “Give back +some-a time.”</p> +<p>Penny studied the youth with growing concern. +“Tony,” she said, “you can’t hope to stay here long. +The only sensible thing is to give yourself up.”</p> +<p>“No! I die first! American best country in all-a +the world! No one ever take-a me back!”</p> +<p>“But you can’t expect to elude Immigration officials +very long. If you give yourself up, they might be lenient +with you.”</p> +<p>“They send-a me back,” Tony said stubbornly. “I +stay right-a here!”</p> +<p>“To starve? You’re hungry now, aren’t you?”</p> +<p>“Sure. But in Italy I hungry many times-a too.”</p> +<p>“Tony, we’ll talk about this later,” Penny sighed. +“Right now, I want to learn what’s going on here at +the island. Know anything about it?”</p> +<p>“Sure,” the boy grinned. “Know plenty.”</p> +<p>“Then suppose you tell me, Tony.”</p> +<p>“I show-a you,” the boy offered.</p> +<p>Avoiding the leafy tunnel, he led Penny in a half +circle through another section of dense thicket.</p> +<p>Soon he motioned for her to drop on her knees.</p> +<p>The sickish odor rising through the trees now was +very disagreeable again.</p> +<p>A few yards farther on, Tony halted. Still lying +flat on his stomach, he carefully pulled aside the bushes +so that his companion might see.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_166">[166]</div> +<h2 id="c22"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">22</span> +<br /><i>HELP FROM TONY</i></h2> +<p>Through the leaves, Penny saw a fairly large +clearing. Three men, Ezekiel Hawkins and his two +sons, were squatted about a big hardwood fire over +which was a large copper cooker.</p> +<p>A pipe extended above the cover, connected with a +series of coils immersed in a barrel of cold water.</p> +<p>“A still!” the girl whispered. “They’re making alcohol +here and selling it in the city! That’s what those +containers held that were trucked away!”</p> +<p>“Make-a the stuff every day,” volunteered Tony. +“I watch—sometimes I steal-a the lunch. They very +mad but no catch.”</p> +<p>“They’re probably afraid you’ll tell revenue officers,” +Penny whispered.</p> +<p>From one of the barrels, Coon had taken a dipper +filled with the pale fluid. As he drank deeply from it, +his father said sharply:</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_167">[167]</div> +<p>“Thet’s enough, Coon! We gotta git this stuff made +an moved out o’ here tonight, and ye won’t be fitten.”</p> +<p>“What’s yer rush, Pappy? We got termorrer, +hain’t we?” Coon sat down, and bracing his back +against a tree trunk, yawned drowsily.</p> +<p>“Ye want to be caught by them lousy revenooers?”</p> +<p>“There hain’t no danger. Hain’t we got a fool-proof +system? If anyone starts this way, Maw’ll spot +’em and give us the signal.”</p> +<p>“Folkses is gittin’ wise, and we hain’t none too popular +hereabouts. We’re moving this stuff out tonight.”</p> +<p>“Jest as you say, Pappy.” Coon stirred reluctantly.</p> +<p>“An we hain’t operatin’ the still no more till things +quiets down. I don’t like it that gal snoopin’ around +here, claimin’ to be lookin’ fer her dawg.”</p> +<p>“Ye should have kilt the dawg, stead o’ keepin’ him,” +Hod spoke up as he dumped a sack of mash into a tub. +“Tole ye it would make us trouble.”</p> +<p>“Yer always tellin’ me!” Ezekiel retorted. “Thet +dog’s handy to heve here, an I never was one to kill a +helpless animal without cause. Now git to yer work, +and let me do the thinkin’ fer this outfit!”</p> +<p>Penny’s curiosity now had been fully satisfied as to +the illegal business in which the Hawkins’ family had +engaged, but she also felt a little disappointed.</p> +<p>She had hoped the men would speak of Danny Deevers, +perhaps revealing his hideout. The convict was +nowhere to be seen, and there was no evidence he ever +had been on Black Island.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_168">[168]</div> +<p>Not wishing to leave Mrs. Jones too long alone in +the boat, Penny presently motioned to Tony that she +had seen and heard enough.</p> +<p>Inch by inch, they crept backwards away from the +tiny clearing.</p> +<p>Then suddenly Penny stopped, for Ezekiel was +speaking again:</p> +<p>“We gotta do something about Danny and git him +off our hands.”</p> +<p>Penny instantly became all ears, listening intently to +Coon’s reply:</p> +<p>“Now ye’r talkin’, Pappy. Takin’ him in was a big +mistake. Hit’s apt ter land us in jail if them city officers +come snoopin’ around here agin.”</p> +<p>“There wouldn’t have been no risk, if Hod and +Danny hadn’t taken the widder’s car and drive into +town. Didn’t ye have no sense, Hod?”</p> +<p>“Danny wanted to go,” Hod whined. “How was +we ter know another car was goin’ to smash into us? +Thet fool newspaper camera man an’ the girl had to +be there!”</p> +<p>“That wasn’t the wust,” Ezekiel went on as he fed +the fire with chips. “Then ye follered ’em to the theater!”</p> +<p>“Danny said we had ter git the picture or they’d +print it in the newspaper.”</p> +<p>“But did ye git the picture?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_169">[169]</div> +<p>“No,” Hod growled.</p> +<p>“Instead o’ that, ye let Danny git into a fight.”</p> +<p>“’Twasn’t no fight and nobody knew it was him. +He seen an enemy o’ his’n go into the building. I tried +ter talk him out o’ it, but he wouldn’t listen. He +crawled in through a window, and slugged the feller.”</p> +<p>“He did have sense enough to git rid o’ the car, but +ye shouldn’t have left it so close to our place,” Ezekiel +pointed out. “That newspaper gal’s been out here +twict now, and she’s catchin’ on!”</p> +<p>“She’s only a gal,” Hod said carelessly. “Ye do too +much worryin’, Pappy.”</p> +<p>“I do the thinkin’ fer this family. An’ I say things +is gittin’ too hot fer comfort. We gotta git rid o’ +Danny tonight.”</p> +<p>“How ye aimin’ ter do it, Pappy?” inquired Coon. +“Be ye fergittin’ he’s got $50,000 hid away somewheres +an’ he hain’t give us our slice yet?”</p> +<p>“Fer all his promises, maybe he don’t calculate ever +to give us our cut! Ever think o’ that?”</p> +<p>“Danny would double cross us if he got the chanst,” +Hod agreed. “Maybe ye’r right, Pappy!”</p> +<p>“Doggone tootin’, I am! We git rid o’ him tonight, +soon’s we git back from this island. But first we make +him tell where he hid the money!”</p> +<p>“How we gonna do it, Pappy?” asked Coon.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_170">[170]</div> +<p>“Hain’t figured fer sure, but he’s the same as our +prisoner, ain’t he? If we was to turn him over to the +police, claimin’ we found him hidin’ out in the swamp, +he couldn’t prove no different.”</p> +<p>“And we’d git $10,000 reward!” Hod added. “We +could use thet money!”</p> +<p>“I hain’t one to double cross a pal if it can be +helped,” Ezekiel amended hastily. “Now if Danny’s +a mind to tell where he hid the money, and split, we’ll +help him git out o’ here tonight.”</p> +<p>“And if he won’t cough up?”</p> +<p>“We’ll turn him over to police and claim the reward.”</p> +<p>To Penny, it now was clear Hod Hawkins had been +with Danny Deevers at the time Jerry was slugged. +Also, the conversation made it evident the escaped convict +had sought a hideout somewhere near if not in the +swamp.</p> +<p>Tensely, the girl waited for further details of the escape +plan, but none were forthcoming. The three men +applied themselves to their work and said no more.</p> +<p>“My best bet is to get away from here fast and notify +police!” Penny thought.</p> +<p>Noiselessly, she and Tony retreated through the +thicket to a shoreline some distance away.</p> +<p>“Listen, Tony!” Penny said hurriedly. “I’ve got to +go away for awhile! Will you stay here and keep +watch of these men for me?”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_171">[171]</div> +<p>“I stay,” the boy promised soberly.</p> +<p>“I’ll come back as soon as I can. And Tony! Please +don’t run away. I want to do something for you—perhaps +I can.”</p> +<p>“No go back to Italy,” the boy said firmly. “Stay-a +here—you come back. Then go far away. No trust +pol-eese.”</p> +<p>Penny dared not take time to try to convince the +youth of the folly of fleeing from Immigration authorities. +Saying goodbye, she ran to the boat where the +Widow Jones anxiously awaited her.</p> +<p>“Shove off!” she ordered tersely. “I’ve seen plenty! +I’ll tell you about it, once we’re away from here!”</p> +<p>Mrs. Jones gave a mighty push with her pole, and +the skiff floated out of its hiding place into the hyacinth-clogged +channel.</p> +<p>“How is your foot?” Penny inquired. “Better let +me paddle.”</p> +<p>“It hain’t hurtin’ so much now,” the widow replied +without giving up the paddle. “I’ll steer until we’re +out o’ these floatin’ hyacinth beds.”</p> +<p>“One place looks exactly like another to me,” Penny +said anxiously. “So many false channels!”</p> +<p>“Ye git a feel fer it after awhile. There’s a current +to follow, but it’s mighty faint.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_172">[172]</div> +<p>“We must get back as fast as we can,” Penny urged, +glancing nervously over her shoulder toward Black Island. +In terse sentences she told of her meeting with +Tony and all they had seen in the clearing.</p> +<p>“So the Hawkins’ are runnin’ a still!” commented +the widow. “Humph! Jest as I figured, only I didn’t +dast say so without proof.”</p> +<p>“The important thing is they’re hiding Danny Deevers! +Where they’re keeping him will be for the police +to discover as soon as they arrest Ezekiel and his +sons.”</p> +<p>“I’ll git ye back fast,” the widow promised grimly. +“Soon’s we git out o’ these beds and away from the island, +I kin switch on the motor.”</p> +<p>Safely out of sight of the island, the couple found +themselves in a labyrinth of floating hyacinths with no +clearly defined channel. The Widow Jones tried a +half dozen of them, each time being forced to return to +a point she could identify as their starting place.</p> +<p>“Penelope, I can’t seem to find the main channel,” +she confessed at last. “’Pears like we’re lost.”</p> +<p>“Oh, we can’t be!” Penny exclaimed. “We must +get back quickly!”</p> +<p>“I’m a-tryin’ hard as I kin,” the widow said doggedly.</p> +<p>“Let me paddle for awhile,” Penny offered. “Your +ankle is hurting and you’re tired. Just tell me which +way to go.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_173">[173]</div> +<p>Mrs. Jones indicated a channel which opened in a +wide sweep. But before Penny had paddled far, it +played out. The sun, sinking lower in the sky, warned +the pair how fast time was passing.</p> +<p>For another hour they sought desperately to find the +exit channel. Although they took turns at paddling, +and used the motor whenever the passageway was not +too clogged, they soon became exhausted.</p> +<p>“It hain’t no use,” the widow said at last. “We’re +tuckered out, and we’re goin’ around in circles. We’ll +pull up on shore and take a little rest.”</p> +<p>Penny nodded miserably.</p> +<p>Herons flew lazily over as the couple pulled the boat +out on the soft muck. Seeking a high point of land, +the widow flung herself flat on her back to rest.</p> +<p>For a time, Penny sat beside her, thinking over everything +that had occurred. It was bitterly disappointing +to realize that due purely to a stroke of bad +luck, Danny Deevers undoubtedly would elude police.</p> +<p>“Mrs. Jones and I may not find our way out of here +in twenty-four hours!” she thought. “By that time, +the Hawkins’ family will have helped him escape!”</p> +<p>Tormented by weariness, Penny stretched out beside +the widow. Insects annoyed her for awhile. +Then she dozed off.</p> +<p>Much later when the girl awoke, she saw that her +companion still slept. The shadow of dusk already +was heavy upon the swamp.</p> +<p>Sitting up, Penny gazed resentfully across the water +at an almost solid sea of floating plants.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_174">[174]</div> +<p>“Such miserable luck!” she muttered. “Of all times +to be lost!”</p> +<p>Penny’s gaze remained absently upon the hyacinth +bed. The plants slowly were drifting westward. At +first their movement signified nothing to the girl. +Then suddenly, she sprang to her feet.</p> +<p>Excitedly she shook Mrs. Jones by the arm. “The +channel!” she cried. “I can see it now! If we move +fast, we still may get out of the swamp before night!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_175">[175]</div> +<h2 id="c23"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">23</span> +<br /><i>LOST IN THE HYACINTHS</i></h2> +<p>Mrs. Jones shaded her eyes from the slanting rays +of the low-hung sun to gaze for a long moment at the +almost motionless hyacinth bed blanketing the water.</p> +<p>“Right ye are, Penelope!” she exclaimed jubilantly. +“The channel’s plain to see now! Help me git to the +boat, and we’ll be out o’ this tangle.”</p> +<p>Once in the skiff, the widow again seized the paddle.</p> +<p>“We gotta inch our way along fer a little,” she explained. +“If we don’t foller the drift o’ the bed, we’ll +be lost agin and that hain’t smart.”</p> +<p>Steadily the widow shoved the little boat through +the water plants, seldom hesitating in choice of the +channel.</p> +<p>“I got the feel o’ it agin!” she declared happily. +“We’ll be out o’ this in no time!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_176">[176]</div> +<p>However, dark shadows were deepening to blackness +when the boat finally came into water open +enough to permit use of the motor. Propelled by the +engine, the skiff presently approached Lookout Point.</p> +<p>“Let’s paddle from here,” proposed Penny. “Ezekiel +and his sons may be out of the swamp by this time. +We don’t want them to see us or guess where we’ve +been.”</p> +<p>Mrs. Jones shut off the motor and with a tired sigh, +offered the paddle to Penny. The channel now was +plainly marked and easy to follow, even in semi-darkness. +Whenever the girl hesitated, the widow told her +which way to steer.</p> +<p>“We’re out of it now,” Mrs. Jones said as lights of +the Hawkins’ farmhouse twinkled through the trees. +“Reckon Trapper Joe’s fit to be tied, we been gone so +long!”</p> +<p>Penny allowed the skiff to drift with the current. +As it floated past the Hawkins’ dock, loud voices came +from the direction of the woodshed.</p> +<p>“Sounds like an argument goin’ on,” observed the +widow.</p> +<p>Penny brought the skiff in and made fast to the +dock.</p> +<p>“What ye aimin’ to do?” the widow inquired in surprise.</p> +<p>“Wait here!” Penny whispered. “I have a hunch +what’s going on and I must find out!” Before Mrs. +Jones could protest, she slipped away into the darkness.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_177">[177]</div> +<p>Stealthily the girl approached the woodshed. A +voice which she recognized as Ezekiel’s, now plainly +could be heard.</p> +<p>“Danny, we’ve fed ye and kept ye here fer days in +this woodshed, and it hain’t safe!” the speaker said. +“Ye gotta git out tonight—now—through the swamp. +The river’ll take ye out the other end, and ye maybe +kin git out o’ the state.”</p> +<p>“And maybe I’ll be caught!” the other voice replied. +Penny knew it was Danny Deevers who spoke. “I’m +staying right here!”</p> +<p>“Coon and Hod’ll guide ye through the swamp, so +ye’ll be safe enough till ye git to the other side,” Ezekiel +argued. “We hain’t keepin’ ye here another day. +You got clothes and food and a good chanst to git +away.”</p> +<p>Penny crept close to the wall of the woodshed. +Peering through a small, dirty window on the far side +she saw four men seated on kegs in a room dimly +lighted by a lantern.</p> +<p>The man facing her plainly was Danny Deevers. +Opposite him were Ezekiel and his two sons, both +armed with rifles.</p> +<p>“Hain’t no use talkin’ any more,” Ezekiel said flatly. +“Ye’r leavin’ here tonight, Danny. Maw’s fixin’ ye a +lunch to take.”</p> +<p>“Paw, hain’t you forgittin’ something?” Coon +prodded his father.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_178">[178]</div> +<p>“Hain’t fergittin’ nothin’, Coon. Danny, ’fore you +go, there’s a matter o’ money to be settled between us. +Ye got $50,000 hid somewheres close, and we want our +cut fer hidin’ ye out from the police.”</p> +<p>Danny laughed unpleasantly.</p> +<p>“You leeches won’t get a penny! Not a penny! +No one but me knows where that money is, and I’m +not telling!”</p> +<p>“Then I calculate Hod and Coon cain’t guide ye +through the swamp tonight,” Ezekiel said coolly. +“We got word today the police got a hint ye’r here. +We’ll help ’em, by turning you in. Hod, git to the +phone and call Sheriff Burtwell. Tell ’im we cotched +this feller hidin’ in the swamp.”</p> +<p>“You betcha!” Hod said with alacrity.</p> +<p>“Wait!” Danny stopped him before he could reach +the door. “How much of a cut do you dirty blackmailers +want?”</p> +<p>“We don’t like them words, Danny,” Ezekiel said. +“All we ask is a fair amount fer the risk we been takin’ +keepin’ ye here.”</p> +<p>“How much?”</p> +<p>“A third cut.”</p> +<p>“I’ll give you $10,000.”</p> +<p>“’Tain’t enough.”</p> +<p>“You’ll not get another cent. Take it or leave it. +Turn me in if you want to! You’ll involve yourself +because I’ll swear you hid me here.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_179">[179]</div> +<p>“We hain’t aimin’ to be hard on ye, Danny,” Ezekiel +said hastily. “If we was to agree to the $10,000, kin +ye deliver tonight?”</p> +<p>“In fifteen minutes!”</p> +<p>“Ye hain’t got the money on ye or hid in the woodshed!”</p> +<p>“No.”</p> +<p>“But it’s somewheres close. I knowed that.”</p> +<p>“If I give you $10,000, you’ll guide me through the +swamp and help me get away?”</p> +<p>“We will,” Ezekiel promised.</p> +<p>“Then get a spade,” Danny directed. “The money’s +buried under a fence post by the creek. I hid it +there a year ago before they sent me up. Marked the +post with a V-shaped slash of my jackknife.”</p> +<p>“Git a spade, Hod,” Ezekiel ordered.</p> +<p>Penny waited for no more. Stealing away, she ran +to the boat where Mrs. Jones awaited her.</p> +<p>“No questions now!” she said tersely. “Just go as +fast as you can and telephone the police! Also call my +father, Anthony Parker at the <i>Riverview Star</i>! Ask +him to come here right away and bring help!”</p> +<p>“You’ve found Danny Deevers!” the widow +guessed, preparing to cast off.</p> +<p>“Yes, and maybe the stolen money! But there’s not +a second to lose! Let me have your knife, and go as +fast as you can!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_180">[180]</div> +<p>Without questioning the odd request, Mrs. Jones +gave her the knife and seized a paddle. Penny shoved +the skiff far out into the stream.</p> +<p>Then she turned and with a quick glance toward the +woodshed, darted to the nearby fence. Rapidly she +examined the wooden posts, searching for a V-shaped +mark. She could find no slashes of any kind. At any +moment she knew the men might emerge from the +woodshed and see her.</p> +<p>“Somehow I’ve got to keep them here until Mrs. +Jones brings the police!” she thought. “But how?”</p> +<p>Suddenly an idea came to her. It might not work, +but there was an outside chance it would. With desperate +haste, she slashed several posts with V-shaped +marks.</p> +<p>“That may confuse them for a few minutes,” she +reasoned. “But not for long.”</p> +<p>The door of the woodshed now had opened. Penny +dropped flat in the tall weeds near the fence.</p> +<p>Without seeing her, the four men came with a spade +and began to inspect posts scarcely a dozen yards from +where the girl lay.</p> +<p>“Here’s a marked one!” called Hod as he found one +of the posts Penny had slashed.</p> +<p>In the darkness the men did not notice that the cut +was a fresh one. They began to dig. Silently the +work went on until a large hole had been excavated.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_181">[181]</div> +<p>“Where’s the money?” Ezekiel demanded. “Danny, +if ye’r pullin’ a fast one—”</p> +<p>“I tell you I buried it under a post!” the other insisted. +“Thought it was farther down the fence, but +this one was marked.”</p> +<p>Ezekiel flashed his lantern full on the post which +now had been tilted far over on its side.</p> +<p>“The post’s marked,” he confirmed. “Fresh new +slashes.”</p> +<p>“Let’s see!” Danny exclaimed. He examined the +marking briefly and straightened up. “I never made +those cuts! Someone’s tricked me!”</p> +<p>Excited by the discovery, the men now moved from +post to post. Other slashes were found.</p> +<p>“Here’s the one with my mark!” Danny cried, pointing +to a post close to where Penny lay hidden. “Who +slashed these others? Someone must have learned +where I buried the money!”</p> +<p>“It does look kinda bad,” said Ezekiel. “But there +hain’t been no diggin’ by this post. Git busy, boys!”</p> +<p>Taking turns, Coon and Hod fell to with the spade. +Soon they had uncovered three large tin cans filled +with bank notes.</p> +<p>“It’s all here!” Danny said jubilantly. “Every dollar!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_182">[182]</div> +<p>Ezekiel blew out the lantern light, looking carefully +about the yard. “There hain’t no time to divide the +money now,” he said. “We gotta git you through the +swamp, Danny, before them snoopin’ police come +around. Bring the cans and come on! We’re moving +out o’ here right now!”</p> +<p>Hod shuffled off to get the boat ready as the others +each picked up a can and followed quickly.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_183">[183]</div> +<h2 id="c24"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">24</span> +<br /><i>UNDER THE FENCE POST</i></h2> +<p>Penny was tormented with worry as she saw the +men walk hurriedly to the creek where they launched +a flat-bottomed boat belonging to Ezekiel. Soon the +craft was lost in the blackness of the swamp channel.</p> +<p>“There goes my chance to catch Danny and recover +the stolen money!” she thought. “Oh, what can I do +to prevent them from getting away?”</p> +<p>Another boat had been tied up at the dock, but +Penny knew she never would dare enter the swamp +alone at night. In any case, what chance would she +have against four armed men?</p> +<p>“If only Mrs. Jones hadn’t hurt her ankle!” she +thought. “It will take her a long while to reach a telephone, +and help may not get here for an hour!”</p> +<p>As Penny stood gazing gloomily toward the swamp, +a shaft of light cut fleetingly across the water. The +flash came from the headbeam of a car swinging up the +lane to the Hawkins’ house.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_184">[184]</div> +<p>Not knowing who the arrivals might be, the girl +stepped behind a tree to wait. Soon the car came +closer, halting with a jerk.</p> +<p>From the sedan stepped Mr. Parker, Salt, and Jerry +Livingston. Scarcely believing her eyes, Penny ran to +meet them.</p> +<p>“Oh, Dad!” she cried. “You did get Mrs. Jones’ +message!”</p> +<p>“Message?” he inquired. “Why, no! We were +worried because you had been gone so long, so we +came out here to find you. What’s this all about?”</p> +<p>Penny rapidly told of Danny’s flight into the swamp +with the stolen money.</p> +<p>“If Mrs. Jones reaches a phone, police should get +here any minute!” she added.</p> +<p>“In the meantime, we can’t let those men escape!” +Mr. Parker exclaimed. “Salt, you stay here and wait +for the police. If they don’t come in ten minutes, go +after them!”</p> +<p>“Sure, Chief!”</p> +<p>“Jerry, you come with me,” the publisher directed, +untying the boat at the dock. “We’ll try to keep those +men in sight and mark the way for police to follow.”</p> +<p>As Penny followed Jerry into the boat, her father +protested quickly:</p> +<p>“Penny, you know you can’t go! Danny Deevers +is a desperate character.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_185">[185]</div> +<p>“If you expect to capture him, you’ll have to take +me, Dad. They’ll probably follow the main channel +to Black Island and beyond. You’ll be lost before +you’ve covered half the distance.”</p> +<p>“All right, come along,” Mr. Parker agreed unwillingly.</p> +<p>The boat shoved off into the cool night.</p> +<p>Fairly certain the Hawkins’ boat would pass Lookout +Point, Penny directed her father and Jerry to row +toward it. Soon she caught a glimpse of a moving +light through the trees.</p> +<p>“That’s their boat!” she exclaimed. “Ezekiel must +have lighted his lantern again!”</p> +<p>Scarcely had she spoken than those in the Parker +craft were startled to hear a metallic pounding sound +from the direction of the Hawkins’ farmhouse.</p> +<p>“The dishpan signal!” Penny cried in dismay. “We +forgot about Mrs. Hawkins! Evidently she saw us +leave the dock and is warning her menfolks! Now +they’ll know someone is following them!”</p> +<p>Mr. Parker’s face became very grave as the girl revealed +the significance of the signal. Penny also told +him what she and Mrs. Jones had learned on Black +Island.</p> +<p>“Unarmed, we’ve no chance to capture those men,” +he commented. “Our best bet is to keep them in sight, +marking the trail well for police to follow.”</p> +<p>“And hope they do,” Jerry added grimly.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_186">[186]</div> +<p>Breaking overhanging tree limbs, and slashing trunks +to blaze the trail, the party passed Lookout Point.</p> +<p>When they were perhaps twenty yards beyond the +isle, a bullet suddenly whizzed through the trees, only +a few feet above their heads. The shot had been fired +from the island.</p> +<p>“Duck low!” Mr. Parker ordered. “They’ve taken +refuge there!”</p> +<p>As the trio remained motionless, another bullet +whined over their heads.</p> +<p>“Dad, it’s only a trick to divert us!” Penny whispered. +“One of the Hawkins’ boys probably has +stayed on the island, but the others have gone on! See +through the trees!”</p> +<p>Jerry and Mr. Parker peered where she pointed and +caught the brief flash of lantern light.</p> +<p>“You’re right!” the publisher agreed. “Row on, +Jerry! We’re practically out of range of Lookout +Point now.”</p> +<p>The boat pushed on. A light mist was rising from +the water and the night was very dark. Shielded by +the blackness, the trio slipped away without becoming +the target for another bullet.</p> +<p>“We’ve got to keep that other boat in sight!” Mr. +Parker said grimly. “If we lose it, we may never find +our way out of this place!”</p> +<p>“And if we catch up, we may never be allowed to +get out!” Jerry observed.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_187">[187]</div> +<p>Penny, who scarcely had taken her eyes from the +moving point of light ahead, now exclaimed:</p> +<p>“They’ve blown out the lantern!”</p> +<p>“Then they may have seen us,” Mr. Parker muttered. +“If only we were armed!”</p> +<p>Cautiously, the party proceeded. A few minutes +later as the boat passed a high point of land several +hundred yards deeper in the swamp, another bullet +whizzed dangerously close overhead.</p> +<p>“Where’d that come from?” Mr. Parker demanded, +shielding Penny with his body.</p> +<p>Jerry pointed to the high point of land on the right +hand side of the channel. “Those birds must have +pulled up there and hope to pick us off!” he whispered.</p> +<p>Still another bullet whined close over their heads, +splashing as it struck the water.</p> +<p>Hurriedly Jerry steered the boat into a clump of +bushes. All remained motionless and silent.</p> +<p>Bullets kept splattering the water, though farther +away.</p> +<p>“We’re in a pocket!” Mr. Parker fumed. “They +can pick us off almost at will if we stay here!”</p> +<p>“What’s our move, Chief?” Jerry asked anxiously.</p> +<p>“Let’s back-track to the farm and await police. It’s +the only thing we can do.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_188">[188]</div> +<p>As a lull came in the firing, Jerry shoved off and +rowed rapidly back toward Lookout Point. All +crouched low in the boat, but no shots were fired at +them.</p> +<p>“They’re satisfied we’ve turned back,” Mr. Parker +said. “That was what they wanted.”</p> +<p>However, as Lookout Point loomed up, the party +was disconcerted to see a tall, lean figure silhouetted +there.</p> +<p>“Stay where ye be, or I’ll fire!” the man shouted. +“If ye try to pass, I’ll sink ye’r boat!”</p> +<p>“It’s Ezekiel!” Penny whispered.</p> +<p>Mr. Parker signaled Jerry to row back out of range. +“We’ve trapped ourselves between two fires!” he muttered +in disgust. “Ezekiel stayed here on purpose to +guard the channel while the others make their getaway.”</p> +<p>“Danny could be captured easily if only we could +get word to Salt and the police,” Jerry added.</p> +<p>Penny and her father nodded gloomily. Salt, they +knew, would follow their trail into the swamp as soon +as police reached the Hawkins’ farm. But Ezekiel +from his point of vantage, would fire upon them before +they realized they were running into danger.</p> +<p>“We could chance it and try to push through,” +Jerry proposed.</p> +<p>“Ezekiel’s not bluffing,” Mr. Parker replied. “Those +first shots were a warning. If we attempt to pass now, +he may shoot to kill.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_189">[189]</div> +<p>“There’s one way we might bring help,” Jerry said, +staring thoughtfully at the grim figure guarding the +channel.</p> +<p>“How?” Penny demanded eagerly.</p> +<p>“You and your father would have to wait on the +bank and let me take the boat.”</p> +<p>“Too risky,” Mr. Parker said. “You never could +get through.”</p> +<p>“I’d try an old trick,” the reporter explained. +“When Ezekiel starts shooting, I’ll upset the boat and +float beneath it until I’m past the point. I’m a good +swimmer and can hold my breath a long while. Anyway, +after the boat is upset, there will be a pocket of +air beneath it.”</p> +<p>“It might not work.”</p> +<p>“Let me try it. Unless we get word through, +Danny Deevers is certain to escape.”</p> +<p>After lengthy whispered debate, Mr. Parker reluctantly +agreed to the plan. Retreating beyond Ezekiel’s +range of vision, the boat brought up on shore where +Penny and her father alighted.</p> +<p>“Wait right here!” Jerry directed. “I’ll be back for +you in a few minutes!”</p> +<p>Boldly the reporter pushed off alone in the boat, +drifting down channel. Before he had gone many +yards, Ezekiel challenged him.</p> +<p>“Ye come another foot, and I’m lettin’ ye have it!”</p> +<p>Jerry shouted an insult. But as Ezekiel’s gun spat, +he upset the boat, disappearing beneath it.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_190">[190]</div> +<p>“Oh, Dad!” Penny murmured anxiously, watching +the craft float slowly downstream past the point. +“Was Jerry really hit?”</p> +<p>“I don’t think so.”</p> +<p>“What if Ezekiel fires again?”</p> +<p>“He can’t harm Jerry now unless he’s forced to +come up for air.”</p> +<p>Anxiously the trio watched the overturned boat. +Unless Jerry had found the pocket of air, they knew +not even an expert swimmer could remain so long underwater.</p> +<p>Finally the boat was beyond their range of vision, +blotted out by darkness.</p> +<p>“Jerry has nerve!” Mr. Parker commented. “He’s +safely through now.”</p> +<p>Nervously the publisher and Penny kept attentive +watch of Lookout Point, fearful lest Ezekiel launch a +boat and try to capture them. To their intense relief, +the swamper made no such move. Occasionally, they +caught brief glimpses of him as he shifted his position.</p> +<p>Directing all their attention upon Ezekiel, Penny +and her father paid less heed to the channel. Near +them was a passage so narrow a boatman could have +reached out to touch bushes on either side.</p> +<p>A slight rustling sound close by suddenly startled +Penny.</p> +<p>“What was that, Dad?” she whispered.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_191">[191]</div> +<p>“Only the wind,” he reassured her. “Ezekiel’s still +over there on the point. We’re safe enough.”</p> +<p>Even as he made the observation, a boat moved out +from behind the screen of leaves. Penny and her father +found themselves gazing directly into the barrel +of a gun.</p> +<p>“Safe, are ye?” Coon Hawkins shouted in glee. +“We got ye now, ye sneakin’ snoopers! Ye won’t do +no more spyin’ in this swamp!”</p> +<p>With him in the boat were his brother and Danny +Deevers.</p> +<p>“Git in!” Coon ordered sharply.</p> +<p>“What will you do with us?” Mr. Parker asked, trying +to stall for time.</p> +<p>“We’re takin’ ye to Black Island,” Coon replied, +prodding the publisher with his gun. “Move!”</p> +<p>One glance at the grim, determined faces of the men +convinced Mr. Parker and Penny it would be folly to +resist. Silently they entered the boat.</p> +<p>Hod pushed off and the craft moved noiselessly +away into the night.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_192">[192]</div> +<h2 id="c25"><span class="small">CHAPTER</span> +<br /><span class="large">25</span> +<br /><i>OUTWITTED</i></h2> +<p>For an endless time, it seemed, the party moved +deeper and deeper into the swamp. As the night became +cool, Penny shivered and leaned close to her father.</p> +<p>Worn out, she slumped against his shoulder and finally +dropped into a light sleep. When she opened +her eyes, a pale moon had risen over the treetops, lighting +the way.</p> +<p>At last, the boat brought up in a cove at Black Island.</p> +<p>“We’re leavin’ ye here,” Coon informed the prisoners. +“Maybe ye’ll be found tomorrer or next week +after we’re safe away. If not, well hit’s jest too bad!”</p> +<p>Penny and her father were hustled ashore. Despite +vigorous struggles, Mr. Parker then was bound by +Coon and Hod and lashed with his back to a tree. Before +Penny could be treated likewise, a dog began to +bark.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_193">[193]</div> +<p>“It’s Bones!” she cried. “You have him here on the +island!”</p> +<p>“Sure, we got him,” agreed Hod indifferently.</p> +<p>Penny loudly called the dog’s name and he bounded +through the brush toward her. His long hair was +matted with burs, but he seemed in good health and +well fed.</p> +<p>Before Penny could get her hands on him, Coon +seized and tossed the dog into the boat.</p> +<p>“Please let me keep Bones!” she pleaded.</p> +<p>“Yeah, leave the dog on the island,” growled Danny +Deevers. “He’ll be a bother to us.”</p> +<p>“Git the dog then, gal,” commanded Coon.</p> +<p>Penny scrambled aboard the Hawkins’ boat. Bones +had crawled far forward.</p> +<p>As she bent to gather him into her arms, her hand +encountered a gunny sack. Inside were wrapped three +hard, round objects.</p> +<p>“The cans of stolen money!” Penny thought, her +pulse jumping.</p> +<p>Without considering the punishment that might be +meted out to her, she seized the sack.</p> +<p>“Hey!” shouted Coon furiously. “Drop those +cans!”</p> +<p>He sprang aboard, intending to strike her a stunning +blow. Penny leaped for shore, but the boat shot from +beneath her feet.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_194">[194]</div> +<p>Misbalanced, it went over, tumbling Coon and herself +into the water.</p> +<p>But as Penny went down, she clung fast to the cans +of money. Fortunately, the muddy water was shallow. +Her feet touched bottom and she came up sputtering.</p> +<p>Hod and Danny started for the boat on a run, intending +to seize her. Suddenly, they halted, listening +intently.</p> +<p>“What was that?” Danny demanded. “Thought I +heard the splash of a paddle!”</p> +<p>“Two boats are coming!” Hod cried hoarsely. “Police!”</p> +<p>“Come on!” ordered Danny, seizing one end of the +overturned boat. “Help me right this! We’ll still get +away! The girl goes with us as a hostage!”</p> +<p>Hod grasped Penny’s arm, while his brother aided +Danny with the boat.</p> +<p>“No go!” ordered a cool voice from the thicket. “I +gotta you covered!”</p> +<p>As the three men whirled around, Tony, rifle in +hand, came out of the deep shadows.</p> +<p>“Stand-a by tree!” he commanded, motioning with +the gun. “Keep-a hands up!”</p> +<p>Sullenly the three men obeyed. Tony guarded +them closely until policemen swarmed over the island.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_195">[195]</div> +<p>In the first boat were Salt, Jerry and several officers. +Behind came a second boat, also loaded with policemen.</p> +<p>Danny, Hod and Coon quickly were handcuffed +and placed under heavy guard. Tony then helped +Penny release her father.</p> +<p>“What about Ezekiel?” the publisher asked. “We +ought to get him too!”</p> +<p>Jerry revealed that the swamper already had been +taken prisoner at Lookout Island. Two policemen had +remained behind to guard both him and his wife.</p> +<p>“Oh, Jerry! I’m so glad you got through safely!” +Penny declared. “Did you have any trouble?”</p> +<p>“Not a bit,” he replied. “When I reached the farmhouse, +police already were there. Mrs. Jones had telephoned +them.”</p> +<p>“We arrested Mrs. Hawkins,” Salt took up the +story. “Then we captured Ezekiel at Lookout Point, +and followed your boat here. Most of the time we +had you in sight, though from a long distance.”</p> +<p>Penny was greatly relieved to be able to turn over +the three cans of stolen money to police officers. By +lantern light a hasty count was made and it was disclosed +that a sizeable portion of the funds were +missing.</p> +<p>However, when Danny Deevers, Hod, and Coon +were searched, a large roll of bills was found in the +escaped convict’s pocket.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_196">[196]</div> +<p>“This should account for it all,” said the police +officer, taking charge of the money and adding it to +the other. “So you were trying to double-cross your +pals, Danny? Figured on keeping the lion’s share!”</p> +<p>Danny glared at the officer, refusing to answer.</p> +<p>“So you got nothing to say, eh?” the officer +prodded. “Maybe you’ll be in a more talkative mood +when we get you back to the pen. You’ll do double +time for skipping out!”</p> +<p>Danny’s sullen gaze fastened briefly on Jerry Livingston.</p> +<p>“I got only one regret!” he muttered. “I wish I’d +slugged that guy harder when I had the chance!”</p> +<p>“May I ask the prisoners a question or two?” Penny +asked the officer in charge.</p> +<p>“Sure, go ahead,” he nodded. “If you get anything +out of ’em, you’re good.”</p> +<p>Penny knew that Danny, a hardened criminal, +would never give her any information, so she centered +her attention upon Hod and Coon.</p> +<p>At first, they only eyed her sullenly, refusing to +speak. But after she had pointed out that a more cooperative +attitude might bring a lighter sentence, they +showed a little interest.</p> +<p>“How did you come to be mixed up with Danny?” +she asked. “Were you all together in the big bank +robbery?”</p> +<p>The question drew fire from Hod.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_197">[197]</div> +<p>“No, we weren’t!” he shouted. “We never even +knowed where Danny hid the money until tonight!”</p> +<p>“Then why were you so willing to hide and help +him?”</p> +<p>“’Cause him and Paw always was good friends! +Danny come here, saying the cops was after him and +would we give him some clothes and hide him fer a +day or two? So like fools we was, we took him in +and kept him in the woodshed. It would have been +safe enough if you hadn’t come snoopin’ around!”</p> +<p>“No doubt you all would have gone free if you +hadn’t made the mistake of keeping Louise’s dog,” +Penny retorted. “However, you seem to forget you +were operating a still illegally.”</p> +<p>“Anyone else in on that business?” the policeman +cut in. “How’d they market the stuff?”</p> +<p>“Through a trucker at Hartwell City,” Penny exclaimed. +“I think they called him Ike.”</p> +<p>“Too bad the bird will go free, while these eggs do +a stretch in the pen,” commented the policeman. +“You can depend on it though, they’ll never do the +smart thing and turn him in.”</p> +<p>“Oh, wouldn’t we?” growled Hod. “He was no +pal o’ ourn!”</p> +<p>“Would it git us a lighter stretch if we was to turn +him in?” asked Coon craftily.</p> +<p>“It might.”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_198">[198]</div> +<p>“His name’s Ike Glanzy and he stays mostly at the +Devon Club in Hartwell City,” Hod volunteered.</p> +<p>“We’ll pick him up,” said the policeman. “Depend +on it, he’ll be behind bars before another twenty-four +hours. Now let’s get out of here!”</p> +<p>As the boats began to load for the return trip +through the swamp, Penny glanced anxiously about +the tiny clearing.</p> +<p>“Where’s Tony?” she asked.</p> +<p>No one had seen the Italian lad in the last few minutes. +Unnoticed, he had slipped away into the interior +of the island.</p> +<p>“We can’t leave without Tony!” Penny protested. +“He’s afraid he’ll be sent back to Italy, so he’s run off +somewhere!”</p> +<p>“He can’t have gone far,” said Salt. “We should be +able to find him.”</p> +<p>However, an intensive search of the bushes nearby +did not reveal the missing youth. At last, in desperation, +Penny called his name several times.</p> +<p>“Please, Tony, give yourself up!” she pleaded. +“You won’t be sent back to Italy! I’m sure of it! +Please come out of hiding!”</p> +<p>“If that appeal doesn’t fetch him, nothing will,” +said Salt. “We’ve held up the party too long now, +Penny. We’ve got to shove off.”</p> +<p>Penny nodded disconsolately. When the photographer +took her arm and started back toward the +waiting boats, she did not resist.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_199">[199]</div> +<p>But after they had gone a few yards, she abruptly +halted.</p> +<p>“Tony <i>is</i> close by!” she insisted. “I can <i>feel</i> that +he’s watching us now! Listen! Don’t you hear the +bushes rustling?”</p> +<p>“I do hear something. Maybe it’s only an animal.”</p> +<p>“Tony,” Penny made one last appeal, “if you’re +back there in the dark, please come out. Don’t you +understand? You were a hero tonight—you saved the +day by popping out of the bushes at just the right moment. +Please don’t fail me now.”</p> +<p>The leaves were stirring again. Then, to Penny’s +joy, the branches parted. Grinning sheepishly, Tony +shuffled out.</p> +<p>“You call-a me?” he grinned.</p> +<p>“Oh, Tony!” Penny seized his arm and held fast. +“We’ve practically torn out the lining of our lungs, +trying to find you! Come on! You’re going back +with us!”</p> +<p>“Not to Immigration mens!”</p> +<p>“Oh, don’t worry about that now, Tony! My father +has a little influence and he’ll help you all he can. +Besides, you’re almost certain to win a portion of the +reward offered for Danny Deevers’ capture.”</p> +<p>“Money no good if they send-a me back to Italy!” +Tony said stubbornly. “Want-a stay in America. I +work-a hard. Go to school!”</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_200">[200]</div> +<p>“I think perhaps it can be arranged,” Penny promised +recklessly. With Salt’s help, she kept steering the +boy toward the boat. “After all you’ve done tonight, +Immigration authorities couldn’t be hard-hearted +enough to refuse you citizenship.”</p> +<p>Tony allowed himself to be persuaded and entered +a boat with Penny and other members of the party. +After a long and tiring but uneventful trip through +the swamp, the Hawkins’ farm finally was reached.</p> +<p>At the farmhouse, Mrs. Hawkins and her husband +were being held prisoners by other policemen. Also +waiting were the Widow Jones and Trapper Joe Scoville, +whom she had summoned.</p> +<p>“Praises be! The police got to ye in time!” the +widow exclaimed, giving Penny’s hand an affectionate +squeeze. “If harm had befallen ye this night, I never +would have fergiven myself fer having taken ye into +the swamp.”</p> +<p>“Maybe what happened’ll teach ye a lesson, but I +got m’ doubts,” interposed the old trapper with a +chuckle. “Wimmin is mighty stubborn critters!”</p> +<p>As Mrs. Hawkins and her husband were led out of +the house, the woman caught sight of her two sons +handcuffed to officers. “Hod! Coon!” she screamed +hysterically.</p> +<p>She tried to break away from the policemen who +held her, and would have attacked Danny Deevers had +they not restrained her.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_201">[201]</div> +<p>“Ye’r the one who got us into this mess!” she accused +the convict. “I hope they lock ye up fer the +rest o’ y’er life!”</p> +<p>Much later, after all the prisoners had been confined +in Riverview jail, Mr. Parker and Penny obtained custody +of Tony. Arrangements were made so that the +lad might remain in the Parker home while Immigration +officials considered his case.</p> +<p>The Italian boy proved to be a perfect guest. Not +only did he help about the house and yard, but he +never overlooked an opportunity to improve his education. +Many a time Penny or her father came upon +him in the library, reading a book.</p> +<p>“If he doesn’t get to stay, it will be a crime!” the +girl declared. “Oh, why doesn’t the Immigration department +reach a decision?”</p> +<p>Despite Penny’s fretting, weeks dragged on and still +Tony’s case hung fire. Many telegrams went back +and forth between Riverview and Washington, D. C. +So involved did the affair become that even Mr. Parker +began to lose hope the boy could be kept in America.</p> +<p>But at last word came that the last bit of red tape +had been cut. A high immigration official had ruled +that although it was irregular, Tony might remain in +Riverview, providing someone would guarantee his +support.</p> +<p>Mr. Parker willingly signed the necessary papers. +A job next was in order, but this Penny easily arranged +through Mark Fiello, the hamburger shop man.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_202">[202]</div> +<p>As for Danny Deevers, the convict promptly was +returned to prison, and the stolen $50,000 turned over +to the Third Federal Bank.</p> +<p>In due time, Ezekiel, Coon, Hod and Mrs. Hawkins +were convicted on charges of harboring a fugitive +from justice. At their trial, evidence also was introduced, +showing they had operated a still illegally.</p> +<p>For many days the <i>Riverview Star</i> carried front +page stories of the happenings. Penny wrote several +of the articles, while others carried Jerry’s byline.</p> +<p>“The best part of all is that with Danny behind bars, +you’ll no longer be in danger,” the girl remarked one +day to the reporter. “He really was out to get you.”</p> +<p>“I suppose so,” Jerry agreed, “but I never was much +worried. Danny’s real motive in coming back to Riverview +was to recover the hidden $50,000. Running +into me—and particularly you—proved his undoing.”</p> +<p>In days that followed, Penny drove many times to +the swamp to see Mrs. Jones and Trapper Joe. Both +rejoiced that Danny Deevers and the Hawkins family +could cause no more trouble.</p> +<p>One afternoon as the girl paid the widow a long call, +they fell to talking over their swamp experiences.</p> +<p>“It was mighty excitin’ out there—you and me in +the boat,” Mrs. Jones recalled. “Now that it’s all over, +I hain’t ashamed to say I was plenty skeered we’d never +git out o’ the swamp alive.”</p> +<p>“So was I,” grinned Penny.</p> +<div class="pb" id="Page_203">[203]</div> +<p>“Revenooers was in yesterday to smash up Ezekiel’s +still.”</p> +<p>“They were!”</p> +<p>“Yep, and they got track o’ that trucker who was in +so thick with the Hawkins boys.” The widow sighed +and pulled aside a kitchen curtain to gaze thoughtfully +toward the swamp. “Well, I reckon the last bit o’ +evil’s been driv’ away from Black Island. From now +on, the land’ll jest lie there and belong to the wind and +the rain.”</p> +<p>“And to us,” Penny added softly.</p> +<p>The widow nodded as her gaze lingered long on the +fringe of towering pines. “One o’ these days, when +the spirit moves us, we’ll go back there,” she promised. +“The swamp always belongs to them that loves it!”</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Swamp Island, by Mildred A. 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Wirt + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Swamp Island + +Author: Mildred A. Wirt + +Release Date: January 26, 2011 [EBook #35083] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SWAMP ISLAND *** + + + + +Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Charlie Howard, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + Swamp + Island + + + _By_ + MILDRED A. WIRT + + _Author of_ + MILDRED A. WIRT MYSTERY STORIES + TRAILER STORIES FOR GIRLS + + _Illustrated_ + + CUPPLES AND LEON COMPANY + _Publishers_ + NEW YORK + + + + + _PENNY PARKER_ + MYSTERY STORIES + + _Large 12 mo. Cloth Illustrated_ + + + TALE OF THE WITCH DOLL + THE VANISHING HOUSEBOAT + DANGER AT THE DRAWBRIDGE + BEHIND THE GREEN DOOR + CLUE OF THE SILKEN LADDER + THE SECRET PACT + THE CLOCK STRIKES THIRTEEN + THE WISHING WELL + SABOTEURS ON THE RIVER + GHOST BEYOND THE GATE + HOOFBEATS ON THE TURNPIKE + VOICE FROM THE CAVE + GUILT OF THE BRASS THIEVES + SIGNAL IN THE DARK + WHISPERING WALLS + SWAMP ISLAND + THE CRY AT MIDNIGHT + + + COPYRIGHT, 1947, BY CUPPLES AND LEON CO. + + Swamp Island + + PRINTED IN U. S. A. + + + + + CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + 1 THE BEARDED STRANGER _1_ + 2 ALERTING ALL CARS _7_ + 3 UNFINISHED BUSINESS _16_ + 4 A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT _25_ + 5 THE RED STAIN _33_ + 6 AMBULANCE CALL _42_ + 7 AN EMPTY BED _50_ + 8 IN SEARCH OF JERRY _58_ + 9 THE WIDOW JONES _64_ + 10 INSIDE THE WOODSHED _73_ + 11 AN ABANDONED CAR _81_ + 12 A JOB FOR PENNY _91_ + 13 INTO THE SWAMP _100_ + 14 A CODE MESSAGE _107_ + 15 BEYOND THE BOARDWALK _113_ + 16 TREED BY A BOAR _121_ + 17 RESCUE _128_ + 18 WANTED--A GUIDE _136_ + 19 PENNY'S PLAN _146_ + 20 TRAILING HOD HAWKINS _153_ + 21 THE TUNNEL OF LEAVES _160_ + 22 HELP FROM TONY _166_ + 23 LOST IN THE HYACINTHS _175_ + 24 UNDER THE FENCE POST _183_ + 25 OUTWITTED _192_ + + + + + CHAPTER + 1 + _THE BEARDED STRANGER_ + + +With slow, smooth strokes, Penny Parker sent the flat-bottomed skiff +cutting through the still, sluggish water toward a small point of wooded +land near the swamp's edge. + +In the bottom of the boat, her dark-haired companion, Louise Sidell, sat +with her hand resting carelessly on the collar of her dog, Bones, who +drowsed beside her. The girl yawned and shifted cramped limbs. + +"Let's go home, Penny," she pleaded. "We have all the flowers you'll need +to decorate the banquet tables tonight." + +"But not all I want," Penny corrected with a grin. "See those beautiful +Cherokee roses growing over there on the island point? They're nicer than +anything we have." + +"Also harder to get." + +Louise craned her neck to gaze at the wild, tangled growth which rose +densely from the water's edge. + +"Remember," she admonished, "when Trapper Joe rented us this boat his +last words were: 'Don't go far, and stay in the skiff.'" + +"After we gather the flowers, we'll start straight home, Lou. We're too +near the edge of the swamp to lose our way." + +Disregarding Louise's frown, Penny tossed a lock of auburn hair out of +her eyes, and dug in again with the oars. + +A giant crane, disturbed by the splash, flapped up from the tall water +grass. As he trumpeted angrily, Bones stirred and scrambled to his feet. + +"Quiet, Bones!" Louise ordered, giving him a reassuring pat. "It's only a +saucy old crane." + +The dog stretched out on the decking again, but through half-closed eyes +watched the bird in flight. + +"Lou, hasn't it been fun, coming here today?" Penny demanded in a sudden +outbreak of enthusiasm. "I've loved every minute of it!" + +"You certainly have! But it's getting late and we're both hot and tired. +If you must have those flowers, let's get them quickly and start home." + +The two girls, students at Riverview high school, had rented the skiff +early that afternoon from Trapper Joe Scoville, a swamper who lived alone +in a shack at the swamp's edge. + +For three hours now, they had idled along the entrance channel, gathering +water lilies, late-blooming Cherokee roses, yellow jessamine, and iris. + +The excursion had been entirely Penny's idea. That night in a Riverview +hotel, her father, Anthony Parker, publisher of the _Riverview Star_, was +acting as host to a state newspapermen's convention. He had handed Penny +twenty dollars, with instructions to buy flowers for the banquet tables. + +Penny, with her usual flare for doing things differently, had decided to +save the money by gathering swamp blooms. + +"These flowers are nicer than anything we could have bought from a +florist," she declared, gazing appreciatively at the mass of blooms which +dripped water in the basket at her feet. + +"And think what you can do with twenty dollars!" her chum teased. + +"Seventeen. Remember, we owe Trapper Joe three dollars for boat rental." + +"It will be four if we don't call it a day. Let's get the flowers, if we +must, and start home." + +"Fair enough," Penny agreed. + +Squinting at the lowering sun, she guided the skiff to a point of the +low-lying island. There she held it steady while her chum stepped out on +the spongy ground. + +Bones, eager to explore, leaped after her and was off in a flash before +Louise could seize his collar. + +Penny followed her chum ashore, beaching her skiff in a clump of water +plants. "This place looks like a natural haunt for cottonmouths or +moccasins," she remarked. "We'll have to watch out for snakes." + +Already Louise was edging along in the soft muck, alertly keeping an eye +upon all overhead limbs from which a poisonous reptile might drop. + +Annoyed by thorny bushes which teethed into her jacket, she turned to +protest to Penny that the roses were not worth the trouble it would take +to gather them. + +But the words never were spoken. + +For just then, from some distance inland, came the sound of men's voices. +Louise listened a moment and retreated toward the boat. + +"Someone is here on the island," she whispered nervously. "Let's leave!" + +All afternoon the girls had floated through the outer reaches of the +swamp without seeing a single human being. Now to hear voices in this +isolated area was slightly unnerving even to Penny. But she was not one +to turn tail and run without good reason. + +"Why should we leave?" she countered, careful to keep her voice low. "We +have a perfect right to be here. They're probably fishermen from +Riverview." + +Louise was not so easily reassured. + +"We have all the flowers you need, Penny. Please, let's go!" + +"You wait for me in the boat, Lou. I'll slip over to the bank and get the +roses. Only take a minute." + +Stepping carefully across a half-decayed log, Penny started toward the +roses, visible on a bank farther up shore. + +Bones trotted a few feet ahead of her, his sensitive nose to the ground. + +"Go back, Bones," Penny ordered softly. "Stay with Louise!" + +Bones did not obey. As Penny overtook him and seized the trailing leash, +she suddenly heard voices again. + +Two men were talking several yards away, completely hidden by the bushes. +Their words brought her up short. + +"There hain't no reason to be afeared if we use our heads," the one was +saying. "Maybe me and the boys will help if ye make it worth our while, +but we hain't aimin' to tangle with no law." + +The voice of the man who answered was low and husky. + +"You'll help me all right, or I'll tell what I know! Only one thing +brought me back here. I aim to get the guy who put me up! I was in town +last night but didn't get sight of him. I'm going back soon's I leave +here." + +Penny had been listening so intently that she completely forgot Bones. + +The dog tugged hard at the leash which slipped from the girl's hand. She +scrambled for it, only to have Bones elude her and dart into the +underbrush. + +From the boat, Louise saw her pet escaping. Fearful that he would be +lost, she called shrilly: "Bones! Bones! Come back here!" + +The dog paid no heed. But Louise's cry had carried far and served to warn +those inland that someone had landed on the point. + +A moment of dead silence ensued. Then Penny heard one of the men demand +sharply: "What was that?" + +Waiting for no more, she backtracked toward the boat. Before she could +reach it, the bushes behind her parted. + +A tall, square-shouldered man whose jaw was covered with a jungle growth +of red beard, peered out at her. He wore a wide-brimmed, floppy, felt hat +and loose fitting work clothes with sturdy boots. + +His eyes, fierce and hostile, fastened directly upon Penny. + +"Git!" he said harshly. + +Penny retreated a step, then held her ground. + +"Please, sir, our dog is lost in the underbrush," she began. "We can't +leave without him--" + +"Git!" the man repeated. As he started toward her, Penny saw that he +carried a gun in the crook of his arm. + + + + + CHAPTER + 2 + _ALERTING ALL CARS_ + + +Penny was no coward; neither was she foolhardy. + +A second look at the bearded stranger, and her mind telegraphed the +warning: "This man means business! Better play along." + +The man fingered his gun. "Git goin' now!" he ordered sharply. "And don't +come back!" + +In the boat, Louise already had reached nervously for the oars. She wet +her fingers and whistled for Bones, but the dog, off on a fascinating +scent, had been completely swallowed up by the rank undergrowth. + +"Ye heard me?" the stranger demanded. "I be a patient man, but I hain't +speakin' agin." + +Penny hesitated, half tempted to defy the swamper. + +"Let Bones go," Louise called. "Come on." + +Thus urged, Penny backed toward the skiff. Stumbling over a vine, she +caught her balance and scrambled awkwardly into the boat. + +Louise pushed off with the oars, stroking fast until they were well out +into the channel. Only then did she give vent to anger. + +"That mean man! Now we've lost Bones for good. We'll never get him back." + +"Maybe we will." + +"How? We'll never dare row back there today. He's still watching us." + +Penny nodded, knowing that anything she might say would carry clearly +over the water. + +The stranger had not moved since the skiff had pulled away. Like a grim +statue, he stood in the shadow of a towering oak, gazing straight before +him. + +"Who does he think he is anyhow?" Louise demanded, becoming bolder as +they put greater distance between themselves and the island. "Does he own +this swamp?" + +"He seems to think he does--or at least this section of it. Don't feel +too badly about Bones, Lou. We'll come back tomorrow and find him." + +"Tomorrow may be too late. He'll be hopelessly lost, or maybe that man +will shoot him! Oh, Penny, Bones was such a cute little dog. He always +brought me the morning paper, and he knew so many clever tricks." + +"It was all my fault for insisting upon landing there. Lou, I feel +awful." + +"You needn't." + +Louise forced herself into a cheerful tone. "Maybe we'll find him again +or he'll come home. If not--well--" her voice broke. + +Both girls fell into a gloomy silence. Water swished gently against the +skiff as Louise sent it forward with vicious stabs of the oars. + +With growing distaste, Penny eyed the mass of flowers in the bottom of +the boat. Already the blooms were wilting. + +"I wish we never had come to the swamp today, Lou. It was a bum idea." + +"No, we had a good time until we met that man. Please, Penny, it wasn't +your fault." + +Penny drew up her knees for a chin rest and gloomily watched her chum +row. A big fish broke the surface of the still water. Across the channel, +the sun had become a low-hanging, fiery-red disc. But Penny focused her +eyes on the receding island. + +"Lou," she said, "there were two men on the point. Did you hear what they +were saying?" + +"No, only a murmur of voices." + +Her curiosity aroused, Louise waited patiently for more information. +Penny plucked at a floating hyacinth plant and then added: + +"I can't quite dope it out, Lou. One of those men seemed to be asking the +other to hide him, and there was talk of evading the law--also a threat +to 'get' someone." + +"Us probably." + +"No, until you called Bones, they apparently didn't know anyone was +around. Who could those men be?" + +"Crooks, I'll bet," Louise said grimly. "Thank goodness, we're almost out +of the swamp now. I can see the clearing ahead and a little tumbledown +house and barn." + +"Not Trapper Joe's place?" Penny asked, straightening up to look. + +The skiff had swung into faster water. + +"We're not that far yet," Louise replied as she rested on the oars a +moment. "Don't you remember--it's a house we passed just after we rented +the boat." + +"So it is. My mind is only hitting on half its cylinders today. Anyway, +we're out of the swamp. Let's pull up and ask for a drink of cool water." + +With a sigh of relief, Louise guided the skiff to a sagging, make-shift +dock close to the farmhouse. + +Some distance back from the river, enclosed by a broken fence, stood an +unpainted, two-story frame house. + +Beyond the woodshed rose a barn, its roof shingles badly curled. At the +pump near the house, a middle-aged woman in loose-fitting faded blue +dress, vigorously scrubbed a copper wash boiler. + +She straightened quickly as the skiff grated against the dock. + +"Howdy," she greeted the girls at their approach. Her tone lacked +cordiality. + +"Good afternoon," said Penny. "May we have a drink at the pump?" + +"Help yourself." + +The woman jerked a gnarled hand toward a gourd cup attached to the pump +with a string. She studied the girls intently, almost suspiciously. + +Louise and Penny drank only a few sips, for the water was warm and of +unpleasant taste. + +"You'uns be strangers hereabouts," the woman observed. + +"Yes, we come from Riverview," Penny replied. + +"You hain't been in the swamp?" + +"Why, yes," answered Louise, eager to relate details of their adventure. +"We gathered flowers, and then met a horrid man with red whiskers! He +drove us away from the island before I could get my dog." + +The woman gazed at the girls in an odd way. + +"Sarved you'uns right to be driv off," she said in a grim voice. "The +swamp's no place fer young gals. You might o' been et by a beast or bit +by a snake." + +"I don't believe the man we saw was much worried about that," Penny said +dryly. "I wonder who he was?" + +The farm woman shrugged and began to scour the copper boiler again. After +a moment she looked up, fixing Penny with a stern and unfriendly eye. + +"Let me give you a pocketful o' advice," she said. "Don't fret that purty +head o' yourn about the swamp. And don't go pokin' yer nose into what +ain't none o' your consarn. If I was you, I wouldn't come back. These +here parts ain't none too health fer strangers, even young 'uns." + +"But I want my dog," Louise insisted. "He's lost on the island." + +"Hain't likely you'll ever see that dawg agin. And if you know what's +good 'n smart, you'uns won't go back there agin." + +Having delivered herself of this advice, the woman turned her back and +went on with her work. Made increasingly aware of her hostility, Penny +and Louise said goodbye and returned to the skiff. + +As they shoved off, they could see that the woman was watching them. + +"We're certainly popular today," Penny remarked when the skiff had +floated on toward Trapper Joe's rental dock. "My, was she a sour pickle!" + +Ten minutes later, as the girls brought up at Trapper Joe's place, they +saw the lean old swamper standing near the dock, skinning a rabbit. His +leathery, weather-beaten face crinkled into smiles. + +"Sure am glad yer back safe an sound," he greeted them cheerfully. "After +I let you take the skiff I got to worryin' fer fear you'd go too fur and +git lost. 'Pears like you had good sense after all." + +"The only thing we lost was my dog," Louise declared, stepping out on the +dock. "Bones is gone for good, I guess." + +She quickly told the old trapper what had happened on the island. He +listened attentively, making no comment until she had finished. + +"'Pears like you must have run afoul of Ezekiel Hawkins," he said then. +"Leastwise, he's the only one hereabouts with a grizzly red beard." + +"Is he a crook or a fugitive from the law?" Penny demanded. + +"Not that nobody ever heard of. Ezekiel and his two boys, Hod and Coon, +tend purty much to their own business. But they don't go fer strangers +hangin' around." + +"And do they own the island?" + +"Not an inch of it--all that swamp's government land. Can't figure why, +if 'twas Ezekiel, he'd drive you away from there. Unless--" + +"Unless what?" Penny asked as the trapper fell silent. + +"Jest a'thinkin'. Well, I'll keep an eye out fer the dog and maybe have a +talk with Ezekiel." + +Penny and Louise thanked the swamper and paid him for use of the boat. +Gathering up the flowers they had picked, they started toward the road +where they had parked Penny's coupe. + +The trapper walked with them to the front gate. + +"By the way," Penny remarked, "who is the woman on the farm just above +here?" + +"At the edge of the swamp? That's the Ezekiel Hawkins' place." + +"Not the farm of that bearded man we met today!" + +"Reckon so." + +"We stopped there for a drink and talked to a tall, dark-haired woman. +She was rather short with us." + +"That would be Manthy, Ezekiel's wife. She's sharp-tongued, Manthy is, +and not too friendly. Works hard slavin' and cookin' fer them two no-good +boys of hers." + +Penny and Louise asked no more questions, but again saying goodbye to +Trapper Joe, went on down the dusty road. + +Once they were beyond earshot, Penny observed: "What a joke on us, Lou! +There we were, complaining to Mrs. Hawkins about her own husband! No +wonder she was short with us." + +"We had good reason to complain." + +"Yes we did," Penny soberly agreed. "Of course, we can't be dead certain +the bearded man was Ezekiel Hawkins. But Manthy did act unpleasant about +it." + +"If it weren't for Bones, I'd never set foot near this place again! Oh, I +hope he finds his way home." + +The girls had reached Penny's car, parked just off the sideroad. A clock +on the dashboard warned them it was after five o'clock. + +"Jeepers!" Penny exclaimed, snapping on the ignition. "I'll have to step +on it to get dressed in time for the banquet! And I still have the tables +to decorate!" + +A fast drive over the bumpy sideroad brought the girls to the main paved +highway. Much later, as they neared Riverview, Penny absently switched on +the shortwave radio. + +A number of routine police calls came through. Then the girls were +startled to hear the dispatcher at headquarters say: + +"Attention all scout cars! Be on the alert for escaped convict, Danny +Deevers alias Spike Devons. Five-feet nine, blue eyes, brown hair. Last +seen in state prison uniform. Believed heading for Riverview." + +"Danny Deevers!" Penny whispered, and quickly turned the volume control. +"I repeat," boomed the dispatcher's voice. "Be on lookout for Danny +Deevers, a dangerous escaped criminal. Believed heading this way." + + + + + CHAPTER + 3 + _UNFINISHED BUSINESS_ + + +"Did you hear that?" Penny demanded of her chum as the police dispatcher +went off the air. "Danny Deevers has escaped!" + +The name rang no bell in Louise's memory. + +"And who is Danny Deevers?" she inquired. "Anyone you know?" + +"Not exactly. But Jerry Livingston has good reason to remember him." + +"Jerry Livingston? That reporter you like so well?" + +A quick grin brought confession from Penny. "Jerry is only one of my +friends," she said. "But it's a known fact he's better looking and +smarter than all the other _Star_ reporters put together." + +"It's a fact known to _you_," teased her chum. "Well, what about this +escaped convict, Danny Deevers?" + +Penny stopped for a red light. As it changed to green she replied: + +"Don't you recall a series of stories Jerry wrote in our paper nearly a +year ago? They exposed shortages which developed at the Third Federal +Loan Bank. Jerry dug up a lot of evidence, and the result was, thefts +were pinned on Danny Deevers. He was convicted and sent to the +penitentiary for twenty years." + +"Oh, yes, now I remember." + +"At the time of his conviction, Deevers threatened if ever he went free, +he would get even with Jerry." + +"And now he's on the loose!" + +"Not only that, but heading for Riverview, according to the police." + +"You don't think he'd dare try to carry out his threat?" + +Penny frowned and swerved to avoid hitting a cat which scuttled across +the highway. + +"Who knows, Lou? The police evidently are hot on Deevers' trail, but if +they don't get him, he may try to seek revenge. It's odd he turns up +today--and those men talking in the swamp--" + +Louise's eyes opened wide. "Penny, you don't think Danny Deevers could +have taken refuge in the swamp!" + +"It's possible. Wouldn't it be a good hideout?" + +"Only for a very courageous person," Louise shivered. "At night, all +sorts of wild animals must prowl about. And one easily could be bitten by +a poisonous snake and could die before help came." + +"I'm not saying Danny Deevers was on the island today, Lou. But it's a +thought. Maybe I'll pass it on to the police." + +Penny fell into thoughtful silence as she reflected upon the strange +snatch of conversation she had overheard between the two men in the +underbrush. Had the bearded stranger really been Ezekiel Hawkins, and if +so, with whom had he talked? The chance that the second man might have +been Danny Deevers seemed slim, but it was a possibility. + +When the car finally reached Riverview, Penny dropped Louise at the +Sidell home and drove on to her own residence. + +As she entered her own house, Mrs. Weems, the Parker family housekeeper, +met the girl in the living room archway. + +"Oh, Penny, where have you been!" she exclaimed. "Your father has +telephoned twice. He's waiting for you now at the newspaper office." + +"Do telephone him I'm practically on my way," Penny pleaded. "I'll grab a +bath, dress, and be out of here in two shakes." + +Midway up the stairs, the girl already had stripped off her sports shirt. + +"I'll call your father," Mrs. Weems agreed, "but please, after this, pay +more heed to time. You know how much the success of tonight's newspaper +convention means to your father." + +Penny's mumbled reply was blotted out by the slam of the bathroom door. +The shower began to run full blast. + +With a sigh, Mrs. Weems went to telephone Mr. Parker at the _Riverview +Star_ office. + +For several years now, the housekeeper had efficiently supervised the +motherless Parker home. She loved Penny, an only child, as her own, but +there were times when she felt the girl was allowed too much freedom by +an indulgent father. + +Penny's active, alert mind was a never-ending source of amazement to Mrs. +Weems. She had not entirely approved when Mr. Parker allowed the girl to +spend her summers working as a reporter on the newspaper he owned. + +Nevertheless, the housekeeper had been very proud because Penny had +proved her ability. Not only had the girl written many fine stories which +brought recognition, but also she had demonstrated a true "nose for +news." + +One of Penny's first lessons learned on the _Star_ was that a deadline +must always be met. Knowing now that she dared not be late, she hurriedly +brushed her hair and wriggled into a long, full-skirted evening dress. + +Almost before Mrs. Weems had completed the telephone call, she was +downstairs again searching frantically for a beaded bag and gloves. + +"Here they are, on the table," the housekeeper said. "Your father said he +would wait just fifteen minutes." + +"That's all I need, if the lights are green," Penny flung over her +shoulder, as she ran to the parked car. "See you later, Mrs. Weems!" + +Leaving an exhausted housekeeper behind, the girl made a quick trip to +the downtown newspaper office. + +As she reached the building, newsboys were on the streets crying the +first edition, just off the press. + +Upstairs, in the newsroom, reporters were relaxing at their desks, taking +a few minutes' "breather" between editions. + +Swinging through the entrance gate, Penny created a slight stir. At one +of the desks under a neon light, Jerry Livingston, pencil behind one ear +and hair slightly rumpled, tapped aimlessly at the keys of a typewriter. +His quick eye appreciatively took in the long flowing skirt and the high +heeled slippers. + +"Well, if it isn't our little glamor girl!" he teased. "Cinderella ready +for the ball!" + +At another time, Penny would have paused to chat. Now she flashed a quick +smile and clicked on toward the city desk. + +Editor DeWitt, a quick-tempered, paunchy man of middle-age stood talking +to her father, who looked more than ever distinguished in a new gray +suit. + +"Here she comes now," Mr. DeWitt said as Penny approached. "Your daughter +never missed a deadline yet, Mr. Parker." + +"Perhaps not," the publisher admitted, "but it always gives me heart +failure, figuring she will." + +"Dad, I'm sorry to have annoyed you," Penny said quickly before he could +get in another word. "I was out at the swamp with Louise." + +"The swamp!" + +"Gathering flowers for the banquet table," Penny added hastily. "Oh, Dad, +they're simply beautiful--so much nicer than any florist could have +supplied." + +"I can imagine." Mr. Parker smiled and looked at the wall clock. "We're +due at the theater in ten minutes. I'm chairman of the program, +unfortunately." + +Penny gently broke the news. "Dad, I haven't had time to decorate the +banquet table at the hotel. Will you drive me there?" + +"I can't," Mr. Parker said, slightly exasperated. "I'm late now. Have one +of the photographers take you. By the way, where's Salt Sommers?" + +Hearing his name spoken, a young photographer whose clothes looked as if +he had slept in them, moved out from behind a newspaper he had been +reading. + +"Coming right up, Chief," he answered. + +"Run my daughter over to the Hillcrest Hotel," the publisher instructed. +"Make it your job to see that she reaches the theater promptly." + +"I guess I can handle her," Salt said, winking at Penny. + +"And now, where is Jerry?" the publisher asked. "Has anyone seen him?" + +"Relax, Dad," said Penny. "He's right here." + +"I am jumpy tonight," Mr. Parker admitted, "but I have a lot on my mind. +That stunt we've planned for the entertainment of our out-of-town men--is +everything set?" + +"Sure," DeWitt assured him. "There'll be no hitch. As the mayor winds up +his address of welcome, the stage electrician turns off the stage lights. +Jerry, in view of the audience, orders him to turn 'em on again. He +refuses an' they argue over union rules. The fight gets hotter until +finally the workman pulls a revolver and lets him have it full blast. +Jerry falls, clutching his chest. Our newsboys gallop down the aisles +with copies of the _Riverview Star_ and screaming headlines telling all +about the big murder. Everyone gets a swell laugh, figuring it's pretty +snappy coverage." + +"You certainly make it sound corny the way you tell it," Mr. Parker +sighed. "Who thought up the idea anyhow?" + +"Why, you did, Chief," grinned Salt. "Remember?" + +"It was a poor idea. Maybe we ought to call it off." + +"After we got the extras all printed an' everything?" Mr. DeWitt asked, +looking injured. "The boys went to a lot of trouble." + +"All right, we'll go ahead just as we planned, but I hope there is no +slip-up. How about the revolver?" + +"Right here," said Salt, whipping it from an inside pocket. "Loaded with +blanks." He pointed it at a neon light, pulled the trigger and a loud +bang resulted. + +Jerry Livingston sauntered over. "So that's the lethal weapon," he +observed. "Can I trust you guys not to slip a real bullet in when I'm not +looking?" + +"I've got to go," cut in Mr. Parker, looking again at the clock. "The +program starts as soon as I get to the theater. Speeches should take +about an hour. Then the stunt. And don't be late!" + +"We'll be there," Salt promised. "Jerry, you riding with Penny and me?" + +"I'll come later in my own car. Have a story to write first." + +Going back to his typewriter, the reporter slipped carbons and paper into +the machine and began pecking the keys. + +At that moment a Western Union boy came through the newsroom. Catching +Penny's eye, he pushed a telegram toward her and asked her to sign. + +She wrote her name automatically, before noticing that the envelope bore +Jerry's name. + +"For you," she said, tossing it onto the roller of his typewriter. "More +fan mail." + +"It's probably a threat to bring suit if I don't pay my dry cleaning +bill," Jerry chuckled. + +He glanced at the envelope briefly, then slit it up the side. As he read +the wire, his face became a study. His jaw tightened. Then he relaxed and +laughed. + +"This is a threat all right," he commented, "but not from the dry +cleaners!" + +Jerry reread the telegram, snorted with disgust, and then handed it to +Penny. + +In amazement she read: "ARRIVED IN TOWN TODAY TO TAKE CARE OF A LITTLE +UNFINISHED BUSINESS. WILL BE SEEING YOU." + +The telegram bore the signature, Danny Deevers. + + + + + CHAPTER + 4 + _A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT_ + + +As word spread through the office that Jerry had received a threat from +the escaped convict, reporters gathered to read the telegram and comment +upon it. + +"Great stuff!" exclaimed Editor DeWitt, thinking in terms of headlines. +"_Riverview Star_ reporter threatened by Danny Deevers! We'll build it +up--post a reward for his capture--provide you with a bodyguard." + +"But I don't want a bodyguard," Jerry retorted. "Build up the story if +you want to, but skip the kindergarten trimmings." + +"You ought to have a bodyguard," DeWitt insisted seriously. "Danny +Deevers is nobody's playboy. He may mean business. Reporters are hard to +get these days. We can't risk having you bumped off." + +"Oh, this telegram is pure bluff," Jerry replied, scrambling up the +yellow sheet and hurling it into a tall metal scrap can. "I'll not be +nursemaided by any bodyguard, and that's final!" + +"Okay," DeWitt gave in, "but if you get bumped off, don't come crying to +me!" + +Jerry took a long drink at the fountain and then said thoughtfully: "You +know, I have a hunch about Danny." + +"Spill it," invited DeWitt. + +"He didn't come back here to get even with me for those articles I +wrote--or at least it's a secondary purpose." + +"Then why did he head for Riverview?" + +"I have an idea he may have come back to get $50,000." + +"The money he stole from the Third Federal Bank?" + +"Sure. The money disappeared, and when Danny took the rap, he refused to +tell where he had hidden it. I'll bet the money is in a safe place +somewhere in Riverview." + +"You may be right at that," DeWitt agreed. "Anyway, it's a good story. +Better write a couple pages before you go over to the theater--let that +other stuff go." + +Jerry nodded and with a quick glance at the clock, sat down at his +typewriter. + +"Ready, Penny?" called Salt, picking up his camera and heading for the +door. + +"In a minute." + +Penny hesitated and then walked over to Jerry's desk. + +"Jerry, you'll be careful, won't you?" she asked anxiously. + +"Oh, sure," he agreed. "If I see Danny first, I'll start running." + +"Do be serious, Jerry! You know, there's a chance Danny may be hiding in +the swamp." + +The carriage of Jerry's typewriter stopped with a jerk. He now gave Penny +his full attention. + +"What's that about Danny being in the swamp?" + +"I didn't say he is for sure, but today when Louise and I were out there, +we heard a very strange conversation." + +Penny swiftly related everything that had occurred on the tiny island +near the swamp entrance. She also described the bearded stranger who had +ordered her away. + +"That couldn't have been Danny," Jerry decided. "Not unless he's +disguised his appearance." + +"There was another man," Penny reminded him. "Louise and I never saw his +face." + +"Well, the swamp angle is worth investigating," the reporter assured her. +"Personally, I doubt Danny would ever try living in the swamp--he's a +city, slum-bred man--but I'll tell the police about it." + +"Do be careful," Penny urged again, turning away. + +Salt was waiting in the press car when she reached the street. Quickly +transferring the flowers from her own automobile to his, she climbed in +beside him. + +"The Hillcrest?" he inquired, shifting gears. + +"Yes, I'll decorate the tables. Then we'll drive to the theater." + +With a complete disregard for speed laws, safety stops, and red lights, +Salt toured the ten blocks to the hotel in record time. Pulling up at the +entrance, he said: + +"While you're in there, I'll amble across the street. Want to do a little +inquiring at the Western Union office." + +"About the telegram Danny Deevers sent Jerry?" + +"Figured we might find from where it was sent." + +"I should have thought of that myself! Do see what you can learn, Salt. +It won't take me long to fix those tables." + +Penny disappeared into the hotel but was back in fifteen minutes. A +moment later, Salt sauntered across the street from the Western Union +office. + +"Learn anything?" Penny asked. + +"A little. The manager told me a boy picked up the message from a rooming +house on Clayton street. That's all they know about it." + +"Did you get the address?" + +"Sure--1497 Clayton Street--an apartment building. The clue may be a dud +one though. Danny wouldn't likely be dumb enough to leave a wide open +trail." + +"All the same, oughtn't we to check into it?" + +"We?" + +"Naturally I'm included," grinned Penny. "By the way, aren't we near +Clayton street now?" + +"It's only a couple of blocks away." + +"Then what's delaying us?" + +"My conscience for one thing," Salt said, climbing into the car beside +Penny. "Your father's expecting us at the theater. I'm supposed to take +pictures of the visiting big-boys." + +"We'll get there in time. This may be our only chance to trace Danny." + +"You're a glutton for adventure," Salt said dubiously, studying his +wristwatch. "Me--I'm not so sure." + +"Danny probably won't be hiding out at the rooming house," Penny argued. +"But someone may be able to tell us where he went." + +"Okay," the photographer agreed, jamming his foot on the starter. "We got +to make it snappy though." + +The dingy old brick apartment house at 1497 Clayton Street stood jammed +against other low-rent buildings in the downtown business section. + +"You wait here," Salt advised as he pulled up near the dwelling. "If I +don't come back in ten minutes, put in a call to the police. And arrange +to give me a decent burial!" + +The photographer disappeared into the building. + +He was back almost at once. "It was a dud," he said in disgust. "The +telegram was sent from here all right, but Danny's skipped." + +"You talked to the building manager?" + +Salt nodded. "A fellow that must have been Danny rented a room last +night, but he pulled out early this morning." + +"Why, the telegram didn't come until a few minutes ago!" + +"Danny took care of that by having the janitor send it for him. He +evidently escaped from the pen late yesterday, but authorities didn't +give out the story until today." + +Disappointed over their failure, Penny and Salt drove on toward the +theater in glum silence. + +Suddenly at the intersection of Jefferson and Huron Streets, a long black +sedan driven by a woman, failed to observe a stop sign. Barging into a +line of traffic, it spun unsteadily on two wheels and crashed into an +ancient car in which two men were riding. + +"Just another dumb woman driver," observed Salt. He brought up at the +curb and reached for his camera. + +"Nobody's hurt so it's hardly worth a picture. But if I don't grab it, +DeWitt'll be asking me why I didn't." + +Balancing the camera on the sill of the open car window, he snapped the +shutter just as the two men climbed out of their ancient vehicle. + +"Looks as if they're going to put up a big squawk," Salt observed with +interest. "What they beefin' about? That old wreck isn't worth anything, +and anyhow, the lady only bashed in a couple of fenders." + +The driver of the black sedan took a quick glance at the two men and said +hastily: + +"Please don't call a policeman. I'll gladly pay for all the damage. I'm +covered by insurance. Just give me your names and where you live. Or, if +you prefer, I'll go with you now to a garage where your car can be +repaired." + +The two men paid her no heed. In fact, they appeared not to be listening. +Instead, they were gazing across the street at Salt and his camera. + +"Button up your lip, lady!" said one of the men rudely. + +He was a heavy-set man, dressed in a new dark blue serge suit. His face +was coarse, slightly pale, and his steel-blue eyes had a hard, +calculating glint. + +His companion, much younger, might have been a country boy for he wore a +lumber jacket, corduroy pants, and heavy shoes caked with mud. + +The older man crossed the street to Salt's car. He glanced at the "press" +placard in the windshield and said curtly: + +"Okay, buddy! I saw you take that picture! Hand over the plate!" + + + + + CHAPTER + 5 + _THE RED STAIN_ + + +"Hand over the plate, buddy!" the motorist repeated as Salt gave no hint +that he had heard. "You're from a newspaper, and we don't want our +pictures printed--see?" + +"Sure, I see," retorted Salt. "I'm not turning over any pictures." + +The man took a wallet from his suit pocket. "Here's a five spot to make +it worth your while." + +"No, thanks. Anyway, what's your kick? Your car didn't cause the +accident. You're in the clear." + +"Maybe we'll use the picture to collect damages," the man said. "Here, +I'll give you ten." + +"Nothing doing." + +To put an end to the argument, Salt drove on. + +"Wonder who those birds were?" he speculated. + +Penny craned her neck to look back through the rear car window. + +"Salt!" she exclaimed. "That man who argued with us is writing down our +license plate number!" + +"Let him!" + +"He intends to find out who you are, Salt! He must want that picture +badly." + +"He'll get it all right--on the front page of the _Star_ tomorrow! Maybe +he's a police character and doesn't want any publicity. He looked like a +bad egg." + +"I wish we'd taken down _his_ license number." + +"We've got it," replied Salt. "It'll show up in the picture." + +Penny settled back in the seat, paying no more attention to the traffic +behind them. Neither she nor Salt noticed that they were being followed +by the car with battered fenders. + +At the theater, Salt parked in the alleyway. + +"Go on in," he told Penny, opening the car door for her. "I want to +collect some of my stuff and then I'll be along." + +At the stagedoor, Penny was stopped by Old Jim, the doorman. + +"You can't go in here without a pass, Miss," he said. "There's a +newspaper convention on. My orders are not to let anyone in without a +pass." + +Penny flashed her press card. + +"My mistake," the doorman mumbled. + +Once inside, Penny wandered backstage in search of her father or Jerry. +The program had started, but after listening a moment to a singer, she +moved out of range of his voice. + +Now and then, from the audience of newspapermen out front, came an +occasional ripple of laughter or clapping of hands as they applauded a +speaker. + +"Sounds pretty dull," thought Penny. "Guess it's lucky Dad cooked up the +shooting stunt. If everything goes off right, it should liven things up a +bit." + +Wandering on down a hall, she came to one of the dressing rooms. Stacked +against the outside wall were hundreds of freshly printed newspapers +ready for distribution. + +Penny flipped one from the pile and read the headline: "REPORTER SHOT IN +ARGUMENT WITH ELECTRICIAN!" + +Beneath the banner followed a story of the staged stunt to take place. So +convincingly was it written, Penny had to think twice to realize not a +word was true. Other columns of the paper contained regular wire news +stories and telephoto pictures. Much of the front page also was given +over to an account of the convention itself. + +"This will make a nice souvenir edition," Penny thought. "Wonder where +Jerry is? The stunt will be ruined if he doesn't get here." + +Salt came down the corridor, loaded heavily with his camera, a tripod, a +reflector, and other photographic equipment. + +"Jerry here yet?" he inquired. + +"I haven't seen him. It's getting late too." + +"He'll be here," Salt said confidently. "Wonder where I'd better leave +this revolver?" + +Setting the photographic equipment on the floor, he took the revolver +from his coat pocket, offering it to Penny. + +"Don't give it to me," she protested. + +"Put it in the dressing room," he advised. "I can't keep it, because I've +got to go out front and shoot some pictures." + +"Is the revolver loaded?" Penny asked, taking it unwillingly. + +"Sure, with blanks. It's ready for the stunt." + +Penny carried the weapon into the dressing room and deposited it on one +of the tables. When she returned to the corridor, Salt had gathered up +his equipment and was starting away. + +However, before he could leave, an outside door slammed. Jim, the +doorman, burst in upon them. + +"Young feller, is that your car parked in the alley?" + +"Yeah!" exclaimed Salt, startled. "Don't tell me the cops are handing me +a ticket!" + +"Some feller's out there, riflin' through your things!" + +Salt dropped his camera and equipment, racing for the door. Penny was +close behind. + +Reaching the alley, they were just in time to see a man in a dark suit +ducking around the corner of the building. + +"Hey, you!" shouted Salt angrily. + +The man turned slightly and vanished from view. + +"Wasn't that the same fellow who was in the auto accident?" Penny +demanded. + +"Looked like him! Wonder if he got away with anything?" + +"Didn't you lock the car, Salt?" + +"Only the rear trunk compartment. Should have done it but I was in a +hurry." + +"Shall I call the police, Salt?" + +"Why bother? That bird's gone now. Let's see if he stole anything first." + +Salt muttered in disgust as he saw the interior of the car. A box of +photographic equipment had been scattered over the back seat. The door of +the glove compartment was open, its contents also helter-skelter. + +"Anything missing?" Penny asked. + +"Not that I can tell. Yes, there is! Some of the photographic plates!" + +"Oh, Salt, I was afraid of it! The thief must have been one of those two +men who were in the auto accident! You wouldn't sell them the picture +they wanted so they followed you here and stole it!" + +"They may have tried," the photographer corrected. + +"You mean you still have it?" + +"The plates that are missing are old ones, extras I exposed at a society +tea and never bothered to develop." + +"Then you have the one of the auto accident?" + +"Right here in my pocket." + +"Oh, Salt, how brilliant of you!" Penny laughed. + +"It wasn't brilliancy on my part--just habit," Salt returned. "I wonder +why that bird set such great store by the picture? Maybe for some reason +he's afraid to have it come out in the paper." + +"I can hardly wait to see it developed!" + +As Penny and the photographer walked back to the theater entrance, a taxi +skidded to a stop at the curb. Jerry alighted. + +"Anything wrong?" he inquired, staring curiously at the pair. + +Salt told him what had happened. + +"Maybe you've got dynamite packed in that plate," Jerry commented when he +had heard the story. "Better shoot it to the office and have it +developed." + +"I'm tied up here for half an hour at least." + +"Send it back by the cab driver. He can deliver it to DeWitt." + +"Good idea," agreed Salt. + +He scribbled a note to accompany the plate and gave it to the cab driver, +together with the holder. + +"Take good care of this," he warned. "Don't turn it over to any one +except the city editor." + +After the cab had driven away, Salt, Jerry, and Penny re-entered the +theater. Mr. Parker had come backstage and was talking earnestly to the +doorman. Glimpsing the three, he exclaimed: + +"There you are! And just in time too! The stunt goes on in five minutes." + +"Are the newsboys here?" Jerry asked. "And Johnny Bates, the +electrician?" + +"The boys are out front. Johnny's waiting in the stage wings. Where's the +revolver, Salt?" + +"I'll get it," Penny volunteered, starting for the dressing room. + +The revolver lay where she had left it. As she reached for the weapon, +she suddenly sniffed the air. Plainly she could smell strong cigarette +smoke. + +Penny glanced swiftly about the room. No one was there and she had seen +no one enter in the last few minutes. + +"Someone must have been here," she thought. "Perhaps it was Old Jim, but +he smokes a pipe." + +"Penny!" her father called impatiently from outside. "We haven't much +time." + +Picking up the revolver, she hurriedly joined him. + +"Dad, why not call the stunt off?" she began. "Something might go +wrong--" + +"We can't call it off now," her father cut in impatiently. Taking the +revolver from her hand he gave it to Jerry. "Do your stuff, my boy, and +don't be afraid to put plenty of heat into the argument. Remember your +cue?" + +"I'm to start talking just as soon as the Mayor finishes his speech." + +"He's winding it up now. So get up there fast." + +As Jerry started up the stairway, Penny trailed him. + +"Someone must have been in the dressing room after I left the revolver +there," she revealed nervously. "Be sure to check it before you turn it +over to Mr. Bates." + +The reporter nodded, scarcely hearing her words. His ears were tuned to +the Mayor's closing lines. A ripple of applause from the audience told +him the speech already had ended. + +Taking the last few steps in a leap, Jerry reached the wings where John +Bates was waiting. He gave him the revolver and at once plunged into his +lines. So convincingly did he argue about the stage lights that Penny +found herself almost believing the disagreement was genuine. + +The argument waxed warmer, and the actors moved out on the stage in full +view of the audience. + +"Jerry's good," remarked Salt, who had joined Penny. "Didn't know he had +that much ham in him!" + +The quarrel now had reached its climax. As if in a sudden fit of rage, +the electrician raised the revolver and pointed it at Jerry. + +"Take that--and that--and that!" he shouted, thrice pulling the trigger. + +Jerry staggered back, clutching in the region of his heart. Slowly, his +face contorted, he crumpled to the floor. + +Scarcely had he collapsed, than newsboys armed with their papers, began +to rush through the aisles of the theater. + +"Read all about it!" they shouted. "Reporter Shot in Argument! Extra! +Extra!" + +The newspapermen chuckled at the joke as they accepted the free papers. + +On the stage, Jerry still lay where he had fallen. The electrician, his +part ended, had disappeared to attend to regular duties. + +"Come on, Jerry!" Salt called to him. "What are you waiting for? More +applause? Break it up!" + +The reporter did not stir. But on the floor beside him, a small red stain +began to spread in a widening circle. + +Penny and Salt saw it at the same instant and were frozen with horror. + +"Ring down the curtain!" the photographer cried hoarsely. "Jerry's really +been shot!" + + + + + CHAPTER + 6 + _AMBULANCE CALL_ + + +Penny ran across the stage to kneel beside Jerry, who lay limp on the +floor. In horror, she saw that the red stain covered a jagged area on his +shirt front. + +"Oh, Jerry!" she cried frantically. "Speak to me!" + +The reporter groaned loudly and stirred. + +"Hold me in your arms," he whispered. "Let my last hours on this earth be +happy ones." + +Penny's hands dropped suddenly to her sides. She straightened up +indignantly. + +"You faker!" she accused. "I should think you'd be ashamed to frighten us +so! That's not blood on your shirt! It's red ink!" + +Jerry sat up, chuckling. "Ruined a good shirt too!" + +"You shouldn't have done it," Penny said, still provoked. + +"I wanted to put a little drama into the act. Also, I was curious to see +how you would react." + +Penny tossed her head, starting away. "You needn't be so smug about it, +Jerry Livingston! And don't flatter yourself I was concerned about you! I +was thinking what a scandal it would mean for Dad and the paper!" + +"Oh, sure," Jerry agreed, pursuing her backstage and down a corridor. +"Listen, Penny, it was only a joke--" + +"Not a very funny one!" + +"Penny, I'm sorry--I really am. I didn't realize anyone would get so +worked up about it." + +"I'm not worked up!" Penny denied, spinning on a heel to face him. "It +just gave me a little shock, that's all. First, that threat from Danny +Deevers. Then when I saw you flattened out, for a minute I thought +someone had substituted a real bullet in the revolver and that you had +been shot." + +"It was a rummy joke--I realize that now. Forgive me, will you, Penny?" + +"I suppose so. Just don't try anything like it again." + +"I won't," Jerry promised. "Now that my part is finished here, suppose we +go somewhere for a bite to eat?" + +"With that blotch of red ink on your shirt front?" + +"Oh, I'll change it. I brought an extra shirt along. Wait here and I'll +be right with you." + +Jerry stepped into the dressing room to make the change. Penny, while +waiting, wandered back to the stage wings to talk to Salt. However, the +photographer had gone out front and was busily engaged taking pictures of +visiting celebrities. + +After a few minutes, Penny went downstairs again. Jerry was nowhere to be +seen. + +The door of the dressing room stood slightly ajar. Penny tapped lightly +on it, calling: "Get a move on, Jerry! You're slower than a snail!" + +No answer came from inside. + +Penny paced up and down the corridor and returned to listen at the door. +She could hear no sound inside the room. + +"Jerry, are you there?" she called again. "If you are, answer!" + +Still there was no reply. + +"Now where did he go?" Penny thought impatiently. + +She hesitated a moment, then pushed open the door. Jerry's stained shirt +lay on the floor where he had dropped it. + +The reporter no longer was in the dressing room. Or so Penny thought at +first glance. + +But as her gaze roved slowly about, she was startled to see a pair of +shoes protruding from a hinged decorative screen which stood in one +corner of the room. + +Jerry, very definitely was attached to the shoes. Stretched out on the +floor again, his face remained hidden from view. + +Penny resisted an impulse to run to his side. + +"Jerry Livingston!" she exclaimed. "You've carried your stupid joke +entirely too far! Our date is off!" + +Turning her back, she started away. But in the doorway, something held +her. She glanced back. + +Jerry had not moved. + +"Jerry, get up!" she commanded. "Please!" + +The reporter made not the slightest response. Penny told herself that +Jerry was only trying to plague her, yet she could not leave without +being absolutely certain. + +Though annoyed at herself for such weakness, she walked across the room +to jerk aside the decorative screen. + +Jerry lay flat on his back, eyelids closed. A slight gash was visible on +the side of his head where the skin was bruised. + +One glance convinced Penny that the reporter was not shamming this time. +Obviously, he had been knocked unconscious, perhaps by a fall. + +"Jerry!" she cried, seizing his hand which was cold to the touch. + +Badly frightened, Penny darted to the door and called loudly for help. + +Without waiting to learn if anyone had heard her cry, she rushed back to +Jerry. On the dressing table nearby stood a pitcher of water and a glass. + +Wetting a handkerchief, Penny pressed it to the reporter's forehead. It +seemed to produce no effect. In desperation, she then poured half a glass +of water over his face. + +To her great relief, Jerry sputtered and his eyelids fluttered open. + +"For crying out loud!" he muttered. "What you trying to do? Drown me?" + +Raising a hand to his head, the reporter gingerly felt of a big bump +which had risen there. He pulled himself to a sitting position. + +"What happened, Jerry?" Penny asked after giving him a few minutes to +recover his senses. "Did you trip and fall?" + +The question seemed to revive Jerry completely. Without answering, he got +to his feet, and walked unsteadily to the window overlooking the alley. + +Penny then noticed for the first time that it was open. She also became +aware of a heavy scent of tobacco smoke in the room--the same cigarette +odor she had noticed earlier. Now however, it was much stronger. + +Jerry peered out the window. "He's gone!" he mumbled. + +"Who, Jerry? Tell me what happened." + +"Things aren't too clear in my mind," the reporter admitted, sinking into +a chair. "Wow! My head!" + +"Did someone attack you?" + +"With a blackjack. I came in here and changed my shirt. Had a queer +feeling all the while, as if someone were in the room." + +"Were you smoking a cigarette, Jerry?" + +"Why, no." + +"Did you notice smoke in the room? The odor still is here." + +Jerry sniffed the air. "Neco's," he decided. "They're one of the +strongest cigarettes on the market and not easy to get. Now that you +mention it, the odor was in the room when I came in! But I didn't think +about it at the time." + +"Then whoever struck you must have been in here waiting!" + +"Sure. Whoever it was, came in the window. He was hidden behind that +screen. As I started to leave, he reared up and let me have it from +behind! That's all I remember." + +"Then you didn't see him?" + +"No, it happened too fast." + +"Jerry, it may have been Danny Deevers!" + +"Maybe so," the reporter agreed. "But I always figured if he caught up +with me, he wouldn't fool around with any rabbit punches." + +"He may have been frightened away, hearing me in the hall," Penny said. +"Jerry, do you have other enemies besides Danny?" + +"Dozens of them probably. Every reporter has. But I don't know of anyone +who hates me enough to try to lay me out." + +The dressing room door now swung open to admit Mr. Parker and several +other newspapermen. + +"Penny, did you call for help?" her father demanded. "What's wrong?" + +"Jerry was slugged," Penny answered, and told what had happened. + +"How do you feel, Jerry?" the publisher inquired. "That's a nasty looking +bump on your head." + +"I'm fit as a fiddle and ready for a dinner date," Jerry announced +brightly, winking at Penny. "How about it?" + +"Well, I don't know," she replied. "Are you sure you feel up to it?" + +"I'm fine." To prove his words, Jerry got to his feet. He started across +the room, weaving unsteadily. + +Had not Mr. Parker and another man seized him by the arms, he would have +slumped to the floor. + +"Jerry, you're in no shape for anything except a hospital checkup," the +publisher said firmly. "That's where you're going!" + +"Oh, Chief, have a heart!" + +Mr. Parker turned a deaf ear upon the appeal. + +"For all we know, you may have a fractured skull," he said, helping to +ease the reporter into a chair. "We'll have you X-rayed." + +"I don't want to be X-rayed," Jerry protested. "I'm okay." + +"Besides, with Danny Deevers still at large, a hospital is a nice safe +place," Mr. Parker continued, thinking aloud. "Perhaps we can arrange for +you to stay there a week." + +"A week! Chief, I'm not going!" + +"No arguments," said Mr. Parker. "You're the same as in Riverview +Hospital now. Penny, telephone for an ambulance." + + + + + CHAPTER + 7 + _AN EMPTY BED_ + + +At Riverview hospital twenty minutes later, Jerry was given a complete +physical check-up. + +"The X-rays won't be developed for another half hour," an interne told +him, "but you seem to be all right." + +"I not only seem to be, I am," the reporter retorted. "Told you that when +I came here! But would anyone listen to me?" + +"Twenty-four hours rest will fix you right up. We have a nice private +room waiting for you on the third floor. Bath and everything." + +"Now listen!" exclaimed Jerry. "You said yourself I'm all right. I'm +walking out of here now!" + +"Sorry. Orders are you're in for twenty-four hours observation." + +"Whose orders?" + +"Dr. Bradley. He had a little talk with the publisher of your paper--" + +"Oh, I get it! A conspiracy! They're keeping me here to keep me from +checking up on Danny Deevers!" + +"What's that?" the interne inquired curiously. + +"Never mind," returned Jerry, closing up like a clam. "I'll slip you a +fiver to get me out of here." + +"Sorry. No can do." + +The interne went to the door, motioning for two other internes who came +in with a stretcher. + +"Hop aboard," he told Jerry. "Better come peaceably." + +Jerry considered resistance. Deciding it was useless, he rolled onto the +stretcher and was transported via the elevator to the third floor. There +he was deposited none too ceremoniously in a high bed. + +"Just to make sure you stay here, I'm taking your clothes," said the +interne. "Now just relax and take it easy." + +"Relax!" + +"Sure, what you got to kick about? Your bills are all being paid. You get +twenty-four hours rest, a good looking nurse, and a radio. Also three +meals thrown in." + +Jerry settled back into the pillow. "Maybe you've got something after +all," he agreed. + +"That's the attitude, boy. Well, I'll be seeing you." + +Satisfied that Jerry would make no more trouble, he took his clothes and +went outside. + +Penny and Salt, who had been waiting in the reception room below, stepped +from the elevator at that moment. + +"How is Jerry?" Penny inquired anxiously as she stopped the interne in +the corridor. + +"He's all right. Go on in if you want to talk to him." + +"Which room?" + +"Wait until I put these clothes away and I'll show you." + +The interne hung Jerry's suit in a locker at the end of the corridor and +then returned to escort Penny and Salt to Room 318. + +Jerry, a picture of gloom, brightened as his friends entered. + +"I'm sure glad you came!" he greeted them. "I want you to help me get out +of here." + +"Not a chance," said Salt, seating himself on the window ledge. "This is +just the place for you--nice and quiet and safe." + +Jerry snorted with disgust. + +"Dad and Mr. DeWitt both think Danny Deevers means business," Penny +added. "The paper is offering $10,000 reward for his capture." + +"Ten thousand smackers! I could use that money myself. And I have a hunch +about Danny--" + +"Forget it," Salt advised. "This is a case for the police. Just lie down +like a nice doggy and behave yourself. We'll keep you informed on the +latest news." + +"That reminds me," added Penny. "After the ambulance took you away, Dad +had the theater searched and the alley. No clues." + +Jerry lay still for several minutes, his eyes focused thoughtfully on the +ceiling. "If it's the verdict that I stay here, I suppose I may as well +give up and take my medicine." + +"Now you're showing sense," approved Salt. "Penny and I have an idea that +may help trace Deevers. We'll tell you about it later." + +"Sure," retorted Jerry ironically, "spare me the shock now. By the way, +did you meet an interne in the hall? He was carrying off my clothes." + +"Yes, he brought us here," Penny nodded. + +"You didn't happen to notice where he hid my clothes?" + +"They're safe, Jerry," Penny assured him. "In a locker at the end of the +hall." + +The information seemed to satisfy Jerry. Wrapping himself like a cocoon +in a blanket, he burrowed down and closed his eyes. + +"I want to catch forty winks now," he said. "If you folks have a big idea +that will lead to Danny's capture, don't let me detain you." + +"Jerry, don't be cross with us," Penny pleaded. "We know how you feel, +but honestly, you'll be so much safer here." + +Jerry pretended not to hear. + +After a moment, Salt and Penny quietly left the room. + +"He's taking it hard," the photographer commented as they sped in the +press car toward the _Riverview Star_ building. "In a way, you can't +blame him. Jerry's not the type to be shut up in a nice safe place." + +"Dad wants to keep him in the hospital until Danny Deevers is captured, +but it will be hard to do it." + +Salt, driving with one hand, looked at his watch. + +"It's after nine o'clock," he announced. "Penny, you've missed the dinner +at the Hillcrest." + +"I don't mind. So much has happened today, I've had no time to be +hungry." + +"Want me to drop you off there now?" + +"No, the banquet will be nearly over. I couldn't bear to listen to +speeches. Let's go straight to the office and find out what that traffic +accident picture shows." + +"Suits me, only I'm hungry." On impulse, Salt pulled up in front of a +hamburger shop offering curb service. "Let's grab a bite before we really +go to work to crack this case." + +He tooted the horn and a uniformed girl came hurrying to take his order. + +Fortified by sandwiches, coffee, and ice cream, the pair then drove on to +the _Riverview Star_ office. + +Avoiding the busy newsroom, Salt and Penny went up the back stairs to the +photographic studio. Bill Jones, a studio helper, was busy at the wire +photo machine. + +"Has that picture of the traffic accident I sent over come up yet?" Salt +asked him. + +"On the desk," the boy answered. "Not too sharp." + +Salt picked up a dozen pictures which had been printed on glossy paper +and rapidly ran through them until he found the one he sought. + +Eagerly Penny peered over his shoulder. The two cars involved in the +accident were plainly shown, the license numbers of both visible. In the +ancient vehicle, the younger man had lowered his head so that his face +was completely hidden. The camera had caught a profile view of the older +man, also not clear. + +"Lousy picture," said Salt contemptuously. + +"It shows the license number of the car. Can't we trace the driver that +way?" + +"The Motor Vehicle Department is closed now. But I know a fellow who +works there. Maybe he'll do us a favor and go back to the office tonight +and look up the information." + +Salt made the telephone call, and after ten minutes of argument, +convinced his friend that the requested information was a matter of life +and death. + +"He'll do it," the photographer said, hanging up the receiver. "Soon's he +gets the information, he'll telephone us here." + +Penny had been studying the photograph again. She now was ready with a +second suggestion. "Even if the faces aren't very clear, let's compare +them with pictures of Danny Deevers in the morgue." + +"Good idea," agreed Salt. + +The newspaper morgue or library where photographs, cuts and newspaper +clippings were carefully filed for reference, was just a few steps down +the hall. Miss Adams, the librarian, had gone to lunch, so Salt obtained +a key and they searched for their own information. + +"Here's an envelope marked Danny Deevers!" Penny cried, pulling it from +one of the long filing drawers. "All sorts of pictures of him too!" + +Critically, the pair studied the photographs. + +The escaped convict was a middle-aged, sullen looking man with hard, +expressionless eyes. In one of the pictures, parted lips revealed a set +of ugly, uneven teeth. + +"This shot I took is so blurred, it's hard to tell if they're the same +person or not," Salt complained. "But it looks like Danny." + +"If it is, that would explain why he tried to make you give up the +plate." + +"Sure, he knew the car license number would be a tip-off to the police. +But maybe the bird isn't Danny." + +"I wish we were certain. Salt, couldn't Jerry identify him from the +picture you took?" + +"Maybe. Jerry saw Deevers several times before he was put away in the +pen." + +"Then why not take the picture to the hospital now?" + +"Okay," agreed Salt. "Let's go." + +Fifteen minutes later, at the hospital, they sought unsuccessfully to +pass a receptionist who sat at a desk in the lobby. + +"Sorry, visiting hours are over," she explained. + +"We're from the _Star_," Salt insisted. "We have to see Jerry Livingston +on an important business matter." + +"That's different," the receptionist replied. "You may go up to his room, +but please make the call brief." + +An automatic elevator carried the pair to the third floor. Jerry's door +near the end of the corridor stood slightly ajar. Salt tapped lightly on +it, and hearing no answer, pushed it farther open. + +"Well, what d'you know!" he exclaimed. + +Penny, startled by his tone of voice, peered over his shoulder. + +The room was deserted. Jerry's bed, unmade, stood empty. + + + + + CHAPTER + 8 + _IN SEARCH OF JERRY_ + + +"Now what could have become of Jerry?" Penny murmured as she and Salt +gazed about the deserted room in amazement. "Surely we've made no +mistake." + +"He was assigned this room all right," the photographer declared. "But +maybe they changed it later." + +"That's it," agreed Penny in relief. "For a minute it gave me a shock +seeing that empty bed. I thought perhaps he had taken a bad turn and been +removed for emergency treatment." + +The pair sought Miss Brent, a floor supervisor. + +"Why, the patient in Room 318 hasn't been changed elsewhere," she +replied. "At least, not to my knowledge. I've been off the floor for the +last half hour." + +Inspecting Room 318 to satisfy herself that the bed was empty, Miss Brent +questioned several nurses and an interne. No one seemed to know what had +become of the patient. There was a whispered conference and then Miss +Brent made a call to the superintendent. + +"Something has happened to Jerry!" Penny told Salt tensely. "He may have +been abducted!" + +A nurse came flying up the hall from the locker room. + +"Mr. Livingston's clothes are gone!" she reported. + +Light began to dawn on Penny. She recalled the seemingly innocent +question Jerry had asked earlier that night as to the location of the +clothes locker. + +"He's probably walked out of the hospital!" she exclaimed. + +"Impossible!" snapped Miss Brent, though her voice lacked conviction. +"Nurses have been on duty here all the time. Mr. Livingston couldn't have +obtained his clothes without being observed." + +"The floor was deserted for about ten minutes," an interne recalled. "An +emergency case came in and everyone was tied up." + +Penny re-entered Jerry's room. The window remained closed and it was a +straight drop of three stories to the yard below. She was satisfied the +reporter had not taken that escape route. + +A sheet of paper, propped against the mirror of the dresser attracted her +eye. As she unfolded it, she saw at once that the handwriting was +Jerry's. + +"I'm too healthy a pup to stay in bed," he had scrawled. "Sorry, but I'm +walking out." + +Penny handed the note to Miss Brent who could not hide her annoyance as +she read it. + +"Nothing like this ever happened before!" she exclaimed. "How could the +young man have left this floor and the building without being seen? He's +in no condition to be wandering about the streets." + +"Then Jerry really did need hospitalization?" inquired Penny. + +"Certainly. He suffered shock and the doctor was afraid of brain injury. +The patient should have been kept under observation for at least +twenty-four hours. Wandering off this way is a very bad sign." + +"We'll get him back here pronto!" Salt promised. "He can't have gone +far." + +In the lobby he and Penny paused to ask the receptionist if she had +observed anyone answering Jerry's description leave the building. + +"Why, no," she replied, only to correct herself. "Wait! A young man in a +gray suit left here about twenty minutes ago. I didn't really notice his +face." + +"That must have been Jerry!" cried Penny. "Which way did he go?" + +"I'm sorry, I haven't the slightest idea." + +"Jerry may have gone to his room," Penny said hopefully. "Let's call his +hotel." + +Using a lobby telephone, they dialed the St. Agnes Hotel Apartments where +the reporter lived. The desk clerk reported that Jerry had not been seen +that night. + +"Oh, where could he have gone?" Penny said as she and Salt left the +hospital. "He may be wandering the streets in a dazed condition. +Shouldn't we ask police to try to find him?" + +"Guess it's all we can do," the photographer agreed. "Jerry sure will be +sore at us though." + +A taxi cab pulled up near the hospital steps. + +"Taxi?" the driver inquired. + +Salt shook his head. "We don't know where we want to go yet. We're +looking for a friend of ours who left the hospital about twenty minutes +ago." + +"A girl?" + +"No, a man in a gray suit," Penny supplied. "He probably wasn't wearing a +hat." + +"Say, he musta been the one that asked me about the fare to the swamp!" + +At the pair's look of intense interest, the cab driver added: "I was +waitin' here for a fare when some ladies came out of the hospital. I +pulled up and took 'em aboard. Just then this young feller comes out. + +"He didn't seem to notice I had my cab filled, and says: 'How much to +take me to Caleb Corners?'" + +"Caleb Corners?" Penny repeated, having never heard of the place. + +"That's a long ways out, almost to the swamp. I says to him, 'Sorry, +buddy, but I got a fare. If you can wait a few minutes I'll be right back +and pick you up.'" + +"What did Jerry say?" Salt asked. + +"He said he wanted to get started right away. Reckon he picked up another +cab." + +Thanking the driver for the information, Penny and Salt retreated a few +steps for a consultation. + +"If Jerry started for the swamp at this time of night he must be wacky!" +the photographer declared. "That knock on the head must have cracked him +up and he doesn't know what he's doing!" + +"Why would he start for the swamp? Maybe he remembers what I told him +about seeing a stranger there today, and in his confusion, has an idea +he'll find Danny Deevers!" + +"Jerry can't have had much of a start, and we know he headed for Caleb +Corners! I'll go after him." + +"We'll both go," Penny said quickly. "Come on, let's get the car." + +Before they could leave the hospital steps, the receptionist came +hurrying outside. + +"Oh, I'm glad you're still here!" she said breathlessly, looking at the +photographer. "Aren't you Mr. Sommers?" + +"That's me," agreed Salt. + +"A telephone call for you." + +"Say, maybe it's Jerry! Wait here, Penny. I'll be right back." + +Salt was gone perhaps ten minutes. When he returned, his grim expression +instantly informed Penny that the call had not been from Jerry. + +"It was from my friend in the Motor Vehicle Department," he reported. "He +traced the license number of the car that was in the accident." + +"How did he know you were here, Salt?" + +"Telephoned the office, and someone told him to try the hospital." + +"Who owns the car, Salt?" + +"A woman by the name of Sarah Jones, Route 3, Crissey Road. + +"Crissey Road! Why, that's out near the swamp, not far from Trapper Joe's +place! I recall seeing the name on a signpost when Louise and I were out +there this afternoon." + +"All roads lead to the swamp tonight," Salt commented. "I'm worried about +Jerry. I called the office and he hasn't shown up there." + +"Then he must have started for Caleb Corners! Salt, we're wasting time!" + +"We sure are," he agreed. "Let's go!" + +The press car had been parked in a circular area fifty yards from the +hospital. Salt and Penny ran to it, and soon were on their way, speeding +into the night on a deserted, narrow road. + + + + + CHAPTER + 9 + _THE WIDOW JONES_ + + +Caleb Corners scarcely was a stopping point on the narrow, dusty, county +highway. + +By night the crossroads were dark and gloomy, unlighted even by a traffic +signal. To the right stood a filling station, and directly across from +it, a little grocery store, long since closed for the day. + +Salt turned in at the filling station, halting the press car almost at +the doorway of the tiny office. + +Inside, a young man who was counting change at a cash register, turned +suddenly and reached for an object beneath the counter. As Salt came in, +he kept his hand out of sight, regarding the photographer with suspicion. + +"Relax, buddy," said Salt, guessing that the station owner feared +robbery. "We're from the _Riverview Star_ and need a little information." + +"What do you want to know?" The young man still kept his hand beneath the +counter. + +"We're looking for a friend of ours who may have come out here a few +minutes ago in a taxi." + +"No cab's been through here in the last hour," the filling station man +said. "This is a mighty lonesome corner at night. I should have closed up +hours ago, only I'm expecting a truck to fill up here." + +"Why not put that gun away?" Salt suggested pointedly. "We're not here to +rob you. Do we look like crooks?" + +"No, you don't," the man admitted, "but I've been taken in before. This +station was broken into three times in the past six months. Only two +weeks ago a man and woman stopped here about this same time of +night--they looked okay and talked easy, but they got away with $48.50 of +my hard earned cash." + +"We really are from the _Star_," Penny assured him. "And we're worried +about a friend of ours who slipped away from the hospital tonight. He was +in an accident and wasn't entirely himself. He may get into serious +trouble if we don't find him." + +Her words seemed to convince the filling station man that he had nothing +to fear. Dropping the revolver into the cash drawer, he said in a more +friendly tone: + +"I guess you folks are on the square. Anyway, you wouldn't get much if +you robbed the till tonight. I only took in $37.50. Not enough to pay me +for keeping open." + +"You say a cab hasn't been through here tonight?" Salt asked impatiently. + +"There's been cars through, but no taxi cabs." + +"Where do these roads lead?" + +"One takes you to Belle Plain and on to Three Forks. The other doesn't go +much of anywhere--just on to the swamp." + +"Any houses on the swamp road?" Salt inquired. + +"An old trapper has a place up there, and the Hawkins' farm is on a +piece. Closest house from here is the Widow Jones'." + +"How far?" + +"Oh, not more than three--four miles." + +"Mrs. Jones drives a car?" Salt asked casually. + +"Her?" The filling station man laughed. "Not on your life! She has an old +rattle-trap her husband left her when he died, but she doesn't take it +out of the shed often enough to keep air in the tires." + +Penny and Salt inquired the way to the widow's home. + +"You can't miss it," replied the station man. "Straight on down the swamp +road about three miles. First house you come to on the right hand side of +Crissey Road. But you won't likely find the widow up at this hour. She +goes to bed with the chickens!" + +On the highway once more, Salt and Penny debated their next move. Jerry's +failure to show up at Caleb Corners only partially relieved their +anxiety. Now they could only speculate upon whether the reporter had +remained in Riverview or had driven past the filling station without +being seen. + +"Since we've come this far, why not go on to the Widow Jones' place?" +Salt proposed. "She may have seen Jerry. In any case, we can question her +about that car she owns." + +Bumping along on the rutty road, they presently rounded a bend and on a +sideroad saw a small, square house which even in its desolation had a +look of sturdy liveability. + +"That must be the place," Salt decided, slowing the car. "No lights so I +guess she's abed." + +"I see one at the rear!" Penny exclaimed. "Someone is up!" + +With a jerk, Salt halted the car beside a mailbox which stood on a high +post. A brick walk, choked with weeds, led to the front door and around +to a back porch. + +Through an uncurtained window, the pair glimpsed a tall, wiry woman +filling an oil lamp in the kitchen. + +As Salt rapped on the door, they saw her start and reach quickly for a +shotgun which stood in a corner of the room. + +"Who's there?" she called sharply. + +"We're from Riverview," answered Penny. + +Reassured by a feminine voice, the woman opened the door. She towered +above them, a quaint figure in white shirtwaist and a long flowing black +skirt which swept the bare floor of the kitchen. + +"Good evening," said Penny. "I hope we didn't startle you." + +Slowly the widow's eyes traveled over the pair. She laid the shotgun +aside and then said evenly: + +"'Pears like you did. Hain't in the habit o' having visitors this time o' +night. Whar be ye from and what do you want?" + +Salt told of their search for Jerry, carefully describing the reporter. + +"Hain't seen anyone like that," the Widow Jones said at once. "No one +been by on this road since sundown 'cepting old Ezekiel Hawkins." + +"By the way, do you drive a car?" Salt questioned. + +"Not if I kin keep from it," the widow retorted. "Cars is the ruination +o' civilization! Last time I tried to drive to town, backed square into a +big sycamore and nigh onto knocked all my teeth out!" + +"So you sold your car?" Salt interposed. + +"It's a settin' out in the shed. That no-good young'un o' Ezekiel's, Coon +Hawkins, tried to buy it off'en me a year ago, but I turned him down +flat." + +"Didn't he offer enough?" Penny asked curiously. + +"'Twasn't that. Fust place, I don't think much o' Coon Hawkins! Second +place, that car belonged to my departed husband, and I don't aim nobody +else ever will drive it." + +"Then you didn't have the car out today or loan it to anyone?" + +"No, I didn't! Say, what you gittin' at anyway with all these questions?" + +"Your car was involved in an accident this afternoon in Riverview," Salt +explained. + +"What you sayin'?" the woman demanded. "You must be out o' yer mind! My +car ain't been out of the shed fer a month." + +"We may have been mistaken," Penny admitted. "The license number of the +car was K-4687." + +"Why, that's the plate number of mine!" the Widow Jones exclaimed. +"Leastwise, I recollect it is!" + +"You're certain the car still is in the shed?" Salt asked. + +"You got me all confused now, and I hain't cartain of anything. Come in +while I get a lantern, and we'll look!" + +Penny and Salt stepped into a clean kitchen, slightly fragrant with the +odor of spicy catsup made that afternoon. On a table stood row upon row +of sealed bottles ready to be carried to the cellar. + +The Widow Jones lighted a lantern and threw a woolen shawl over her bony +shoulders. + +"Follow me," she bade. + +At a swift pace, she led the way down a path to a rickety shed which +stood far back from the road. + +The woman unfastened the big door which swung back on creaking hinges. +Raising her lantern, she flashed the light on the floor of the shed. + +"Hit's gone!" she exclaimed. "Someone's stole the car!" + +Only a large blotch of oil on the cracked concrete floor revealed where +the automobile had stood. + +"Have you no idea who took the car?" Penny inquired. + +Grimly the Widow Jones closed the shed door and slammed the hasp into +place. + +"Maybe I have an' maybe I han't! Leastwise, I larned forty years ago to +keep my lips shut less I could back up my words with proof." + +In silence the widow started back toward the house. Midway to the house, +she suddenly paused, listening attentively. + +From a nearby tree an owl hooted, but Penny and Salt sensed that was not +the sound which had caught the woman's ear. + +She blew out the lantern and wordlessly motioned for the pair to move +back into the deep shadow of the tree. + +Holding her shirt to keep it from blowing in the night breeze, the woman +gazed intently toward a swamp road some distance from the boundary of her +land. For the first time, Salt and Penny became aware of a muffled sound +of a running truck motor. + +"Sounds like a car or truck back there in the swamp," Salt commented. "Is +there a road near here leading in?" + +"There's a road yonder," the widow answered briefly. + +"It goes into the swamp?" + +"Only for a mile or so." + +"What would a truck be doing in there at this time of night?" Penny +probed. + +"I wouldn't know," answered the widow dryly. "There's some things goes on +in this swamp that smart folkses don't ask questions about." + +Without relighting the lantern, she walked briskly on. Reaching the rear +porch, she paused and turned once more to Salt and Penny. + +"I be much obliged to ye comin' out here to tell me about my car being +stole. Will ye come in and set a spell?" + +"Thanks, we'll have to be getting back to Riverview," Salt declined the +invitation. "It's late." + +"You'll catch your death if you stay out in this damp swamp air," the +woman said, her gaze resting disapprovingly on Penny's flimsy dress and +low-cut slippers. "I'd advise you to git right back to town. 'Evenin' to +you both." + +She went inside and closed the door. + +"Queer character," Salt commented as he and Penny made their way to the +roadside, "Forthright to say the least." + +"I rather liked her, Salt. She seemed genuine. And she has courage to +live here alone at the edge of the swamp." + +"Sure," the photographer agreed. "Plenty of iron in her soul. Wonder what +she saw there at the edge of the swamp?" + +"It seemed to me she was afraid we might try to investigate. Did you +notice how she advised us to go directly to Riverview?" + +"She did make the remark a little pointed. The Widow Jones is no +dumbbell! You could tell she has a good idea who stole her auto, and she +wasn't putting out anything about that truck." + +Salt had started the car and was ready to turn around. Penny placed a +detaining hand on the steering wheel. + +"Let's go the other direction, Salt!" + +"On into the swamp?" + +"It's only a short distance to that other road. If the truck is still +there, we might see something interesting." + +Salt's lips parted in a wide grin. + +"Sure thing," he agreed. "What have we got to lose?" + + + + + CHAPTER + 10 + _INSIDE THE WOODSHED_ + + +The throaty croak of frogs filled the night as Salt, car headlights +darkened, brought up at a bend of the road near the swamp's edge. + +Entrance to the pinelands could be gained in any one of three ways. A +road, often mired with mud, had been built by a lumber mill, and led for +nearly a mile into the higher section of the area. There it ended +abruptly. + +Half a mile away, near Trapper Joe's shack, lay the water course Penny +and Louise had followed. From it branched a maze of confusing channels, +one of which marked the way to the heart of the swamp. But only a few +persons ever had ventured beyond Lookout Island, close to the exit. + +The third entrance, also not far from Trapper Joe's, consisted of a +narrow boardwalk path nailed to fallen trees and stumps just above the +water level. The walk had fallen into decay and could be used for only +five hundred feet. + +"Seems like a funny time for a truck to be coming out of the swamp road," +Salt remarked, peering into the gloom of the pine trees. "Hear anything?" + +Penny listened intently and shook her head. But a moment later, she +explained: "Now I do! The truck's coming this way." + +"Let's get closer to the road exit," Salt proposed. "We'd better leave +the car here, if we don't want to be seen." + +Penny's high heels kept twisting on the rutty road, and finally in +exasperation, she took them off, stripped away her stockings, and walked +in her bare feet. + +The truck now was very close and the pair could hear its laboring engine. +Salt drew Penny back against the bottle-shaped trunk of a big tree at the +road exitway. There they waited. + +Presently the truck chugged into view, its headlights doused. On the main +road, not ten yards from where Salt and Penny crouched, it came to a +jerky halt. + +The driver was a husky fellow who wore a heavy jacket and cap which +shadowed his face. With him in the cab were two younger men of athletic +build. Both wore homespun clothes and stout boots. + +As the truck halted, the two younger men sprang to the ground. + +Instantly Penny and Salt were certain they had seen one of the strangers +before. + +"He's the man who drove the accident car this afternoon!" Penny +whispered. "The auto stolen from Widow Jones!" + +Salt nodded, placing his hand over the girl's lips. He drew her back +behind the tree. + +The precaution was a wise one, for a moment later, a flashlight beam +played over the spot where they had been standing. + +"Thought I heard something!" one of the truckers muttered. + +"Jest them frogs a-croakin'," his companion answered. "You're gettin' +jumpy." + +"Let's get a move on!" growled the driver of the truck. "I gotta get this +load to Hartwell City before dawn. You keepin' any of the stuff?" + +"A couple o' gallons will do us. Too durn heavy to carry." + +From the rear end of the truck, the two young men who had alighted, +pulled out a large wooden container with handles. + +"When do you want me to stop by again?" the truck driver called above the +rumble of the motor. + +"Can't tell yet," one of the men answered, swinging the heavy container +across his shoulder. "Pappy'll send word." + +The truck pulled away, and the two young men started down the road in the +opposite direction. Not until they were a considerable distance away, did +Penny speak. + +"What do you make of it all, Salt?" + +"It's got me puzzled," he admitted. "If I'd have seen the truck come out +of the swamp at any other time I wouldn't have thought much about it. But +considering the way Mrs. Jones acted, some funny business seems to be +going on here." + +"I'm certain one of those young men was the driver of the accident car +this afternoon!" + +"It did look like him." + +"They must be the Hawkins boys, Coon and Hod," Penny went on, thinking +aloud. "What were they doing in the swamp so late at night? And what are +they trucking?" + +"Echo answers 'what'," Salt replied. "Well, shall we start for +Riverview?" + +"Without learning for certain who those two fellows are?" + +"I would like to know. The only thing is, your father's going to be +plenty annoyed when he finds how late I've kept you out." + +"Leave Dad to me." + +"Okay, but if we run into trouble tonight, we can figure we went out of +our way to ask for it." + +By this time, the two swampers had vanished into the darkness far up the +road. + +"They're heading toward Trapper Joe's place," Penny observed. "The +Hawkins' farm is just beyond, on the waterway." + +"We may as well give them a good start and then follow in the car," Salt +decided. + +They walked back to the parked automobile where Penny put on her shoes +and stockings again. After giving the two strangers a good five minutes +start, Salt drove slowly after them, keeping headlights turned off. + +Trapper Joe's dismal shack loomed up dark and deserted. + +"We'll have to park here," Penny instructed, "The road beyond is terrible +and it plays out." + +Alighting, the couple looked about for a glimpse of the two swampers. The +nearby marsh seemed cold, unfriendly and menacing. Heavy dew lay on the +earth and a thick mist was rising from among the trees. + +From behind a shadowy bush, two gleaming eyes gazed steadily and +unblinkingly at the pair. Penny drew back, nervously gripping Salt's +hand. + +"It's only a cat," he chuckled. + +"A wild one, maybe," Penny shivered. "All sorts of animals live in the +swamp, Trapper Joe told me." + +"Want to stay in the car and spare those pretty shoes of yours?" + +"No, let's go on." The gleaming eyes now had vanished and Penny felt +courageous again. Nevertheless, she kept close beside Salt as they +tramped along the dark road. + +A pale moon was rising over the treetops, providing faint illumination. +Penny and Salt no longer could see the pair they had followed, and were +afraid they had lost them completely. + +Then they spied the swampers crawling over a fence some distance away. + +"There they are!" Penny whispered. Just as I thought! They're taking a +short cut to the Hawkins' place." + +Unaware that they were being followed, the two swampers crossed a plowed +field, frequently shifting their heavy burden. + +Coming at length to the Hawkins' farm, they vanished into the woodshed. + +"Guess you were right, Penny," Salt acknowledged, pausing by the fence. +"Evidently they're the Hawkins' boys." + +The door of the house had opened and a light now glowed in the window. A +bulky figure stood silhouetted on the threshold. + +"Who's there?" the man called sharply. "That you, Coon?" + +From inside the shed came a muffled reply: "Yep, it's me and Hod." + +"How'd you make out, son?" + +"She's all took care of an' on 'er way to Hartwell City. Ike says he'll +fetch you the cash in a day or two." + +"Git to bed soon's you kin," the older man said, apparently pleased by +the information. "Your Ma's tired and wants to git to sleep 'for +mawning." + +He moved back into the house, closing the door. + +"Guess we've learned all we can," Salt remarked. "We may as well get a +little shut-eye ourselves." + +Penny, however, was unwilling to leave so soon. + +"I wish we could find out what is in that big container, Salt! After +those Hawkins' boys leave, maybe we could sneak a peek." + +"And get caught!" + +"We can be careful. Salt, we've stumbled into a lot of information +tonight that may prove very valuable. We'll never have another chance +like it. Come on, Salt, it's worth a try." + +Despite his better judgment, Salt allowed himself to be persuaded. For +ten minutes the pair waited near the fence. Finally they saw Hod and Coon +Hawkins emerge from the shed and enter the house. + +Another ten minutes they waited. By that time the light had been +extinguished inside the house. + +"Everyone's abed now," Penny said in satisfaction. "Now for the +woodshed!" + +Crossing the field, the pair approached the tumbledown building from the +side away from the house. The woodshed door was closed. + +Penny groped for the knob and instead, her hand encountered a chain and +padlock. + +"Locked!" she muttered impatiently. "Just our luck!" + +The rattle of the chain had disturbed a hound penned inside the shed. +Before Salt and Penny could retreat, the animal's paws scratched against +the door and he uttered a deep and prolonged bay. + +"Jeepers!" exclaimed Salt. "We've got to get away from here--and fast!" + +Already it was too late. A window on the second floor of the house flew +up and Mrs. Hawkins in cotton nightdress and lace cap, peered down into +the yard. + +"Who's there?" she called sharply. "Answer up if you ain't hankerin' fer +a bullet through yer innards!" + + + + + CHAPTER + 11 + _AN ABANDONED CAR_ + + +For Salt and Penny, the moment was a perilous one. In plain view of the +upstairs window, they could not hope to escape detection. + +But shrewdly, they reasoned that Mrs. Hawkins could not be certain they +had been trying to break into the woodshed. + +"Oh, is that you, Mrs. Hawkins?" Penny called as cheerily as if greeting +an old friend. "I hope we didn't awaken you." + +The farm woman leaned far out the window. "Who be ye folkses?" she +demanded suspiciously. "What you doin' here?" + +"Don't you remember me?" Penny asked. "I stopped here this afternoon with +my girl friend. We had a drink at your pump." + +"Humph! That ain't no gal with you now! Who is he?" + +"Oh, just a friend who works at--" Penny was on the verge of saying the +_Riverview Star_, but caught herself in time and finished--"a friend who +works where I do." + +"And what you spyin' around here for?" + +"We're looking for another friend of ours." + +"'Pears to me you got a heap o' friends," the woman said harshly. "This +afternoon you was cryin' you lost a dog." + +"It was Louise who lost the dog," said Penny, well realizing that her +story would never convince the woman. + +"Whatever you lost, man or beast, git off this property and don't come +back!" Mrs. Hawkins ordered. "We hain't seen no dog, and we hain't seen +none o' yer friends. Now git!" + +Another face had appeared at the window--that of the bearded stranger +Penny had seen earlier in the day on Lookout Point. No longer could she +doubt that he was Ezekiel Hawkins, the man who a few minutes earlier had +ordered his two sons to bed. + +"We're leaving now," said Salt, before Penny had an opportunity to speak +again of Louise's missing dog. "Sorry to have bothered you." + +Taking Penny firmly by an elbow, he pulled her along. Not until they had +reached the fence safely did they look back. + +In the upper window of the Hawkins' house a light continued to burn +dimly. + +"We're still being watched," Salt commented. He helped Penny over the +fence, disentangling her dress which snagged on a wire. "Whew! That was a +close call! That old biddy would have enjoyed putting a bullet through +us!" + +"She dared to say Louise's dog hadn't been seen! All the while her +husband stood right there! He's the one who refused to let us go after +Bones this afternoon!" + +"Sure?" + +"Almost positive." + +"Well, all I can say is the Hawkins' are mean customers," Salt sighed. +"Stealing a dog probably is right in their line." + +"They're up to other tricks too!" + +"Oh, undoubtedly. Wish we could have learned what was in those cans they +were trucking to the city." + +In the press car, speeding toward Riverview, the pair discussed all +phases of their night's adventure. Failure to learn anything about +Jerry's whereabouts worried them. + +Presently, worn out, Penny slumped against Salt's shoulder and fell +asleep. She was awakened when the car stopped with a jerk. + +"Where are we?" she mumbled drowsily. "Home?" + +"Not yet, baby," he answered, shutting off the engine. + +Penny straightened in the seat, brushing away a lock of hair which had +tumbled over her left eye. Peering through the window she saw that they +still were out in the country. + +"What are we stopping here for, Salt?" she asked in astonishment. "Don't +tell me we've run out of gas!" + +"Nothing like that," he said easily. "Just go back to sleep. I'll be +right back." + +"You'll be right back! Where are you going, Salt Sommers?" + +"Only down the road a ways. We passed a car, and I want to have a better +look at it." + +By now Penny was fully awake. + +"I'm going with you," she announced. + +Salt held the door open for her. "This probably is a waste of time," he +admitted. + +"Was it a car you saw in the ditch?" Penny questioned, walking fast to +keep up with him. "An accident?" + +"Don't think so. The car seemed to be parked back in the bushes on a road +bisecting this one." + +"What's so unusual in that?" + +"Nothing perhaps. Only the car looked familiar." + +"Not Jerry's coupe?" + +"No. There it is now--see!" Salt pointed through the trees to an old +upright vehicle of antiquated style. His flashlight picked up the numbers +on the rear license plate. + +"K-4687!" Penny read aloud. "Mrs. Jones' stolen auto!" + +"It sure is," the photographer agreed in satisfaction. "Abandoned!" + +"By whom? The Hawkins' boys?" + +"Maybe. Let's have a closer look." + +While Penny stood by, Salt made a thorough inspection of the old car. The +battery was dead. Ignition keys, still in the lock, had been left turned +on. + +As the photographer flashed his light about, Penny noticed a package of +cigarettes lying on the seat. She picked them up and sniffed. + +"Necos," she declared. "Salt, one of the persons who rode in this car +must have slugged Jerry at the theater!" + +"Maybe, but we can't be sure. Necos aren't a common brand of cigarettes. +On the other hand, I've known several fellows who smoke them." + +A thorough inspection of the car revealed no other clues. + +"We may as well get back to town," Salt said finally. "Mrs. Jones will be +glad to learn her car has been recovered. We can let her know tomorrow +after police have had a chance to inspect it." + +Neither he nor Penny had much to say as they motored toward Riverview. +Both were deeply discouraged by their failure to find any trace of Jerry. + +"It's barely possible hospital officials were able to catch up with him," +Penny said after a while, her eyes on the dark ribbon of highway ahead. +"We might stop somewhere and telephone." + +"Good idea," agreed Salt. "We're practically in the city now." + +Already they could see the twinkling lights, laid out in rectangular +street patterns. Directly ahead, at the corporation boundary, Penny saw +the flashing electric sign of a hamburger hut operated by Mark Fiello, a +genial old Italian. + +"We might stop there," she suggested. "Mark will let us use his phone." + +"Also, he has good hamburgers and coffee," Salt added. "I could go for +some food!" + +Mark, a stout, grizzled man in slightly soiled apron, was frying bacon +and hamburgers at the grill as he shouted orders to a helper in the +kitchen. + +"You, Frankey!" he bellowed. "Git your nose outta dat ice cream and +squeeze another quart of orange juice! What you think I pay you for--to +eat me out of business?" + +As Penny and Salt slid onto stools in front of the counter, he turned +toward them to ask briskly: "What'll it be, folks?" + +"Now Mark, don't give us the professional brush off," Salt joked. "Make +mine a hamburger with everything on." + +"And mine with everything off--especially onions," added Penny. + +"Two hamburgers coming right up," chuckled Mark, flattening twin hunks of +ground meat on the grill. "I giva you good beeg ones. One-a with, and +one-a without. Haven't seen you folks in a long while. How you been?" + +"Pretty well, Mark, until tonight," replied Penny. "May we use your +phone?" + +"It's your nickel, ain't it?" chuckled Mark. "Go right ahead." + +"Looks as if we'll have to wait until your helper gets through using it," +observed Salt. + +"That worthless no-good!" Mark snorted. "I pay him thirty dolla a week to +eat his head off and all the time calla dat girl of his! You, Frankey! +Git off dat phone and git to work on them oranges!" + +Frank, a youth of sallow complexion and unsteady gaze, dropped the +telephone receiver as if it were a red hot coal. + +He mumbled a "call you later," into the transmitter, hung up, and ducked +into the kitchen. + +"Such bad luck I have this summer," sighed Mark, expertly turning the +hamburgers and salting them. "Six helpers I hire and fire. All no good. +They talka big, eat big--but work? Naw!" + +"It's a tough life," Salt agreed, fishing for a coin in his pocket. +"Change for a dime, Mark?" + +"Sure. Who you calla tonight? Big scoop for de paper, eh?" + +"I wish it were," said Salt. "We've had a tough night." + +"Jerry's missing," Penny added earnestly. "He was taken to the hospital +this afternoon, but he walked out. We're trying to find him because he's +in no condition to be wandering about." + +Mark's jaw had dropped and for a moment he forgot the hamburgers sizzling +on the grill. + +"You looka for Jerry? Jerry Livingston?" + +"Sure, you know him," Salt replied, starting for the telephone. "He used +to be one of your favorite customers." + +"Well, what do y'know!" mumbled Mark, obviously surprised. "What do +y'know! Listen, I tell you something!" + +"About Jerry?" Penny asked eagerly. + +"You looka for your friend too late!" + +"Too late? What do you mean, Mark? Jerry hasn't been hurt?" + +"No! No! Your friend is all right like always. Twenty minutes ago, he +eata three hamburgs on dis same stool where you sit now!" + +"Jerry was here!" Penny cried joyfully. "Mark, are you sure?" + +"Sure, I am sure! Jerry eata three beeg hamburgs, drinka two beeg cups of +java, then go away." + +"Did he seem dazed or confused?" + +"Your friend the same as always. Make-a the joke." + +On the grill, the hamburgers were beginning to burn at the edges. Mark +flipped them between buns, adding generous quantities of mustard, pickle, +catsup, and sliced onions to Salt's sandwich. + +Penny now was so excited she scarcely could take time to eat. + +"Which way did Jerry go when he left here?" she questioned eagerly. + +"He crossa de street. After dat, I did not see." + +"Jerry lives in the St. Agnes Apartments not far from here," Salt +recalled. "Maybe he's there now!" + +Quickly finishing their sandwiches, the pair gave Mark a dollar, refusing +to accept change. As they started away, he followed them to the door. + +"You know-a somebody who wanta good job, good pay?" he whispered. +"Frankey is eating me outta all my profits. You know-a somebody?" + +"Afraid we don't," Salt replied. "We'll keep it in mind though, and if we +hear of anyone wanting work, we'll send him around." + +From the hamburger hut, Penny and Salt drove directly to the St. Agnes +Apartment Hotel. The clerk on duty could not tell them if Jerry were in +his room or not. + +"Go on up if you want to," he suggested. "Room 207." + +Climbing the stairs, they pounded on the door. There was no answer. Salt +tried again. Not a sound came from inside the room. + +"It's no use," the photographer said in disappointment. "Mark may have +been mistaken. Anyway, Jerry's not here." + + + + + CHAPTER + 12 + _A JOB FOR PENNY_ + + +Penny gazed at Salt in grim despair. "I was so sure Jerry would be here," +she murmured. "What can we do now?" + +"We've run down every clue," he replied gloomily. "If he isn't at the +hospital, I'm afraid it's a case for the police." + +"But Mark was so sure he had seen Jerry tonight. Try once more, Salt." + +"Okay, but it's useless. He's not here." + +Again Salt hammered on the door with his fist. He was turning away when a +sleepy voice called: "Who's there?" + +"Jerry is in there!" Penny cried. "Thank goodness, he's safe!" + +"Open up, you lug!" ordered Salt. + +A bed creaked, footsteps padded across the carpet and the door swung +back. Jerry, in silk dressing gown, blinked sleepily out at them. + +"What do you want?" he mumbled. "Can't you let a fellow catch forty winks +without sending out the riot squad?" + +"How are you feeling, Jerry, my boy?" Salt inquired solicitously. + +"Never felt better in my life, except I'm sleepy." + +"Then what made you walk out of the hospital?" + +"I don't like hospitals." + +"We ought to punch you in the nose for making us so much trouble," Salt +said affectionately. "Here we spent half the night searching the swamp +for you!" + +Jerry's face crinkled into a broad grin. "The swamp! That's good!" + +"Didn't you ask a taximan at the hospital how much it would cost to go +there?" Penny reminded him. + +"Sure, but I decided not to go." + +"You got a nerve!" Salt muttered. "Climb into your clothes and we'll take +you back to your cell." + +"Oh, no, you don't!" Jerry backed away from the door. "I'm no more sick +than you are, and I'm not going back to the hospital!" + +"You're an advanced case for a mental institution!" the photographer +snapped. "Maybe you don't know Danny Deevers is out to get you and he +means business!" + +"I'm not worried about Danny." + +"Maybe you don't think he cracked you on the head tonight at the +theater?" + +"I've been thinking it over," Jerry replied slowly. "Probably it was +Danny, but I doubt he'll dare show his face again. Police are too hot on +his trail." + +"Says you!" snorted Salt. "By the way, why were you so interested in +going to the swamp tonight? Any clues?" + +"Only the information you and Penny gave me." + +"We learned a little more this evening," Penny informed him eagerly. "And +we have a photograph we want you to identify." + +The story of their findings at Caleb Corners and beyond, was briefly +told. Salt then showed Jerry the picture of the ancient car which had +been involved in the traffic accident. + +"This older man is Danny Deevers," Jerry positively identified him after +studying the photograph a minute. "I don't recognize the driver of the +car." + +"We're almost sure he's one of the Hawkins' boys," Penny declared. "You +know, the swamper we told you about." + +Jerry nodded. "In that case, putting the finger on Deevers should be easy +for the police. The Hawkins family could be arrested on suspicion. Like +as not, Deevers is hiding in the swamp just as Penny suspected!" + +"If he is, it won't be easy to capture him," commented Salt. "They say a +man could hide there a year without being found. And if the Hawkins' boy +is arrested, he'll naturally lie low." + +Jerry thoughtfully studied the photograph again. "That's so," he +admitted. "Anyway, our evidence is pretty weak. We couldn't pin anything +on either of the Hawkins' boys on the strength of this photograph." + +"It would only involve Mrs. Jones," contributed Penny. "Why turn it over +to the police?" + +"Well, it would relieve us of a lot of responsibility. Tell you what! I +know the Chief pretty well. Suppose I give the picture to him and ask him +to go easy on Mrs. Jones? I think he would play along with us." + +"Sounds like a good idea to me," approved Salt. "The police can watch the +Hawkins place and maybe learn Danny's hideout without tipping their +hand." + +The matter of the photograph settled, he and Penny turned to leave. + +"We'll send the hospital ambulance after you, Jerry," Salt said by way of +farewell. "Better get into some duds." + +"I'm not going back there!" + +"It's no use trying to make him," said Penny who knew from experience +that the reporter could be stubborn. "But do be careful, won't you, +Jerry?" + +"Sure," he promised. "And thanks to both of you for all your trouble!" + +The hour now was well past midnight. Saying goodbye to Jerry, Penny had +Salt take her directly home. + +Quietly she slipped into the house and upstairs to her own room without +disturbing Mrs. Weems. + +However, next morning, explanations were in order, and as was to be +expected, the housekeeper did not look with approval upon the trip to the +swamp. + +"Your motives may have been excellent," she told Penny, "but your +judgment was very poor. Even with Salt as an escort you shouldn't have +gone." + +To make amends, Penny stayed close at home that morning, helping with an +ironing. At noon when her father came for luncheon, she eagerly plied him +with questions about the Danny Deevers case. + +"There's nothing new to report," Mr. Parker said. "He's still at large. +The _Star_ has posted a $10,000 reward for his capture." + +"Ten thousand!" echoed Penny, her eyes sparkling. "I could use that +money!" + +Mr. Parker carefully laid down his knife and fork, fixing his daughter +with a stern gaze. + +"You're to forget Danny Deevers," he directed. "Just to make certain you +do, I've arranged with Mr. DeWitt to give you a few days' work at the +office. Kindly report at one-thirty this afternoon for your first +assignment." + +"Oh, Dad! Of all times--I had plans!" + +"So I figured," her father replied dryly. "Mr. DeWitt, I trust, will keep +you busy until after Danny Deevers has been rounded up by the police." + +Penny knew that protests were quite useless, for when her father really +set down his foot, he seldom changed his mind. At another time, she would +have welcomed an opportunity to work at the _Star_ office, but this day +she regarded it as nothing less than punishment. + +As her father had predicted, Penny was kept more than busy at the office. +There were telephones to answer, obituaries to write, wire stories to +redo, and a multitude of little writing jobs which kept her chained to a +desk. + +Penny pounded out page after page of routine copy, her face becoming +longer and longer. Whenever the shortwave radio blared, she listened +attentively. Never was there any news to suggest that police were even +taking an interest in Danny Deevers' escape. + +"Oh, they're working hard on the case," Jerry assured her when she talked +it over with him. "You'll hear about it in good time." + +"Everyone treats me as if I were a child!" Penny complained. "Just wait! +If ever I get any more information, I'm keeping it under my hat!" + +For two long days she worked and suffered in the newspaper office. Then +late one afternoon, Mr. DeWitt beckoned her to his desk. + +"You act as if you need a little fresh air," he said. "Take a run over to +the Immigration Office. See a man named Trotsell. He'll tell you about a +boy who entered this country illegally. They're looking for him now." + +"I'll hippety-hop all the way!" Penny laughed, glad to escape from the +office. + +At the Immigration Building, Mr. Trotsell, an official of brisk manner +and crisp speech, gave her the facts of the case in rapid-fire order. + +"The boy is only sixteen," he said. "His name is Anthony Tienta and he +was befriended by G.I.'s in Europe. Early in the war, his parents were +killed. Anthony was put in an orphan's asylum by Fascists. He and another +lad escaped to the mountains. For six months they lived in a cave on +berries and what they could pilfer." + +"Interesting," commented Penny, "but what is your connection with the +case?" + +"I'm coming to that. When G.I.'s entered Italy, Anthony left his mountain +hideout to become a guide. He learned English and later joined an +American division as a mascot. When the war ended, Anthony sought +permission to come to this country and was turned down repeatedly." + +"So he stowed aboard a troopship?" + +"Yes, we don't know yet how he eluded Immigration officials in New York. +Somehow he slipped into the country. Later he was traced to a farm in +Michigan. We were closing in on him, when someone tipped him off and he +fled. We know he's somewhere in this state." + +"Near here?" + +"It's very possible. We thought if a story appeared in the paper, someone +who has seen the boy may report to us." + +"Do you have a picture of him?" + +"Unfortunately, no. He is sixteen, with dark eyes and dark, curly hair. +The lad is athletic and very quick witted. His English is fairly good, +heavily sprinkled with G.I. slang." + +"I'll write the story for you," Penny promised as she arose to leave. +"The truth is, though, my sympathy is with Anthony." + +"So is mine," replied the official. "However, that does not change the +law. He entered this country illegally and must be returned to Italy." + +Penny left the office and was midway to the newspaper office when she +bumped squarely into her friend, Louise Sidell, who had been downtown +shopping. + +"Oh, Lou!" she exclaimed. "I called you twice but you weren't at home. +Did Bones ever find his way back?" + +Louise shook her head. "He never will either. Those men probably kept him +on the island. I'm going out there tomorrow." + +"To the island?" + +"If I can get Trapper Joe to take me. My father says I may offer him +twenty-five dollars to help me get Bones back." + +"It was entirely my fault, Lou. I'll pay the money." + +"You needn't." + +"I want to," said Penny firmly. "I've earned a little money the past two +days at the newspaper office." + +The two girls walked together to the next corner. + +"What time are you starting for Trapper Joe's tomorrow?" Penny asked. + +"I'd like to leave right after breakfast. Any chance you could take me in +your car?" + +"I was thinking the same thing," grinned Penny. "It may take a little +doing--but yes, I'm sure you can count on me! I'm long overdue for a date +myself with Old Man Swamp!" + + + + + CHAPTER + 13 + _INTO THE SWAMP_ + + +By eleven o'clock the next morning, the two girls were on their way to +Caleb Corners in Penny's car. Both wore high boots, heavy shirts, and +riding breeches, having dressed carefully for the swamp. + +"I had one awful time convincing Dad and Mrs. Weems I should make this +trip," Penny remarked as they parked the car under a giant oak not far +from Trapper Joe's shack on the river creek. "If we hadn't had Bones for +an excuse, they never would have allowed me to go." + +Louise stared curiously at her chum. + +"Why else would we make the trip?" she inquired. + +"Oh, we're going there to find Bones," Penny assured her hastily. "But if +we should meet Ezekiel Hawkins or whoever was on the island--" + +"My parents made it very clear I'm not to go to the island unless Trapper +Joe is with us." + +"So did my father, unfortunately," sighed Penny. + +As the girls approached Trapper Joe's shack, they saw smoke issuing in a +straight column from the rear of the premises. + +Investigating, they found the old guide roasting a fat turkey on a spit +which slowly revolved above a fire of cherry red coals. + +"Howdy," the old man greeted them. "You're jest in time fer some +victuals." + +"Lunch so early?" Louise asked in surprise. + +"It hain't breakfast and it hain't lunch," the trapper chuckled. "I eat +when I'm hongry, an' right now I feel a hankerin' fer food. Kin I give +you a nice turkey leg?" + +The girls looked at the delicately browned fowl and wavered. + +"I'll fetch you'uns each a plate," the trapper offered. + +From the shack he brought two cracked ones and forks with bent tines. To +each of the girls he gave a generous helping, saving for himself a large +slice of breast. + +"What brings ye here today?" he presently asked. "Be ye aimin' to rent my +boat again?" + +"Providing your services go with it," Penny replied. "We want to search +for Louise's dog." + +"'Tain't likely you'll ever see him again." + +"All the same, we've planned on searching the island thoroughly. Will you +take us?" + +Trapper Joe tossed away a turkey bone as he observed: "There's +cottonmouths on that island and all manner o' varmints." + +"That's why we want you to go with us," Penny urged. "We'll be safe with +you." + +"I hain't so sartain I'll be safe myself," Joe argued. "My gun's been +stole. Some thieven scalawag made off with it late last night while I was +skinnin' an animal. Left it a-settin' against a post down by the dock. +The rascal took my gun and some salted meat I had in a crock!" + +"Someone who came from the swamp?" Penny asked quickly. + +"'Pears he must o' come from there." + +"Could the thief have been one of the Hawkins family?" + +"'Tain't likely," the guide replied. "They all got good guns o' their +own. Anyhow, the Hawkins' hain't never stooped so low they'd steal from a +neighbor." + +"Will you take us in your boat?" Louise urged impatiently. "We'll pay you +well for your time. If we find Bones, you'll receive an extra twenty-five +dollars." + +"It hain't the money. Lookin' fer that dog would be like lookin' fer a +needle in a haystack." + +"You might accidently run into the person who stole your gun," Penny +suggested. + +"Now, there'd be some sense to that," the trapper said with sudden +interest. "I'd like to lay hands on him!" + +"Then you'll go?" the girls demanded together. + +"'Pears like I will," he said, his leathery face cracking into a smile. +"'Tain't smart going into the swamp without a gun, but we kin trust to +Providence an' our wits, I calculate." + +Pleased that the trapper had consented, the girls leaped to their feet +and started toward the skiff which was tied up at the dock. + +"Not so fast!" the trapper brought them up short. "We got to take some +water and some victuals with us." + +"But we're not going far," Louise said in surprise. "We just ate." + +"Ye can git mighty hongry and thirsty, rowin' in a broiling hot sun. When +I go into the swamp, I always takes rations along jest in case." + +"Surely you don't expect to lose your way," Penny said teasingly. "An old +timer like you!" + +"I'm an old timer 'cause I always prepares fer the wust," the trapper +retorted witheringly. "Many a young punk's give his life being show-off +and foolhardy in that swamp. I was lost there oncst years ago. I hain't +never forgot my lesson." + +Properly put in their places, Penny and Louise said no more as Trapper +Joe prepared for the trip into the swamp. He wrapped the remains of the +turkey in a paper, depositing it in a covered metal container in the +bottom of the skiff. + +Also, he dropped in a jug of water and an extra paddle. + +"Tell us about the swamp," Louise urged as they finally shoved off. "Is +it filled with wild and dangerous animals?" + +"Bears mostly been killed off," the old trapper replied, sending the +skiff along with powerful stabs of the oars. "The rooters are about the +wust ye run into now." + +"Rooters?" Louise repeated, puzzled. + +"Wild hogs. They got a hide so tough even the rattlers can't kill 'em. +It's most likely yer dogs been et by one." + +"Oh, no!" Louise protested in horror. + +"Rooters'll go straight fer a dog or a deer or a lamb. They'll attack a +man too if they're hongry enough. Their tusks are sharp as daggers." + +Penny quickly changed the subject by asking Trapper Joe if he thought +Pretty Boy Danny Deevers might be hiding in the swamp. + +"'Tain't likely," he replied briefly. + +"Why do you think not?" + +"City bred, waren't he?" + +"That's what I was told." + +"No city bred feller could live in the swamp many days. He wouldn't have +sense enough to git his food; at night the sounds would drive him crazy, +and he'd end up bein' bit by a snake." + +"Yet someone stole your gun," Penny reminded him. + +"It waren't Danny," said the old trapper with finality. + +The skiff glided on. As the sun rose high overhead pouring down upon +their backs, Penny and Louise began to feel drowsy. Repeatedly, they +reached for Joe's jug of water. + +As the channel became congested with floating plants and rotted logs, the +trapper shipped the oars and used a paddle. + +Presently they came within view of Lookout Island. In the bow, Penny +leaned forward to peer at the jungle-like growth which grew densely to +the water's edge. + +"Someone's on the island!" she exclaimed in a low voice. + +"Sure, it's Coon Hawkins doin' a little fishin'," agreed the trapper. +"His boat's pulled up on the point." + +Louise stirred uneasily. "Is anyone with him?" she whispered. + +"Don't see no one 'cepting Coon. He won't hurt ye. Harmless, ole Coon is, +an' mighty shiftless too." + +"But is Coon really fishing?" Penny demanded suspiciously. + +"He's got a pole and a string o' fish." + +"Also, he's watching us very closely," whispered Penny. "I don't trust +him one bit! He's hiding something on that island! I'll be surprised if +he doesn't try to keep us from landing." + + + + + CHAPTER + 14 + _A CODE MESSAGE_ + + +The old trapper appeared not to have heard Penny's whispered observation. +He paddled the skiff on until it drifted within ten yards of the point +where Coon Hawkins sat fishing. + +"Howdy!" called the trapper. + +"Howdy," responded Coon, his gaze on the bobbing cork. + +"Seen anything of a dog on the island?" + +"Hain't no animal hereabouts," Coon replied. + +"'Pears like the gals has lost a dog," said the old trapper, dipping his +paddle again. "We're landin' to have a look around." + +Coon's gaze shifted from the cork to the party in the boat. He scowled +and then coldly turned his back. + +"Suit yerself," he said indifferently. "You won't find no dawg here." + +Trapper Joe beached the skiff very nearly where Penny had landed a few +days earlier. + +"Have a keer," he advised as the girls trod through the muck. "Watch out +fer snakes." + +"Here are Bones' tracks!" Louise cried a moment later, spying the prints +which led away from the shore. + +A short distance in, the tracks abruptly ended, but nearby were prints of +a man's shoe and larger ones made from a heavy boot. + +Trapper Joe noted them in silence, signaling for Penny and Louise to make +no comment. + +"Wait here while I look around," he instructed. + +Penny and Louise sat down on a mossy log to wait. Coon paid them no heed, +completely ignoring their presence. The sun climbed higher overhead. + +Presently the old trapper returned, his clothing soaked with +perspiration. + +"Did you see anything of Bones?" Louise asked eagerly. + +"Nary a sign. The dog hain't on the island." + +"Told ye, didn't I?" Coon demanded triumphantly. + +"That ye did, son," agreed Trapper Joe. "We'll be gittin' along." On his +way to the skiff, he asked carelessly: "Come here offen, do ye?" + +"When I feels like it," Coon retorted. + +"Fishin' good?" + +"Fair to middlin'." + +The old trapper helped the girls into the skiff and shoved off. + +"Please, must we turn back now?" Louise asked earnestly. "I hate to +return without finding a trace of poor old Bones." + +"'Tain't likely you'll ever see the dog again." + +"We realize that," said Penny, "but it would be a satisfaction to keep +looking." + +"If the dog was still alive, it hain't likely he'd of swum away from the +island." + +"He could have been carried," Penny said, keeping her voice low. + +The swamper stared steadily at her a moment, saying nothing. + +"Besides, we'd like to go deeper into the swamp just to see it," Penny +urged, sensing that he was hesitating. "It must be beautiful farther in." + +"It is purty," the old guide agreed. "But you have to be mighty keerful." + +"Do take us," Louise pleaded. + +The old trapper raised his eyes to watch a giant crane, and then slowly +turned the skiff. As he sought a sluggish channel leading deeper into the +swamp, Penny noticed that Coon Hawkins had shifted his position on the +point, the better to watch them. + +The skiff moved on into gloomy water deeply shadowed by overhanging tree +limbs. Only then did Penny ask the trapper what he thought really had +happened to Louise's dog. + +"'Tain't easy to say," he replied, resting on the paddle a moment and +taking a chew of tobacco. + +Penny sensed that the old man was unwilling to express his true opinion. +He stared moodily at the sluggish water, lost in deep thought. + +"The Hawkins' are up to something!" Penny declared. She was tempted to +reveal what she and Salt had seen a few nights before on the swamp road, +but held her tongue. + +"After all, what do I know about Joe?" she reflected. "He may be a close +friend of the Hawkins family for all his talk about them being a +shiftless lot." + +Penny remained silent. Sensing her disappointment because he had not +talked more freely, Trapper Joe presently remarked: + +"You know, things goes on in the swamp that it's best not to see. +Sometimes it hain't healthy to know too much." + +"What things do you mean?" Penny asked quickly. + +Old Joe however, was not to be trapped by such a direct question. + +"Jest things," he returned evasively. "Purty here, hain't it?" + +The guide was now paddling along a sandy shore. Overhead on a bare tree +branch, two racoons drowsed after their midday meal. + +"In this swamp there's places where no man has ever set foot," the guide +continued. "Beyond Black Island, in the heart o' the swamp, it's as wild +as when everything belonged to the Indians." + +"How does one reach Black Island?" Louise inquired. + +"Only a few swampers that knows all the runs would dast go that far," +said Old Joe. "If ye take a wrong turn, ye kin float around fer days +without findin' yer way out." + +"Is there only one exit--the way we came in?" Penny asked. + +"No, oncst ye git to Black Island, there's a faster way out. Ye pick yer +way through a maze o' channels 'till ye come to the main one which takes +ye to the Door River." + +"You've made the trip?" + +"Did when I was young. Hain't been to Black Island in years lately." + +"How long does the trip take?" + +"Not many hours if ye know the trail. But if ye take a wrong twist, y'er +apt to wind up anywheres. We're headin' toward Black Island now." + +"Then why not go on?" cried Penny eagerly. "It's still early." + +The old guide shook his head as he paddled into deeper water. "It's jest +a long, hard row and there hain't nothin' there. I'm takin' ye to a place +where some purty pink orchids grow. Then we'll turn back." + +Penny suddenly sat up very straight, listening intently. + +From some distance away came a faint, metallic pounding sound. + +"What's that noise?" she asked, puzzled. + +The old trapper also was listening alertly. + +Again the strange noise was repeated. Bing-ping-ping! Ping-ping! + +"It sounds like someone pounding on a sheet of metal!" exclaimed Penny. +"I'd say it's coming from the edge of the swamp--perhaps Lookout Island!" + +The trapper nodded, still listening. + +Again they heard the pounding which seemed in a queer pattern of dots and +dashes. + +"It's a code!" Penny declared excitedly. "Perhaps a message is being sent +to someone hiding here in the swamp!" + +"In all the times I've been in these waters, I never before heard nothin' +like that," the guide admitted. "I wonder--" + +"Yes?" Penny prodded eagerly. + +But the old guide did not complete the thought. The boat now was drifting +in a narrow run where boughs hung low over the water, causing the three +occupants to lean far forward to avoid being brushed. + +A tiny scream came from Louise's lips. The bow of the skiff where she sat +had poked its nose against a protruding tree root. + +Within inches of her face, staring unblinkingly into her eyes, was a +large, ugly reptile! + + + + + CHAPTER + 15 + _BEYOND THE BOARDWALK_ + + +"Steady! Steady!" warned the old swamper as Louise shrank back in horror +from the big snake. "Don't move or he'll strike!" + +Digging his paddle into the slimy bed of the narrow run, Trapper Joe +inched the skiff backwards. Should the boat jar against the tree root, he +knew the snake almost certainly would strike its poisonous fangs into +Louise's face. + +"Hurry!" she whispered. + +Slowly the skiff moved backwards through the still water, until at last +it lay at a safe distance. The snake had not moved from its resting +place. + +Now that the danger was over, Louise collapsed with a shudder. + +"You saved me!" she declared gratefully. + +"It weren't nothin'," he replied as he sought another run. "There's +thousands o' varmints like him in this swamp." + +"And to think Penny and I dared come here by ourselves the other day! We +didn't realize how dangerous it was!" + +The incident had so unnerved both of the girls, that some minutes elapsed +before they recalled the strange pounding sound which had previously held +their attention. + +"I don't hear it now," Penny said, listening intently. "Just before we +ran into that snake, you were about to say something, Joe." + +The guide stopped paddling a moment. "Was I now?" he asked. "I don't +recollect." + +"We were talking about the strange noise. You said you never had heard +anything like it before in the swamp. Then you added--'I wonder--'" + +"Jest a-thinkin'," Joe said, picking up the paddle once more. "One does a +lot o' that in the swamp." + +"And not much talking," rejoined Penny, slightly annoyed. "What do you +think made the noise?" + +"Couldn't rightly say." + +Realizing it was useless to question the old man further, Penny dropped +the subject. However, she was convinced that Joe had at least a theory as +to the cause of the strange pounding sound. + +"He knows a lot he isn't telling," she thought. "But I'll never get a +word out of him by asking." + +If Joe were unwilling to discuss the signal-like tappings, he showed no +reluctance in telling the girls about the swamp itself. + +Wild turkey, one of the wariest fowls in the area, could be found only on +the islands far interior, they learned. Although there were more than a +dozen species of snakes, only three needed to be feared, the rattlers, +the coral snake, and the cottonmouth. + +"Ye have to be keerful when yer passin' under tunnels o' overhanging +limbs," Old Joe explained. "Sometimes they'll be hangin' solid with +little snakes." + +"Don't tell us any more," Louise pleaded. "I'm rapidly losing enthusiasm +for this place!" + +"Snakes mostly minds their own business 'less a feller goes botherin' +'em," Trapper Joe remarked. "Too bad more folks ain't that way." + +The boat floated on, and the heat rising from the water became +increasingly unpleasant. Penny mopped her face with a handkerchief and +considered asking the old man to turn back. + +Before she could speak, Joe who had been peering intently at the shore, +veered the skiff in that direction. + +"Are the orchids here?" Louise asked in surprise. + +Old Joe shook his head. "Jest want to look at something," he remarked. + +He brought the skiff to shore, and looking carefully about for snakes, +stepped out. + +"May we go with you?" asked Penny, whose limbs had become cramped from +sitting so long in one position. + +"Kin if yer a mind to, but I only aim to look at that dead campfire." + +"A campfire?" Penny questioned. "Where?" + +The old trapper pointed to a barren, dry spot a few feet back from the +water's edge, where a circle of ashes and a few charred pieces of wood +lay. + +"Why, I hadn't noticed it," Penny said. Wondering why the trapper should +be interested in a campfire, she started to ask, but thought better of +it. By remaining silent, she might learn--certainly not if she inquired +directly. + +Trapper Joe gazed briefly at the camp-site, kicking the dead embers with +the toe of his heavy boot. + +"Thet fire hain't very old--must have been built last night," he +observed. + +"By a swamper, I suppose," said Penny casually. "One of the Hawkins' +family perhaps." + +"It hain't likely they'd be comin' here after nightfall. An' that fire +never was built by a swamper." + +"Then a stranger must be hiding in the area!" Penny cried. "Danny +Deevers!" + +"Maybe so, but Danny was city-bred and never could survive long in the +wilds. One night here would likely be his last." + +"Supposing someone who knew the swamp were helping him?" + +"Thet would make it easier, but it weren't Danny Deevers who built this +fire." + +"How can you be so positive?" + +"Deevers was a big man, weren't he?" + +"Why, fairly large, I guess." + +"Then would he be leavin' little tracks?" Joe pointed to several +shoeprints visible in the soft muck. "This man, whoever he be, didn't +have anyone campin' with him. Leastwise, there hain't no tracks except +from the one kind o' shoe." + +"I guess you're right," agreed Penny, disappointed to have her theory +exploded. "I wonder who did camp here?" + +"I'm a-wonderin' myself," replied the old trapper. "If it's the feller +thet stole my gun, I'd like pow'ful well to catch up with him." + +Joe inspected the ground for some distance inland, satisfying himself +that no one was about. As they returned to the boat, he said +thoughtfully: + +"Not in years heve I been as far as Black Island, but I've got an itch to +go there now." + +"Good!" chuckled Penny. "I want to see the place myself." + +"It's a long, hard row. I couldn't rightly take you'uns." + +"Why not?" + +"Fer one thing, I hain't sure what I'll find at the island." + +"All the better," laughed Penny. + +But the old trapper was not to be persuaded. "The trip ain't one fer +young'uns. Likewise, with three in a boat, it's hard goin'. Part o' the +way, the run's so shallow, ye have to pole." + +"In a polite way, he's telling us we're excess baggage," Louise said, +grinning at Penny. "To me it sounds like a long, hot trip." + +"I kin go another day," said the trapper. "There hain't no hurry." + +"But you're well on your way there now," Penny remarked. "How long would +it take to go and return here--that is, if you went alone?" + +"Two hours if I made it fast." + +"Then why not go?" Penny urged generously. "Isn't there somewhere Louise +and I could wait?" + +"Without a boat?" Louise interposed in alarm. + +"I hain't suggestin' ye do it," said the old trapper. "But there is a +safe place ye could wait." + +"Where?" asked Penny. + +"On the plank walk." + +"Does it extend so far into the swamp?" + +"This is a section of an old walk that was put in years ago," Joe +explained. "It used to hook up with the planking at the entranceway, but +it went to pieces. Folks never went to the trouble to rebuild this +section." + +"All right, take us there," Penny urged, ignoring Louise's worried frown. +"If we're above the water, we should be safe enough." + +The old trapper rowed the girls on a few yards to a series of shallow +bays where water lilies and fragrant pink orchids grew in profusion. As +they drew in their breath at the beautiful sight, he chuckled with +pleasure. + +"Purty, hain't it?" he asked. "Gatherin' posies should keep ye busy for +awhile. The boardwalk's right here, and goes on fer quite a spell before +it plays out. If ye stay on the walk, you'll be safe until I git back." + +Louise gazed with misgiving at the old planks which were decayed and +broken. As she and Penny alighted, the boards swayed at nearly every +step. + +"I'll pick ye up right here, soon's I can," the old guide promised. "If +ye keep to the shade, ye won't git so much sunburn." + +"What if you shouldn't get back before nightfall," Louise said nervously. +"Wouldn't we be stranded here?" + +"I'll git back." + +"Where does the walk lead?" Penny asked. + +"Nowheres in particular any more. Ye'd best not foller it far. Jest wait +fer me purty close here, and I'll be back soon's I kin." + +Reaching into the bottom of the skiff, the trapper tossed a parcel of +lunch to Penny. + +"Here's some meat if ye git hongry while I'm gone. Mind ye stay on the +planks!" + +With this final warning, Joe paddled away and soon was lost to view +behind the tall bushes. + + + + + CHAPTER + 16 + _TREED BY A BOAR_ + + +Left to themselves, Penny and Louise walked a few steps on the sagging +planks which had been nailed to tree stumps. The boards beneath them +creaked protestingly and dipped nearly into the water. + +"We must have been crazy!" Louise exclaimed. "We'll die of boredom +waiting here. Two hours too!" + +"It is a long time." + +"And if Joe shouldn't come back, we're stranded--absolutely stranded." + +"We did take a chance, Louise, but I'm sure Joe can be trusted." + +"He seems all right, but what do we really know about him?" Louise +argued. "If anything queer is going on here in the swamp, he may be mixed +up in it!" + +"I thought about that," Penny admitted. "Anyway, if we're to learn +anything, we had to take a certain amount of chance. I'm sure everything +will be all right." + +Slowly they walked on along the rickety planks, now and then bending down +to pluck a water lily. Louise quickly jerked back her hand as a water +snake slithered past. + +"Ugh!" she gasped. "Another one of those horrid things!" + +Interested to learn where the planks led, the girls followed the +bridge-like trail among the trees. Louise, however, soon grew tired. As +they presently came to a stump which offered a perfect resting place, she +sat down. + +"This is as far as I'm going," she announced. + +"But we have lots of time to explore, Louise. Don't you want to learn +where this boardwalk goes?" + +"Not at the risk of falling into the water! At any rate, I'm tired. If +you want to explore, go on alone. I'll wait for you here." + +Penny hesitated, reluctant to leave her chum alone. + +"Sure you won't mind, Louise?" + +"I'd much rather wait here. Please go on. I know you'll never rest until +you reach the end of the walk." + +Thus urged. Penny, with the package of lunch still tucked under her arm, +picked her way carefully along. + +The board path curved on between the trees for some distance only to end +abruptly where boards had rotted and floated away. After a break of +several yards, the walk picked up again for a short ways, but Penny had +no intention of wading through water to follow it further. + +Pausing to rest before starting back, she noticed beyond the water oaks a +narrow stretch of higher land covered with dense, wild growth. Above the +trees a huge buzzard soared lazily. + +"Ugly bird!" she thought, watching its flight. + +Penny was about to turn and retrace her steps, when she noticed something +else--footsteps in the muck not far from the end of the boardwalk. + +"Someone has been here recently," she reflected. "Those prints must have +been made since the last rain." + +Even from some distance away. Penny could see that the shoemarks were +small ones. + +"Probably the person who made them is the same fellow who built the +campfire," she thought. "Wonder where the footprints lead?" + +Penny tried to draw her eyes away, but the footprints fascinated and +challenged her. She longed to investigate them further. However, she had +not forgotten Trapper Joe's warning that it was unsafe to leave the +boardwalk. + +"If I watch out for snakes and only go a short ways, what harm can it +do?" she reasoned. + +A moment more and Penny was off the walk, treading her way cautiously +along the muddy bank. She paused to listen. + +All was very quiet--so still that it gave the girl an uneasy feeling, as +if she were being watched by a multitude of hostile eyes. + +The footprints led to a large tree in a fairly open area. On one of the +low, overhanging bushes, a bit of dark wool had been snagged. + +"Someone climbed up there either to rest or sleep," Penny thought. + +In the bushes close by, the girl heard a faint, rustling sound. + +"Who's there?" she called sharply. + +No one answered. All was still for a moment. Then again she heard the +whisper of disturbed leaves. + +Penny's flesh began to creep. Suddenly losing all interest in the +footprints, she decided to beat a hasty retreat to the boardwalk. + +The decision came too late. Before she could move, a dozen big rooters +led by an old gray boar, swarmed out of the bushes, surrounding her. + +Too frightened and startled to cry out, Penny huddled back against the +tree trunk. The rooters had spread out in a circle and slowly were coming +closer. + +Retreat to the safety of the boardwalk was completely cut off. The leader +of the pack now was so near that she plainly could see his razor-sharp +ivory tusks. In another moment, the animal would attack. + +Throwing off the paralysis of fear which gripped her, Penny swung herself +into the lowermost branch of the big trees. The package of lunch she had +carried, dropped from her hand, falling at the base of the trunk. + +Instantly, the rooters were upon it, tearing savagely at the meat and at +each other. Sick with horror, Penny clung desperately to the tree limb. + +"If I slip now, I'm a gonner!" she thought. "Those rooters are half +starved. If I fall, they'll attack me!" + +Penny considered shouting for Louise, but dismissed the thought as +quickly as it came. Her chum probably was too far away to hear her cries. +If she did come, unarmed as she was, she might leave the boardwalk only +to endanger herself. + +"Louise can't help me," Penny told herself. "I brought this on myself by +not heeding Old Joe's warning. Now it's up to me to get out of the mess +the best way I can." + +The girl lay still on the limb, trying not to draw the attention of the +rooters. Once they finished the meat, she was hopeful they would go away. +Then she could make a dash for the walk. + +Grunting and squealing, the rooters devoured the meat and looked about +for more. To Penny's relief, they gradually wandered off--all except the +old boar. + +The leader of the pack stayed close to the big tree, eyeing the girl in +the tree wickedly. Even in the dim light she could plainly see his evil +little eyes and working jaws. + +"Go away you big brute!" she muttered. + +Penny's perch on the limb was a precarious one and her arms began to ache +from the strain of holding on. Unsuccessfully, she tried to shift into a +more comfortable position. + +"I may be treed here for hours!" she thought. "Can I hold on that long?" + +The old boar showed no disposition to move off, but kept circling the +tree. It seemed to the now desperate Penny, that the animal sensed she +was weakening and only awaited the moment when she would tumble down to +the ground. + +Breaking off a small tree branch she hurled it defiantly at the boar. The +act caused her to lose her balance. Frantically, she clawed for a +foothold but could not obtain it. Down she slipped to the base of the +tree. + +The old boar, quick to see his opportunity, charged. With a scream of +terror, Penny leaped aside and the animal rushed past, squealing in rage +at having missed his prey. + +Even now, the boar stood between the girl and the plank walk. The tree +from which she had fallen, offered her only refuge, and as she measured +her chances, she realized that the probability of regaining the limb was +a slim one. + +The boar had turned and was coming for her again. + +But at that instant, as Penny froze in terror, a shot was fired from +somewhere in the bushes behind her. The bullet went straight and true, +stopping the boar in his tracks. He grunted, rolled over, twitched twice, +and lay still. + + + + + CHAPTER + 17 + _RESCUE_ + + +With a sob of relief, Penny whirled around to thank her rescuer. Through +the thick leaves of the bushes she could see the shadowy figure of a man. +But even as she watched, he retreated. + +"Wait!" the girl cried. + +There was no answer, and before she could call out a word of thanks for +deliverance, the man had vanished. + +His disappearance reminded her that though she had been snatched from the +jaws of death, the danger by no means was over. At any moment the herd of +rooters might return to attack. + +Turning, Penny ran swiftly to the planked walk, in her haste not watching +where she stepped. Her boots sank deeply in muck. Once on the planks well +above the water level, she paused to catch her breath, and to gaze +searchingly toward the bushes. All now was still. + +"Who could my rescuer have been?" she mused. "Why didn't he wait for me +to thank him?" + +Penny called several times but received no reply. Finally, giving up, she +started slowly back along the walk toward the bay where she had left +Louise. + +More than the girl realized, the adventure had unnerved her. She felt +weak all over, and several times as she gazed steadily at the water, +became dizzy and nearly lost her balance. + +"Guess I'm not tough enough for swamp life," she reflected. "If ever I +get out of here in one piece, I'm tempted to forget Danny Deevers and let +the police do all the searching." + +Footsteps became audible on the boardwalk some distance away. + +Every sense now alert to danger, Penny halted to listen. + +Someone was coming toward her, moving swiftly on the creaking planks. + +"Penny!" called an agitated voice. + +Penny relaxed as she knew that it was her chum. "Louise!" she answered, +running to meet her. + +Rounding a clump of bushes, and walking gingerly on the narrow boards, +Louise stopped short as she beheld her friend. + +"Why, you're as white as a ghost!" she exclaimed. "And I distinctly heard +you shout! What happened? Did you see a snake?" + +"A snake would be mild compared to what I've been through. Were you ever +eaten alive?" + +"Not that I recall." + +"Well, I escaped it by the skin of my teeth," Penny said, rather +relishing the adventure now that the story made such good telling. "I was +saved by a mysterious stranger!" + +Louise gazed at her chum anxiously and reached out to touch her forehead. +"You're hot and feverish," she insisted. "This trip has been too much for +you." + +"I'm as cool as a piece of artificial ice!" Penny retorted. "Furthermore, +I'm not touched by the heat!" + +"Well, something is wrong with you." + +"I've just had the fright of my life, that's all. If you'll give me a +chance, I'll tell you what happened." + +"The stage is all yours, sweet. But don't give me any tall tale about +being rescued by a Prince Charming disguised as a frog!" + +Penny's lips compressed into a tight line. "I can see you'll never +believe the truth, Lou. So I'll prove it to you! Come with me, and I'll +show you the animal that nearly made mince meat of me." + +Treading single file, the girls returned the way Penny had come, to the +end of the planks. + +"Look over at the base of that big tree," Penny instructed, pointing. +"What do you see?" + +"Nothing." + +"The boar that was shot--why, it should be there!" Penny scarcely could +believe the sight of her own eyes. "But it's gone!" + +"It's gone because it never was there. Penny, you're suffering from too +much heat." + +"I'm not! Neither am I imagining things! That old boar was there ten +minutes ago. Either he came back to life and went off, or someone dragged +him away." + +"And your mysterious rescuer?" Louise teased. "What became of him?" + +"I wish I knew! Lou, I'm not imagining any of this! Surely you must have +heard the shot?" + +"Well, I did hear something that sounded like one." + +"Also, the lunch is gone. All that remains of it, is the paper lying over +there by the tree." + +"I do see a newspaper," Louise conceded. + +"And that broken tree branch lying on the ground? I was up the tree and +threw it at the boar. That's how I lost my balance and fell." + +Louise now was convinced the story had solid foundation. "Start from the +beginning," she urged. + +Penny related what had occurred, rather building up the scene in which +she had been delivered from death by the bullet shot from behind a bush. + +"Whoever the man is, he must be somewhere close by," Louise said when she +had finished. "Perhaps we can find him." + +"Not a chance! He's deliberately hiding. Besides, I know better than to +leave the walk again. It's dangerous!" + +"In that case we may as well go back and wait for Joe," Louise said. + +Treading their way carefully, the girls returned to the far end of the +boardwalk. To their surprise, they saw a boat approaching. + +"Why, it looks like Joe in the skiff!" Penny commented. "But he isn't due +back for a long while yet." + +Watching the oncoming boat for a moment, Louise said: "It's Joe all +right, and he's coming fast. Something must be wrong." + +Soon the guide brought the skiff alongside the sagging boardwalk. + +"I heard a shot and started back," he explained. "I sure am glad to see +both o' ye safe." + +Before Penny could do so, Louise told Joe what had befallen her chum. + +"Ye could have been kilt by that old boar," he said soberly. "It was the +package o' meat that drew them rooters to the tree. They hain't likely to +attack a human lest they're half starved." + +"I wish I knew who saved me," Penny said. "Could it have been one of the +Hawkins' boys?" + +"From the sound, I'd say that shot weren't fired from their rifles. +More'n likely it came from my own gun!" + +"The stolen one?" + +"That's what I'm a-thinkin'. If I could see the bullet that was fired, I +could tell fer sure." + +"The boar disappeared and the bullet with him," Penny said. "That's +another queer thing." + +"Whoever kilt the critter may have drug him off, or maybe the animal was +only stunned." The guide squinted at the lowering sun. "I'd like powe'ful +well to see the place, but it's gitten late. We gotta git back." + +"What did you learn at Black Island?" Louise asked as she and Penny +climbed into the skiff. + +"Never got half way there," the guide said in disgust. "Since I went in +last time, the main channel's clogged thick with hyacinths. To find yer +way in now's a half day's job." + +"Can't we try again tomorrow?" Penny asked eagerly. + +The old guide gazed at her quizzically as he dipped his paddle. "Hain't +ye had enough o' the swamp after today, young'un?" + +"When that old boar came for me, I told myself if ever I got safely away, +I'd never come again. But that was only a passing impulse. Black Island +interests me." + +"It's the most dangerous part of the swamp." + +"Because of wild animals, you mean?" + +"There's lots wuss things than animals," said the old guide soberly. + +"For instance?" + +Trapper Joe ignored Penny's question. Becoming as one deaf, he propelled +the skiff with powerful strokes. + +Penny waited patiently, but the guide showed no inclination to say more +about Black Island. + +"Shall we make it tomorrow?" she inquired presently. + +"Make what?" Joe's wrinkled face was blank. + +"Why, I mean, shall we visit Black Island!" + +"I hate to disappoint ye, but we hain't a-goin'." + +"You may be busy tomorrow. Later in the week perhaps?" + +"Not tomorrer nor never. I hain't takin' the responsibility o' bringin' +ye young'uns into the swamp agin." + +"But why?" wailed Penny. "I wish now I hadn't told you about that old +boar!" + +"It hain't the boar that's got me worried." + +"Then you must be afraid of something on Black Island--something you +learned today and are keeping to yourself!" + +"Maybe that's it," returned Joe briefly. "Anyhow, we hain't goin'. And it +won't do no good to try coaxin' me with yer female wiles. My mind's made +up!" + +Having delivered himself of this ultimatum, the guide plied his paddle +steadily. + +The set of his jaw warned Penny it would be useless to tease. With a +discouraged sigh, she settled down into the bottom of the skiff to think. + + + + + CHAPTER + 18 + _WANTED--A GUIDE_ + + +Since the eventful trip to the swamp, several days now had elapsed, and +from Penny's viewpoint, nothing of consequence had happened. + +Each day the _Riverview Star_ carried a story giving details of the +police search for Danny Deevers, and on each succeeding morning the +account became shorter, with less new information. + +Twice, it was rumored police were closing in on the escaped convict, and +twice the rumor proved false. + +At the request of Salt Sommers and Jerry Livingston, posses made several +searches of the outer swamp area. However, no trace of the missing man +was found, and investigators quickly switched their activities elsewhere. + +Spurred by the _Star's_ reward offer, clues, anonymous and otherwise, +came to both the newspaper and police officials. All proved worthless. + +"It begins to look as if Danny has pulled out of this territory," Mr. +Parker remarked to Penny late one afternoon as she sat in his office at +the plant. "At least he's made no further attempt to carry out his threat +against Jerry." + +"Maybe he's only lying low and waiting until the police search cools off +a little." + +"Quite possible," the publisher agreed, frowning as he fingered a +paperweight. "In that case, Jerry is in real danger. I'll never feel +entirely easy in my mind until Deevers is behind bars again." + +"Speaking of me, Chief?" inquired a voice from the doorway. + +Jerry stood there, a long streamer of pasted copy paper in his hand. He +had written a story of a political squabble at city hall, and needed Mr. +Parker's approval before handing it over to the typesetters. + +The publisher quickly read the article, pencilled an "okay" at the top, +and returned it to the reporter. + +"Good stuff, Jerry," he approved. "By the way, any news of Danny +Deevers?" + +"Nothing new." + +"Jerry, I can't help feeling he's hiding either in the swamp or somewhere +close by," Penny interposed eagerly. "At least something queer is going +on out there." + +"That's what Salt thinks. We were out there last night." + +"In the swamp?" Penny asked, caught by surprise. + +"Not in it, but near the Hawkins' place." + +"What did you learn, Jerry?" + +"Frankly, nothing. You remember that swamp road where you and Salt saw +the truck?" + +"Yes, of course." + +"We watched there for quite awhile around midnight." + +"Did you see the truck stop there again?" + +"No, but we thought we saw a couple of men at the edge of the +swamp--apparently waiting for someone. We tried to sneak up close, but +I'm afraid we gave ourselves away. Anyway, they vanished back among the +trees." + +"Did you notice or hear anything else unusual, Jerry?" + +"Well, no. Not unless you'd call pounding on a dishpan out of the +ordinary." + +"A dishpan!" Penny exclaimed. "Who did it?" + +"We couldn't tell. Salt and I heard the sound soon after we had passed +the Hawkins' place on our way toward the swamp." + +"What sort of sound was it?" + +"Just a metallic tap-tap-tap. It may not have been on a dishpan." + +"Were the taps in code, Jerry?" + +"Couldn't have been a very complicated one for the pounding only lasted a +minute or two. It was irregular though." + +"Then I'm sure it was a code!" Penny cried. "Louise and I heard the same +sound when we were with Trapper Joe in the boat!" + +"Did the noise come from outside the swamp?" + +"Inside, I'd say." + +"Then we may not have heard the same thing. The pounding noise Salt and I +noticed, came from the direction of the Hawkins' farm. It may have had no +significance." + +Before Jerry could say more, Editor DeWitt called him to the copy desk. +Mr. Parker turned again to his daughter. + +"Penny, if I were you, I'd try to forget Danny Deevers," he advised. +"Whatever you do, don't go into the swamp again unless you're with Joe or +another guide. Better still, don't go at all." + +"Oh, Dad!" + +"No good can come of it. Do I have your promise, Penny?" + +"But I feel I should try to recover Louise's dog!" + +"We'll buy her a new pet." + +"It won't be Bones." + +"The chance that the dog ever will be found is slim," Mr. Parker said. +"In any case, he's not worth the risk of trying to find him. Your +promise, Penny?" + +"That I won't go in without a guide?" she asked, seizing upon the lesser +of two evils. "All right, I promise." + +The next day it rained, keeping Penny closely confined at home. However, +the following morning gave promise of being sunny and pleasant. + +Arising early, she packed a lunch for herself, dressed in hiking clothes +with heavy boots, and was ready to leave the house by the time Mrs. Weems +came downstairs for breakfast. + +"Up so early, Penny?" she inquired. + +"Just going on a little trip. Don't expect me back very early." + +The housekeeper regarded her severely. "Penny Parker, you're not going to +the swamp again!" + +"Figured I might." + +"Does your father know you're going?" + +"We talked it over a day or so ago. He doesn't mind so long as I go with +Trapper Joe or another guide." + +"In that case I suppose I can't object," Mrs. Weems sighed. "Mind, you +don't set foot in the swamp without someone along!" + +"I've already given my promise to Dad." + +"And do be careful," the housekeeper added. "I'll not feel easy until +you're back." + +Though neither she nor Penny knew it then, the girl's absence from home +was to be a long one, and both were to have many uncomfortable moments +before her return. + +Reaching the swamp sometime later, Penny parked the car and walked to +Trapper Joe's shack on the creek. + +The old guide was sitting on the sagging porch, his feet propped on the +railing. Catching sight of Penny he frowned slightly, but as she came up, +greeted her in a friendly way. + +"'Mawnin'," he said briefly. "What's on yer mind this time?" + +"Can't you guess?" Penny asked, sitting down on a step at his feet. + +"If yer wantin' me to take you into the swamp agin, yer only wastin' yer +words. I hain't got the time." + +"I'll pay you well." + +"It hain't the money." + +"Then why do you refuse to take me in?" + +"Tole ye, didn't I? I got work to do." + +Penny knew that Joe was only making excuses, for obviously, one day was +very like another in his care-free life. + +"What work do you have this morning that can't wait, Joe?" + +"Well, fer one thing I gotta smoke out a swarm o' bees and git me a nice +mess o' honey fer winter. Want to go with me?" + +"Into the swamp?" + +"No, this tree hain't in the swamp." + +"Then I don't want to go. Joe, I think you're stubborn! You know how much +this trip means to me." + +"Reckon I do." + +"Then why not take me? Tell me your reason for refusing." + +Old Joe gazed steadily at Penny and for a moment seemed on the verge of +making interesting revelations. But to her disappointment, he shook his +head. + +"Jest don't wanter go, thet's all." + +"You learned something the other day when we were in the swamp!" Penny +accused. "You're keeping it from me--probably to protect someone! Isn't +that it?" + +"Hain't saying." + +"You know Danny Deevers is hidden somewhere in the swamp! You're helping +to protect him!" + +Old Joe's feet came down from the railing with a thump. "Now that hain't +so!" he denied. "I got no time fer the likes o' Danny Deevers. If I +knowed where he is, I'd give him up to the law." + +"Well, someone is hiding there! I heard Ezekiel Hawkins talking on +Lookout Point, didn't I? We found the dead campfire. Your gun was stolen, +and later a mysterious person rescued me when I was treed by the boar." + +"Could have been one o' the Hawkins." + +"You don't honestly believe that, Joe." + +"No, reckon I don't," the guide sighed. "You sure kin shoot questions at +a feller faster'n these new Army rockets I hear tell about. I'd like to +tell ye what ye want to know, but there's things best not talked about. +Knowin' too much kin be dangerous." + +Penny scarcely could hide her annoyance, for several times now the guide +had made similar hints. + +"I don't trust the Hawkins' family at all," she announced. "If they're +not involved with Danny Deevers, they're up to something here in the +swamp. Otherwise, why would they be so mean?" + +"The Hawkins' family always has been mean an' ornery." + +"Another thing--" Penny started to mention how she and Salt had seen +large containers of some unknown product being removed from the swamp, +but broke off as she decided to keep the information to herself. + +"Yeah?" inquired the guide. + +"Nothing," replied Penny. "If you won't take me into the swamp, is there +anyone else who will?" + +"Couldn't say fer sure," Joe replied, "but I reckon I'm the only guide +herebouts fer maybe fifty miles." + +"Won't you reconsider?" + +"You put up a powe'ful strong argument, young'un, but I gotta say no fer +yer own good." + +"You've certainly ruined all my plans," Penny said crossly. "Well, since +you won't help me, I'll say goodbye." + +Back in the car once more, she could not bring herself to return home so +early in the morning. Debating a moment, she drove to the homestead of +the Widow Jones. + +Dressed in a bright calico dress, the woman sat under a shade tree +skillfully cutting up the meat of a turtle and dropping it into a pan of +cold water. + +As Penny walked across the weed-choked yard, she looked up in a startled +way, but smiled as she recognized the girl. + +"I'm fixin' to have me a nice soup," she explained. "Ye cook the turtle +with diced carrots, potatoes, okra, and tomatoes and serve it piping hot. +Ever et any?" + +"No, I never have," Penny replied, watching the preparations with +interest. "It sounds good." + +"Ye kin stay and have dinner with me," the woman invited. "I'll fix some +flour biscuits and we'll have a right nice meal." + +"I'm afraid I'll have to get back home," Penny said regretfully. "My trip +here today was a failure." + +Because the Widow Jones gave her an inquiring look of sympathy, she +explained that Trapper Joe had refused to take her into the swamp. She +went on to tell why the trip meant so much to her, and of her belief that +a clever investigator who knew the area might find clues which would lead +to the capture of Danny Deevers. + +"So Joe wouldn't take ye?" the Widow Jones inquired softly. "Why?" + +"He says it's dangerous." + +"And since when has Joe got so a-feared of his shadow?" + +"It did sound like an excuse to me. I think he knows what is going on in +the swamp, and wants no part of it." + +"Ye say it means a lot to ye to make the trip?" + +"Oh, yes, I'd do it in a minute, if I could find anyone who knows the +channels. But Joe says he's the only guide for fifty miles around." + +Mrs. Jones slapped the last piece of turtle meat into the water with a +splash. She arose, gathering her long skirts about her. + +"Joe's maybe fergettin' that as a gal, my paw taught me every crook and +turn of the swamp. Hain't been in there fer quite a spell now, but I got +a hankerin' to go agin." + +Penny stared at her incredulously. + +"You mean you'll take me?" she demanded. "Today? Now?" + +"I've got a quilt I should be piecin' on this afternoon, but hit can +wait. If you hain't afeared to place yerself in my hands, I'll take you." + +"I'll jump at the chance! But do you have a boat?" + +"We'll make Joe lend us his!" the widow said grimly. "And if he tries +squirmin', well, I know how to handle him!" + + + + + CHAPTER + 19 + _PENNY'S PLAN_ + + +Making elaborate preparations for the trip into the swamp, Mrs. Jones +packed a lunch, and donned a huge straw hat and stout boots. + +However, she did not change the long, flowing skirt, which flopped about +her ankles as she and Penny walked through the meadow to Trapper Joe's +dock. + +From the porch, the old guide saw the pair and watched them warily. + +"We're takin' yer boat, Joe," the widow called to him from the creek's +edge. "We're makin' a little trip into the swamp." + +Joe pulled himself from the chair and came quickly to the dock. + +"Hold on now!" he protested. "Two wimmin can't go alone into the swamp! +Leastwise, not beyond Lookout Point." + +"Says who?" retorted the widow, already untying the boat. + +"That young 'un's talked you into goin' to Black Island! Ye can't do it. +You'll git lost in one o' the false channels. The hyacinths are bad this +year." + +The widow hesitated, then tossed her head as she dropped the package of +lunch into the skiff. + +"Ye forgit I was swamp raised! Git me the paddles and a pole, Joe. Don't +stand there gawkin'." + +"No wimmin ever went as far as Black Island. It hain't safe!" + +"My Paw took me there when I was a little girl. I hain't forgittin' the +way." + +"Ye'r stubborn as a mule!" Joe accused, glaring at her. "If you're dead +set on goin', I see I'll have to give in and go with ye. But it's agin my +best judgment." + +"No one asked ye to go with us, Joe," the widow said tartly. "We aim to +make this trip by ourselves. Jest git the paddles and pole." + +Joe threw up his hands in a gesture of defeat and started slowly for the +shack. "Wimmin!" he muttered. "There jest hain't no sense in 'em!" + +He took his time inside the shack, but finally returned with the +requested paddles and pole. + +"There ye are!" he snapped. "But I'm warnin' ye, if ye git into trouble +or lost, don't expect me to come after ye." + +"Now I'll take the kicker motor," the widow ordered, paying no heed to +his words. + +"Not my motor!" Joe exclaimed defiantly. "I paid sixty dollars fer it +secondhand and I hain't lettin' no female ruin it." + +"Ye can't expect me to blister my hands rowin' all day," the widow +replied. "We aim to make a quick trip." + +"Ye can't use the motor in all them hyacinths!" + +"Maybe not, but it'll take us through the open spots a heap faster. The +motor, Joe." + +Grumbling loudly, the guide went to the house once more. He came back +with the motor which he attached and started for the widow. + +"Thank ye kindly, Joe," she grinned at him as the boat pulled away from +the dock. "I'll make ye one of my apple pies when I git back." + +"_If ye get back_," the guide corrected morosely. + +Propelled by the motor, the skiff sped steadily through the channel and +came presently to the Hawkins' farm. The popping of the engine, which +could be heard some distance, drew Mrs. Hawkins to the dock. + +She signaled the boat as it drew near. + +"Howdy," the Widow Jones greeted her politely though with no warmth. She +throttled down the engine and drifted in toward shore. + +"Goin' in fer a little fishin', I take it," Mrs. Hawkins observed by way +of inquiry. "But where's yer fishin' poles?" + +"Left 'em ter home," the widow replied. + +"Then you hain't fishin'." + +"'Pears like yer right smart at usein' yer eyes," the widow agreed dryly. + +A slight frown which did not escape Penny, puckered the farm woman's +forehead. She seemed on the verge of speaking, then appeared to change +her mind. As the boat drifted on, she watched stolidly. + +"Never did like that woman," Mrs. Jones commented when the skiff had +rounded a bend. "She's got sharp eyes, and she don't approve 'cause we're +goin' inter the swamp together." + +"Why should she care?" Penny asked. + +"I wonder myself." + +"I've noticed that she always seems to be watching the entrance channel +into the swamp," Penny said thoughtfully. "Perhaps she is the one who +taps out those signals!" + +"Signals? What do you mean, young'un?" + +Penny told of the strange pounding noises she had heard during her +previous trip through the swamp. + +"I could almost wager Mrs. Hawkins will wait until we're a safe distance +away, and then signal!" the girl went on. "Don't I wish I could catch her +though!" + +"Maybe ye kin. We could shut off the motor and drift back and watch." + +Penny's eyes began to sparkle with excitement. "I'd love to do it. But +won't she be listening for the sound of our motor as we go deeper into +the swamp? If she doesn't hear it, she's apt to suspect something." + +"Ye've got a real head on yer shoulders," said the widow approvingly. "By +the way, I don't like to keep callin' ye young'un now we're good friends. +What's yer name?" + +"I thought you knew. I'm sorry. It's Penny Parker." + +"Penny! I never did hear o' a girl named after money." + +"I wasn't exactly," Penny smiled. "My real name is Penelope, but no one +ever liked it. So I'm called Penny." + +"Penelope, hain't sich a bad name. That's what I'll call ye." + +"About Mrs. Hawkins--" the girl reminded her. + +"Oh, yes, now if ye was a mind to find out about her, it wouldn't be so +hard." + +"How?" + +"We hain't gone fur into the swamp yet. I could let ye out here on the +bank and ye could slip back afoot to the bend in the channel." + +"Where I'd be able to watch the house!" + +"Ye got the idea, Penelope. All the while, I would keep goin' on in the +boat until the sound o' the motor jest naturally died out. Then I could +row back here and pick ye up agin." + +"Mrs. Jones, you're the one who has a head on your shoulders!" Penny +cried. "Let's do it!" + +The widow brought the skiff alongside the bank, steadying it as the girl +stepped ashore. + +"Ye got a watch?" she asked. + +"Yes." + +"Then I'll meet ye right here in 'bout three-quarters of an hour. I kin +keep track o' the time by lookin' at the sun." + +"That may not give me enough time," Penny said anxiously. + +"If yer late, I'll wait fer ye," the widow promised. "But try to be here. +If ye hain't we may havter give up the trip, 'cause it hain't sensible +startin' in late in the day." + +"I'll be here," Penny assured her. "If nothing happens in three-quarters +of an hour, I'll just give it up." + +The boat, it's motor popping steadily, slipped away. Penny scrambled up +the muddy bank, and finding a well-trod path, walked rapidly toward the +Hawkins' place. + +Soon she came to the bend in the creek, and there paused. From afar, she +could hear the retreating sound of the skiff's motor. + +Through a break in the bushes, the girl peered toward the distant +farmhouse. To her disappointment, the yard was now deserted, and Mrs. +Hawkins was nowhere in sight. + +"Maybe I was wrong," Penny thought. "I'd hate to waste all this valuable +time." + +For a half hour she waited. Twice Mrs. Hawkins came out of the house, +once to gather in clothes from the line and the second time to obtain a +pail of water. + +"I guess my hunch was crazy," Penny told herself. "I'll have to be +starting back to meet Mrs. Jones." + +The sound of the motorboat now had died out completely, so the girl knew +the widow already was on her way to their appointed meeting place. + +Turning away from the bushes, Penny paused for one last glance at the +farmhouse. The yard remained deserted. But as she sighed in +disappointment, the kitchen door again flew open. + +Mrs. Hawkins came outside and walked rapidly to the shed. She listened +attentively for a moment. Then from a peg on the outside wall, she took +down a big tin dishpan and a huge wooden mixing spoon. + +Penny watched with mounting excitement. This was the moment for which she +had waited! + +Carefully, the farm woman looked about to be certain no one was nearby. +Then with firm precision, she beat out a tattoo on the dishpan. + +"It's a signal to someone in the swamp!" guessed Penny. "In code she is +tapping out that Mrs. Jones and I are on our way into the interior!" + + + + + CHAPTER + 20 + _TRAILING HOD HAWKINS_ + + +After Mrs. Hawkins had pounded out the signal, she hung the dishpan on +its peg once more, and went to the door of the shed. Without opening it, +she spoke to someone inside the building. Penny was too far away to hear +what she said. + +In a minute, the woman turned away and vanished into the house. + +Penny waited a little while to be certain Mrs. Hawkins did not intend to +come outside again. Then, with an uneasy glance at her wrist watch, she +stole away to rejoin Mrs. Jones. + +The skiff was drawn up to shore by the time she reached the appointed +meeting place. + +"I was jest about to give you up," the widow remarked as the girl +scrambled into the boat. "Did ye learn what ye wanted to know?" + +Penny told her what she had seen. + +"'Pears you may be right about it bein' a signal," the widow agreed +thoughtfully. "We may be able to learn more too, 'cause whoever had his'n +ears tuned to Ma Hawkins' signal may figure we're deep in the swamp by +this time." + +"Let's keep on the alert as we near Lookout Point," Penny urged. + +Mrs. Jones nodded and silently dipped the paddle. + +Soon they came within view of the point. Passing beneath an overhanging +tree branch, the widow grasped it with one hand, causing the skiff to +swing sideways into a shelter of leaves. + +"See anyone, Penelope?" she whispered. + +"Not a soul." + +"Then maybe we was wrong about Ma Hawkins signalling anyone." + +"But I do see a boat beached on the point!" Penny added. "And see! +Someone is coming out of the bush now!" + +"Hod Hawkins!" + +Keeping quiet, the pair in the skiff waited to see what would happen. + +Hod came down to the water's edge, peering with a puzzled expression +along the waterway. He did not see the skiff, shielded by leaves and +dense shade. + +"Hit's all-fired queer," they heard him mutter. "I shore didn't see no +boat pass here this mawnin'. But Maw musta seen one go by or she wouldn't +heve pounded the pan." + +Hod sat down on a log, watching the channel. Penny and Mrs. Jones +remained where they were. Once the current, sluggish as it was, swung the +skiff against a projecting tree root. The resulting jar and scraping +sound seemed very loud to their ears. But the Hawkins youth did not hear. + +Penny and the widow were becoming weary of sitting in such cramped +positions under the tree branch. To their relief, Hod arose after a few +minutes. Reaching into the hollow log, he removed a tin pan somewhat +smaller than the dishpan Mrs. Hawkins had used a few minutes earlier. + +"He's going to signal!" Penny whispered excitedly. "Either to his mother, +or someone deeper in the swamp!" + +Already Hod was beating out a pattern on the pan, very similar to the one +the girl had heard before. + +After a few minutes, the swamper thrust the pan back into its hiding +place. He hesitated, and then to the surprise of Penny and Mrs. Jones, +stepped into his boat. + +"If he comes this way, he's certain to see us!" Penny thought uneasily. + +With never a glance toward the leafy hideout, Hod shoved off, rowing +deeper into the swamp. + +"Dare we follow him?" whispered Penny. + +"That's what I aim to do," the Widow Jones rejoined grimly. "I hain't +afeared o' the likes o' Hod Hawkins! Moreover, fer a long time, I been +calculatin' to find out what takes him and Coon so offen into the swamp." + +"You mean recently don't you, Mrs. Jones. Just since Danny Deevers +escaped from prison?" + +"I don't know nothin' about Danny Deevers," the widow replied as she +picked up the paddle again. "I do know that the Hawkins' been up to +mischief fer more'n a year." + +"Then you must have an idea what that city truck was doing on the swamp +road the other night." + +"An idear--yes," agreed Mrs. Jones. "But I hain't sure, and until I am, I +hain't makin' no accusations." + +Now that Hod's boat was well away, the widow noiselessly sent the skiff +forward. + +"We kin follow close enough to jest about keep him in sight if we don't +make no noise," she warned. "But we gotta be keerful." + +Penny nodded and became silent. + +Soon the channel was no more than a path through high water-grass and +floating hyacinths. Hod propelled his boat with powerful muscles, +alternating with forked pole and paddle. At times, when Penny took over +to give the Widow Jones a "breather," she was hard pressed not to lose +the trail. + +"We're headin' straight fer Black Island, hit 'pears to me," Mrs. Jones +whispered once. "The channel don't look the same though as when I was +through here last. But I reckon if we git lost we kin find our way out +somehow." + +Soon the skiff was inching through a labyrinth of floating hyacinths; +there were few stretches of open water. Shallow channels to confuse the +unwary, radiated out in a dozen directions, many of them with no outlets. + +Always, however, before the hyacinths closed in, the Widow Jones was able +to pick up the path through which Hod had passed. + +"From the way he's racin' along, he's been this way plenty o' times," she +remarked. "We're headin' fer Black Island right enough." + +The sun now was high overhead, beating down on Penny's back and shoulders +with uncomfortable warmth. Mrs. Jones brought out the lunch and a jug of +water. One ate while the other rowed. + +"We're most to Black Island," the widow informed presently. "If ye look +sharp through the grass, ye can see thet point o' high land. Thet's the +beginnin' o' the island--biggest one in the swamp." + +"But where is Hod?" + +"He musta pulled up somewheres in the bushes. We'll have to be keerful +and go slow now or we'll be caught." + +"Listen!" whispered Penny. + +Although she could as yet see no one on the island, voices floated out +across the water. + +"We heerd yer signal, Hod," a man said, "but we hain't seen no one." + +"A boat musta come through, or Maw wouldn't heve beat the pan." + +"Whoever 'twas, they probably went off somewheres else," the other man +replied. "Glad yer here anyhow, Hod. We got a lot o' work to do and ye +can help us." + +Hod's reply was inaudible, for obviously the men were moving away into +the interior of the island. + +"Thet was old Ezekiel talkin' to his son," the Widow Jones declared, +although Penny already had guessed as much. "They've gone off somewheres, +so if we're a mind to land, now's our only chance." + +Penny gazed at her companion in surprise and admiration. + +"You're not afraid?" she inquired softly. + +"Maybe I am," the Widow Jones admitted. "But that hain't no excuse fer me +turnin' tail! This here's a free country ain't it?" + +She poled the skiff around the point to a thick clump of bushes. There +she pulled up, and with Penny's help made the skiff secure to a tree root +hidden from sight by overhanging branches. + +Scrambling up the muddy bank, the pair paused to take bearings. Voices +now had died away and to all appearances the island might have been +deserted. + +Treading with utmost caution, Penny and the Widow Jones tramped along the +shore until they came to a path. Abruptly, the girl halted, sniffing the +air. + +"I smell wood burning," she whispered. "From a campfire probably." + +"An' I smell somethin' more," added the Widow Jones grimly. "Cain't ye +notice thet sickish, sweet odor in the air?" + +"Yes, what is it?" + +"We'll find out," replied Mrs. Jones. "But if we git cotched, I'm warnin' +ye we won't never git away from here. Ye sure ye want to go on?" + +"Very sure." + +"Then come on. And be keerful not to crackle any leaves underfoot." + +The path led to a low, tunnellike opening in the thicket. Penny, who +again had taken the lead, crouched low, intending to crawl through. + +Before she could do so, she heard a stifled cry behind her. Turning, she +saw that Mrs. Jones had sagged to one knee, and her face was twisted with +pain. + +Penny ran to her. "You're hurt!" she whispered. "Bitten by a snake?" + +Mrs. Jones shook her head, biting her lip to keep back the tears. She +pointed to her ankle, caught beneath a tree root. + +"I stumbled and wrenched it 'most off," she murmured. "Hit's a bad sprain +and I'm afeared I can't go on." + + + + + CHAPTER + 21 + _THE TUNNEL OF LEAVES_ + + +Penny raised the woman to her feet, but as Mrs. Jones tried to take a +step, she saw that the sprain indeed was a bad one. + +Already the ankle was swelling and skin had been broken. At each +attempted step, the widow winced with pain, suffering intensely. + +"If I kin only git back to the boat, I'll be all right," she said, +observing Penny's worried expression. "Drat it all! Jest when I wanted to +find out what the Hawkins' are doin' on this island!" + +Supporting much of the widow's weight on her shoulders, Penny helped her +back to the skiff. + +"I guess we may as well start back," she said, unable to hide her bitter +disappointment. + +The widow reached for an oar, then looked keenly at Penny and put it back +again. + +"'Course it would be a risky thing fer ye to go on by yerself while I +wait here in the boat--" + +Penny's slumped shoulders straightened. Her blue eyes began to dance. + +"You mean you don't mind waiting here while I see where that tunnel of +leaves leads?" she demanded. + +"'Pears like we've come too fur not to find out what's goin' on. Think ye +can git in there and back without being cotched?" + +"I'm sure of it!" + +The widow sighed. "I hain't sure of it, but you got more gumpshun than +any other young'un I ever met. Go on if ye'r a-goin', and if anyone sees +ye, light out fer the boat. I'll be ready to shove off." + +"Mrs. Jones, you're a darling!" Penny whispered, giving the gnarled hand +a quick pressure. "I'll make it all right!" + +Moving directly to the thicket, she dropped on all fours and started +through the leafy tunnel where Hod had disappeared. The sweetish odor now +was much plainer than before. + +She had crawled only a few feet, when a hand reached out of nowhere and +grasped her shoulder. + +Penny whirled around, expecting to see a member of the Hawkins' family. +For a moment she saw no one, and then from the thicket beside the tunnel, +a figure became visible. The hold on her shoulder relaxed. + +"Who are you?" she demanded in a whisper. + +"Friend." + +"Then show yourself!" + +The leaves rustled, and a dark-haired lad with tangled curls crawled into +the tunnel beside her. His shoes were ripped, his clothing dirty and in +tatters. A rifle was grasped in his hand. + +"Bada men," he warned, jerking his head in the direction Penny had been +crawling. "Mucha better go back boat." + +"Who are you and why do you warn me?" Penny asked, deeply puzzled. + +The boy did not reply. + +Light dawned suddenly upon Penny. "You're the one who saved me from the +boar!" + +The boy's quick grin was acknowledgment he had fired the shot. + +"But why did you run away?" Penny asked. "Why didn't you wait and let me +thank you for saving my life?" + +"You giva me to police maybe," replied the boy in broken English. "I +staya here--starva first!" + +"Who are you?" + +"Name no matter." + +Penny's mind had been working swiftly. She was convinced the boy who had +saved her also was the one who had stolen Trapper Joe's gun. Evidently, +he had needed it to survive in the swamp. He was thin and his eyes had a +hungry look, she noted. + +"How did you get to this island?" she inquired. "Do you have a boat?" + +"Make-a raft." The boy's eyes darted down the leafy tunnel. "No good +here," he said, seizing Penny's arm and pulling her back into the +thicket. "Someone-a come!" + +Scarcely had the pair flattened themselves on the ground than Ezekiel +Hawkins crawled out through the tunnel, pushing his gun ahead of him. +Standing upright not three feet from Penny and her companion, he gazed +sharply about. + +"Thought I heerd voices," he muttered. + +Penny held her breath, knowing that if the swamper should walk down the +shore even a dozen yards, he would see the Widow Jones waiting in the +skiff. + +To her great relief, Ezekiel moved in the opposite direction. After +satisfying himself that no boat approached the island, he returned +through the tunnel and disappeared. + +"What's going on back in there?" Penny whispered as soon as it was safe +to ask. + +"Bada men," her companion said briefly. + +"You're driving me to distraction!" Penny muttered, losing patience. "Do +those swampers know you're here on the island?" + +The boy shook his tangled curls, grinning broadly. "Chasa me once. No +catch." + +"You're Italian, aren't you?" Penny asked suddenly. + +A guarded look came over the lad's sun-tanned face. His brown eyes lost +some of their friendliness. + +"Now I have it!" Penny exclaimed before he could speak. "You're Antonio +Tienta, wanted by Immigration authorities for slipping into this country +illegally!" + +The boy did not deny the accusation, and the half-frightened, defiant +look he gave her, confirmed that she had struck upon the truth. + +"I no go back!" he muttered. "I starva first!" + +"Don't become so excited, or those men will hear you and we'll both be +caught," Penny warned. "Tell me about yourself, Tony. I already know a +little." + +"How mucha you know?" he asked cautiously. + +"That you acted as a guide to G.I.'s in Italy and stowed aboard a +troopship coming to this country. Even now, I guess authorities aren't +certain how you slipped past New York officials." + +"No trouble," boasted the lad. "On ship my friendsa the G.I.'s they feeda +me. We dock New York; I hide under bunk; all G.I.'s leava boat. Boat go +to other dock. Sailor friend giva me clothes. Sailors leave-a boat. I +slippa out. No one geta wise." + +"Then where did you go?" + +"Stay in-a New York only two--three days. Go hitchhike into country. +Work-a on farm. No like it. Hear Immigration men-a come, so I go. Come-a +one day to swamp. Good place; I stay." + +"You've not had an easy time keeping alive in this dismal place," Penny +said sympathetically. "Isn't that Trapper Joe's gun?" + +"Steal-a one night," the boy agreed. "Give back some-a time." + +Penny studied the youth with growing concern. "Tony," she said, "you +can't hope to stay here long. The only sensible thing is to give yourself +up." + +"No! I die first! American best country in all-a the world! No one ever +take-a me back!" + +"But you can't expect to elude Immigration officials very long. If you +give yourself up, they might be lenient with you." + +"They send-a me back," Tony said stubbornly. "I stay right-a here!" + +"To starve? You're hungry now, aren't you?" + +"Sure. But in Italy I hungry many times-a too." + +"Tony, we'll talk about this later," Penny sighed. "Right now, I want to +learn what's going on here at the island. Know anything about it?" + +"Sure," the boy grinned. "Know plenty." + +"Then suppose you tell me, Tony." + +"I show-a you," the boy offered. + +Avoiding the leafy tunnel, he led Penny in a half circle through another +section of dense thicket. + +Soon he motioned for her to drop on her knees. + +The sickish odor rising through the trees now was very disagreeable +again. + +A few yards farther on, Tony halted. Still lying flat on his stomach, he +carefully pulled aside the bushes so that his companion might see. + + + + + CHAPTER + 22 + _HELP FROM TONY_ + + +Through the leaves, Penny saw a fairly large clearing. Three men, Ezekiel +Hawkins and his two sons, were squatted about a big hardwood fire over +which was a large copper cooker. + +A pipe extended above the cover, connected with a series of coils +immersed in a barrel of cold water. + +"A still!" the girl whispered. "They're making alcohol here and selling +it in the city! That's what those containers held that were trucked +away!" + +"Make-a the stuff every day," volunteered Tony. "I watch--sometimes I +steal-a the lunch. They very mad but no catch." + +"They're probably afraid you'll tell revenue officers," Penny whispered. + +From one of the barrels, Coon had taken a dipper filled with the pale +fluid. As he drank deeply from it, his father said sharply: + +"Thet's enough, Coon! We gotta git this stuff made an moved out o' here +tonight, and ye won't be fitten." + +"What's yer rush, Pappy? We got termorrer, hain't we?" Coon sat down, and +bracing his back against a tree trunk, yawned drowsily. + +"Ye want to be caught by them lousy revenooers?" + +"There hain't no danger. Hain't we got a fool-proof system? If anyone +starts this way, Maw'll spot 'em and give us the signal." + +"Folkses is gittin' wise, and we hain't none too popular hereabouts. +We're moving this stuff out tonight." + +"Jest as you say, Pappy." Coon stirred reluctantly. + +"An we hain't operatin' the still no more till things quiets down. I +don't like it that gal snoopin' around here, claimin' to be lookin' fer +her dawg." + +"Ye should have kilt the dawg, stead o' keepin' him," Hod spoke up as he +dumped a sack of mash into a tub. "Tole ye it would make us trouble." + +"Yer always tellin' me!" Ezekiel retorted. "Thet dog's handy to heve +here, an I never was one to kill a helpless animal without cause. Now git +to yer work, and let me do the thinkin' fer this outfit!" + +Penny's curiosity now had been fully satisfied as to the illegal business +in which the Hawkins' family had engaged, but she also felt a little +disappointed. + +She had hoped the men would speak of Danny Deevers, perhaps revealing his +hideout. The convict was nowhere to be seen, and there was no evidence he +ever had been on Black Island. + +Not wishing to leave Mrs. Jones too long alone in the boat, Penny +presently motioned to Tony that she had seen and heard enough. + +Inch by inch, they crept backwards away from the tiny clearing. + +Then suddenly Penny stopped, for Ezekiel was speaking again: + +"We gotta do something about Danny and git him off our hands." + +Penny instantly became all ears, listening intently to Coon's reply: + +"Now ye'r talkin', Pappy. Takin' him in was a big mistake. Hit's apt ter +land us in jail if them city officers come snoopin' around here agin." + +"There wouldn't have been no risk, if Hod and Danny hadn't taken the +widder's car and drive into town. Didn't ye have no sense, Hod?" + +"Danny wanted to go," Hod whined. "How was we ter know another car was +goin' to smash into us? Thet fool newspaper camera man an' the girl had +to be there!" + +"That wasn't the wust," Ezekiel went on as he fed the fire with chips. +"Then ye follered 'em to the theater!" + +"Danny said we had ter git the picture or they'd print it in the +newspaper." + +"But did ye git the picture?" + +"No," Hod growled. + +"Instead o' that, ye let Danny git into a fight." + +"'Twasn't no fight and nobody knew it was him. He seen an enemy o' his'n +go into the building. I tried ter talk him out o' it, but he wouldn't +listen. He crawled in through a window, and slugged the feller." + +"He did have sense enough to git rid o' the car, but ye shouldn't have +left it so close to our place," Ezekiel pointed out. "That newspaper +gal's been out here twict now, and she's catchin' on!" + +"She's only a gal," Hod said carelessly. "Ye do too much worryin', +Pappy." + +"I do the thinkin' fer this family. An' I say things is gittin' too hot +fer comfort. We gotta git rid o' Danny tonight." + +"How ye aimin' ter do it, Pappy?" inquired Coon. "Be ye fergittin' he's +got $50,000 hid away somewheres an' he hain't give us our slice yet?" + +"Fer all his promises, maybe he don't calculate ever to give us our cut! +Ever think o' that?" + +"Danny would double cross us if he got the chanst," Hod agreed. "Maybe +ye'r right, Pappy!" + +"Doggone tootin', I am! We git rid o' him tonight, soon's we git back +from this island. But first we make him tell where he hid the money!" + +"How we gonna do it, Pappy?" asked Coon. + +"Hain't figured fer sure, but he's the same as our prisoner, ain't he? If +we was to turn him over to the police, claimin' we found him hidin' out +in the swamp, he couldn't prove no different." + +"And we'd git $10,000 reward!" Hod added. "We could use thet money!" + +"I hain't one to double cross a pal if it can be helped," Ezekiel amended +hastily. "Now if Danny's a mind to tell where he hid the money, and +split, we'll help him git out o' here tonight." + +"And if he won't cough up?" + +"We'll turn him over to police and claim the reward." + +To Penny, it now was clear Hod Hawkins had been with Danny Deevers at the +time Jerry was slugged. Also, the conversation made it evident the +escaped convict had sought a hideout somewhere near if not in the swamp. + +Tensely, the girl waited for further details of the escape plan, but none +were forthcoming. The three men applied themselves to their work and said +no more. + +"My best bet is to get away from here fast and notify police!" Penny +thought. + +Noiselessly, she and Tony retreated through the thicket to a shoreline +some distance away. + +"Listen, Tony!" Penny said hurriedly. "I've got to go away for awhile! +Will you stay here and keep watch of these men for me?" + +"I stay," the boy promised soberly. + +"I'll come back as soon as I can. And Tony! Please don't run away. I want +to do something for you--perhaps I can." + +"No go back to Italy," the boy said firmly. "Stay-a here--you come back. +Then go far away. No trust pol-eese." + +Penny dared not take time to try to convince the youth of the folly of +fleeing from Immigration authorities. Saying goodbye, she ran to the boat +where the Widow Jones anxiously awaited her. + +"Shove off!" she ordered tersely. "I've seen plenty! I'll tell you about +it, once we're away from here!" + +Mrs. Jones gave a mighty push with her pole, and the skiff floated out of +its hiding place into the hyacinth-clogged channel. + +"How is your foot?" Penny inquired. "Better let me paddle." + +"It hain't hurtin' so much now," the widow replied without giving up the +paddle. "I'll steer until we're out o' these floatin' hyacinth beds." + +"One place looks exactly like another to me," Penny said anxiously. "So +many false channels!" + +"Ye git a feel fer it after awhile. There's a current to follow, but it's +mighty faint." + +"We must get back as fast as we can," Penny urged, glancing nervously +over her shoulder toward Black Island. In terse sentences she told of her +meeting with Tony and all they had seen in the clearing. + +"So the Hawkins' are runnin' a still!" commented the widow. "Humph! Jest +as I figured, only I didn't dast say so without proof." + +"The important thing is they're hiding Danny Deevers! Where they're +keeping him will be for the police to discover as soon as they arrest +Ezekiel and his sons." + +"I'll git ye back fast," the widow promised grimly. "Soon's we git out o' +these beds and away from the island, I kin switch on the motor." + +Safely out of sight of the island, the couple found themselves in a +labyrinth of floating hyacinths with no clearly defined channel. The +Widow Jones tried a half dozen of them, each time being forced to return +to a point she could identify as their starting place. + +"Penelope, I can't seem to find the main channel," she confessed at last. +"'Pears like we're lost." + +"Oh, we can't be!" Penny exclaimed. "We must get back quickly!" + +"I'm a-tryin' hard as I kin," the widow said doggedly. + +"Let me paddle for awhile," Penny offered. "Your ankle is hurting and +you're tired. Just tell me which way to go." + +Mrs. Jones indicated a channel which opened in a wide sweep. But before +Penny had paddled far, it played out. The sun, sinking lower in the sky, +warned the pair how fast time was passing. + +For another hour they sought desperately to find the exit channel. +Although they took turns at paddling, and used the motor whenever the +passageway was not too clogged, they soon became exhausted. + +"It hain't no use," the widow said at last. "We're tuckered out, and +we're goin' around in circles. We'll pull up on shore and take a little +rest." + +Penny nodded miserably. + +Herons flew lazily over as the couple pulled the boat out on the soft +muck. Seeking a high point of land, the widow flung herself flat on her +back to rest. + +For a time, Penny sat beside her, thinking over everything that had +occurred. It was bitterly disappointing to realize that due purely to a +stroke of bad luck, Danny Deevers undoubtedly would elude police. + +"Mrs. Jones and I may not find our way out of here in twenty-four hours!" +she thought. "By that time, the Hawkins' family will have helped him +escape!" + +Tormented by weariness, Penny stretched out beside the widow. Insects +annoyed her for awhile. Then she dozed off. + +Much later when the girl awoke, she saw that her companion still slept. +The shadow of dusk already was heavy upon the swamp. + +Sitting up, Penny gazed resentfully across the water at an almost solid +sea of floating plants. + +"Such miserable luck!" she muttered. "Of all times to be lost!" + +Penny's gaze remained absently upon the hyacinth bed. The plants slowly +were drifting westward. At first their movement signified nothing to the +girl. Then suddenly, she sprang to her feet. + +Excitedly she shook Mrs. Jones by the arm. "The channel!" she cried. "I +can see it now! If we move fast, we still may get out of the swamp before +night!" + + + + + CHAPTER + 23 + _LOST IN THE HYACINTHS_ + + +Mrs. Jones shaded her eyes from the slanting rays of the low-hung sun to +gaze for a long moment at the almost motionless hyacinth bed blanketing +the water. + +"Right ye are, Penelope!" she exclaimed jubilantly. "The channel's plain +to see now! Help me git to the boat, and we'll be out o' this tangle." + +Once in the skiff, the widow again seized the paddle. + +"We gotta inch our way along fer a little," she explained. "If we don't +foller the drift o' the bed, we'll be lost agin and that hain't smart." + +Steadily the widow shoved the little boat through the water plants, +seldom hesitating in choice of the channel. + +"I got the feel o' it agin!" she declared happily. "We'll be out o' this +in no time!" + +However, dark shadows were deepening to blackness when the boat finally +came into water open enough to permit use of the motor. Propelled by the +engine, the skiff presently approached Lookout Point. + +"Let's paddle from here," proposed Penny. "Ezekiel and his sons may be +out of the swamp by this time. We don't want them to see us or guess +where we've been." + +Mrs. Jones shut off the motor and with a tired sigh, offered the paddle +to Penny. The channel now was plainly marked and easy to follow, even in +semi-darkness. Whenever the girl hesitated, the widow told her which way +to steer. + +"We're out of it now," Mrs. Jones said as lights of the Hawkins' +farmhouse twinkled through the trees. "Reckon Trapper Joe's fit to be +tied, we been gone so long!" + +Penny allowed the skiff to drift with the current. As it floated past the +Hawkins' dock, loud voices came from the direction of the woodshed. + +"Sounds like an argument goin' on," observed the widow. + +Penny brought the skiff in and made fast to the dock. + +"What ye aimin' to do?" the widow inquired in surprise. + +"Wait here!" Penny whispered. "I have a hunch what's going on and I must +find out!" Before Mrs. Jones could protest, she slipped away into the +darkness. + +Stealthily the girl approached the woodshed. A voice which she recognized +as Ezekiel's, now plainly could be heard. + +"Danny, we've fed ye and kept ye here fer days in this woodshed, and it +hain't safe!" the speaker said. "Ye gotta git out tonight--now--through +the swamp. The river'll take ye out the other end, and ye maybe kin git +out o' the state." + +"And maybe I'll be caught!" the other voice replied. Penny knew it was +Danny Deevers who spoke. "I'm staying right here!" + +"Coon and Hod'll guide ye through the swamp, so ye'll be safe enough till +ye git to the other side," Ezekiel argued. "We hain't keepin' ye here +another day. You got clothes and food and a good chanst to git away." + +Penny crept close to the wall of the woodshed. Peering through a small, +dirty window on the far side she saw four men seated on kegs in a room +dimly lighted by a lantern. + +The man facing her plainly was Danny Deevers. Opposite him were Ezekiel +and his two sons, both armed with rifles. + +"Hain't no use talkin' any more," Ezekiel said flatly. "Ye'r leavin' here +tonight, Danny. Maw's fixin' ye a lunch to take." + +"Paw, hain't you forgittin' something?" Coon prodded his father. + +"Hain't fergittin' nothin', Coon. Danny, 'fore you go, there's a matter +o' money to be settled between us. Ye got $50,000 hid somewheres close, +and we want our cut fer hidin' ye out from the police." + +Danny laughed unpleasantly. + +"You leeches won't get a penny! Not a penny! No one but me knows where +that money is, and I'm not telling!" + +"Then I calculate Hod and Coon cain't guide ye through the swamp +tonight," Ezekiel said coolly. "We got word today the police got a hint +ye'r here. We'll help 'em, by turning you in. Hod, git to the phone and +call Sheriff Burtwell. Tell 'im we cotched this feller hidin' in the +swamp." + +"You betcha!" Hod said with alacrity. + +"Wait!" Danny stopped him before he could reach the door. "How much of a +cut do you dirty blackmailers want?" + +"We don't like them words, Danny," Ezekiel said. "All we ask is a fair +amount fer the risk we been takin' keepin' ye here." + +"How much?" + +"A third cut." + +"I'll give you $10,000." + +"'Tain't enough." + +"You'll not get another cent. Take it or leave it. Turn me in if you want +to! You'll involve yourself because I'll swear you hid me here." + +"We hain't aimin' to be hard on ye, Danny," Ezekiel said hastily. "If we +was to agree to the $10,000, kin ye deliver tonight?" + +"In fifteen minutes!" + +"Ye hain't got the money on ye or hid in the woodshed!" + +"No." + +"But it's somewheres close. I knowed that." + +"If I give you $10,000, you'll guide me through the swamp and help me get +away?" + +"We will," Ezekiel promised. + +"Then get a spade," Danny directed. "The money's buried under a fence +post by the creek. I hid it there a year ago before they sent me up. +Marked the post with a V-shaped slash of my jackknife." + +"Git a spade, Hod," Ezekiel ordered. + +Penny waited for no more. Stealing away, she ran to the boat where Mrs. +Jones awaited her. + +"No questions now!" she said tersely. "Just go as fast as you can and +telephone the police! Also call my father, Anthony Parker at the +_Riverview Star_! Ask him to come here right away and bring help!" + +"You've found Danny Deevers!" the widow guessed, preparing to cast off. + +"Yes, and maybe the stolen money! But there's not a second to lose! Let +me have your knife, and go as fast as you can!" + +Without questioning the odd request, Mrs. Jones gave her the knife and +seized a paddle. Penny shoved the skiff far out into the stream. + +Then she turned and with a quick glance toward the woodshed, darted to +the nearby fence. Rapidly she examined the wooden posts, searching for a +V-shaped mark. She could find no slashes of any kind. At any moment she +knew the men might emerge from the woodshed and see her. + +"Somehow I've got to keep them here until Mrs. Jones brings the police!" +she thought. "But how?" + +Suddenly an idea came to her. It might not work, but there was an outside +chance it would. With desperate haste, she slashed several posts with +V-shaped marks. + +"That may confuse them for a few minutes," she reasoned. "But not for +long." + +The door of the woodshed now had opened. Penny dropped flat in the tall +weeds near the fence. + +Without seeing her, the four men came with a spade and began to inspect +posts scarcely a dozen yards from where the girl lay. + +"Here's a marked one!" called Hod as he found one of the posts Penny had +slashed. + +In the darkness the men did not notice that the cut was a fresh one. They +began to dig. Silently the work went on until a large hole had been +excavated. + +"Where's the money?" Ezekiel demanded. "Danny, if ye'r pullin' a fast +one--" + +"I tell you I buried it under a post!" the other insisted. "Thought it +was farther down the fence, but this one was marked." + +Ezekiel flashed his lantern full on the post which now had been tilted +far over on its side. + +"The post's marked," he confirmed. "Fresh new slashes." + +"Let's see!" Danny exclaimed. He examined the marking briefly and +straightened up. "I never made those cuts! Someone's tricked me!" + +Excited by the discovery, the men now moved from post to post. Other +slashes were found. + +"Here's the one with my mark!" Danny cried, pointing to a post close to +where Penny lay hidden. "Who slashed these others? Someone must have +learned where I buried the money!" + +"It does look kinda bad," said Ezekiel. "But there hain't been no diggin' +by this post. Git busy, boys!" + +Taking turns, Coon and Hod fell to with the spade. Soon they had +uncovered three large tin cans filled with bank notes. + +"It's all here!" Danny said jubilantly. "Every dollar!" + +Ezekiel blew out the lantern light, looking carefully about the yard. +"There hain't no time to divide the money now," he said. "We gotta git +you through the swamp, Danny, before them snoopin' police come around. +Bring the cans and come on! We're moving out o' here right now!" + +Hod shuffled off to get the boat ready as the others each picked up a can +and followed quickly. + + + + + CHAPTER + 24 + _UNDER THE FENCE POST_ + + +Penny was tormented with worry as she saw the men walk hurriedly to the +creek where they launched a flat-bottomed boat belonging to Ezekiel. Soon +the craft was lost in the blackness of the swamp channel. + +"There goes my chance to catch Danny and recover the stolen money!" she +thought. "Oh, what can I do to prevent them from getting away?" + +Another boat had been tied up at the dock, but Penny knew she never would +dare enter the swamp alone at night. In any case, what chance would she +have against four armed men? + +"If only Mrs. Jones hadn't hurt her ankle!" she thought. "It will take +her a long while to reach a telephone, and help may not get here for an +hour!" + +As Penny stood gazing gloomily toward the swamp, a shaft of light cut +fleetingly across the water. The flash came from the headbeam of a car +swinging up the lane to the Hawkins' house. + +Not knowing who the arrivals might be, the girl stepped behind a tree to +wait. Soon the car came closer, halting with a jerk. + +From the sedan stepped Mr. Parker, Salt, and Jerry Livingston. Scarcely +believing her eyes, Penny ran to meet them. + +"Oh, Dad!" she cried. "You did get Mrs. Jones' message!" + +"Message?" he inquired. "Why, no! We were worried because you had been +gone so long, so we came out here to find you. What's this all about?" + +Penny rapidly told of Danny's flight into the swamp with the stolen +money. + +"If Mrs. Jones reaches a phone, police should get here any minute!" she +added. + +"In the meantime, we can't let those men escape!" Mr. Parker exclaimed. +"Salt, you stay here and wait for the police. If they don't come in ten +minutes, go after them!" + +"Sure, Chief!" + +"Jerry, you come with me," the publisher directed, untying the boat at +the dock. "We'll try to keep those men in sight and mark the way for +police to follow." + +As Penny followed Jerry into the boat, her father protested quickly: + +"Penny, you know you can't go! Danny Deevers is a desperate character." + +"If you expect to capture him, you'll have to take me, Dad. They'll +probably follow the main channel to Black Island and beyond. You'll be +lost before you've covered half the distance." + +"All right, come along," Mr. Parker agreed unwillingly. + +The boat shoved off into the cool night. + +Fairly certain the Hawkins' boat would pass Lookout Point, Penny directed +her father and Jerry to row toward it. Soon she caught a glimpse of a +moving light through the trees. + +"That's their boat!" she exclaimed. "Ezekiel must have lighted his +lantern again!" + +Scarcely had she spoken than those in the Parker craft were startled to +hear a metallic pounding sound from the direction of the Hawkins' +farmhouse. + +"The dishpan signal!" Penny cried in dismay. "We forgot about Mrs. +Hawkins! Evidently she saw us leave the dock and is warning her menfolks! +Now they'll know someone is following them!" + +Mr. Parker's face became very grave as the girl revealed the significance +of the signal. Penny also told him what she and Mrs. Jones had learned on +Black Island. + +"Unarmed, we've no chance to capture those men," he commented. "Our best +bet is to keep them in sight, marking the trail well for police to +follow." + +"And hope they do," Jerry added grimly. + +Breaking overhanging tree limbs, and slashing trunks to blaze the trail, +the party passed Lookout Point. + +When they were perhaps twenty yards beyond the isle, a bullet suddenly +whizzed through the trees, only a few feet above their heads. The shot +had been fired from the island. + +"Duck low!" Mr. Parker ordered. "They've taken refuge there!" + +As the trio remained motionless, another bullet whined over their heads. + +"Dad, it's only a trick to divert us!" Penny whispered. "One of the +Hawkins' boys probably has stayed on the island, but the others have gone +on! See through the trees!" + +Jerry and Mr. Parker peered where she pointed and caught the brief flash +of lantern light. + +"You're right!" the publisher agreed. "Row on, Jerry! We're practically +out of range of Lookout Point now." + +The boat pushed on. A light mist was rising from the water and the night +was very dark. Shielded by the blackness, the trio slipped away without +becoming the target for another bullet. + +"We've got to keep that other boat in sight!" Mr. Parker said grimly. "If +we lose it, we may never find our way out of this place!" + +"And if we catch up, we may never be allowed to get out!" Jerry observed. + +Penny, who scarcely had taken her eyes from the moving point of light +ahead, now exclaimed: + +"They've blown out the lantern!" + +"Then they may have seen us," Mr. Parker muttered. "If only we were +armed!" + +Cautiously, the party proceeded. A few minutes later as the boat passed a +high point of land several hundred yards deeper in the swamp, another +bullet whizzed dangerously close overhead. + +"Where'd that come from?" Mr. Parker demanded, shielding Penny with his +body. + +Jerry pointed to the high point of land on the right hand side of the +channel. "Those birds must have pulled up there and hope to pick us off!" +he whispered. + +Still another bullet whined close over their heads, splashing as it +struck the water. + +Hurriedly Jerry steered the boat into a clump of bushes. All remained +motionless and silent. + +Bullets kept splattering the water, though farther away. + +"We're in a pocket!" Mr. Parker fumed. "They can pick us off almost at +will if we stay here!" + +"What's our move, Chief?" Jerry asked anxiously. + +"Let's back-track to the farm and await police. It's the only thing we +can do." + +As a lull came in the firing, Jerry shoved off and rowed rapidly back +toward Lookout Point. All crouched low in the boat, but no shots were +fired at them. + +"They're satisfied we've turned back," Mr. Parker said. "That was what +they wanted." + +However, as Lookout Point loomed up, the party was disconcerted to see a +tall, lean figure silhouetted there. + +"Stay where ye be, or I'll fire!" the man shouted. "If ye try to pass, +I'll sink ye'r boat!" + +"It's Ezekiel!" Penny whispered. + +Mr. Parker signaled Jerry to row back out of range. "We've trapped +ourselves between two fires!" he muttered in disgust. "Ezekiel stayed +here on purpose to guard the channel while the others make their +getaway." + +"Danny could be captured easily if only we could get word to Salt and the +police," Jerry added. + +Penny and her father nodded gloomily. Salt, they knew, would follow their +trail into the swamp as soon as police reached the Hawkins' farm. But +Ezekiel from his point of vantage, would fire upon them before they +realized they were running into danger. + +"We could chance it and try to push through," Jerry proposed. + +"Ezekiel's not bluffing," Mr. Parker replied. "Those first shots were a +warning. If we attempt to pass now, he may shoot to kill." + +"There's one way we might bring help," Jerry said, staring thoughtfully +at the grim figure guarding the channel. + +"How?" Penny demanded eagerly. + +"You and your father would have to wait on the bank and let me take the +boat." + +"Too risky," Mr. Parker said. "You never could get through." + +"I'd try an old trick," the reporter explained. "When Ezekiel starts +shooting, I'll upset the boat and float beneath it until I'm past the +point. I'm a good swimmer and can hold my breath a long while. Anyway, +after the boat is upset, there will be a pocket of air beneath it." + +"It might not work." + +"Let me try it. Unless we get word through, Danny Deevers is certain to +escape." + +After lengthy whispered debate, Mr. Parker reluctantly agreed to the +plan. Retreating beyond Ezekiel's range of vision, the boat brought up on +shore where Penny and her father alighted. + +"Wait right here!" Jerry directed. "I'll be back for you in a few +minutes!" + +Boldly the reporter pushed off alone in the boat, drifting down channel. +Before he had gone many yards, Ezekiel challenged him. + +"Ye come another foot, and I'm lettin' ye have it!" + +Jerry shouted an insult. But as Ezekiel's gun spat, he upset the boat, +disappearing beneath it. + +"Oh, Dad!" Penny murmured anxiously, watching the craft float slowly +downstream past the point. "Was Jerry really hit?" + +"I don't think so." + +"What if Ezekiel fires again?" + +"He can't harm Jerry now unless he's forced to come up for air." + +Anxiously the trio watched the overturned boat. Unless Jerry had found +the pocket of air, they knew not even an expert swimmer could remain so +long underwater. + +Finally the boat was beyond their range of vision, blotted out by +darkness. + +"Jerry has nerve!" Mr. Parker commented. "He's safely through now." + +Nervously the publisher and Penny kept attentive watch of Lookout Point, +fearful lest Ezekiel launch a boat and try to capture them. To their +intense relief, the swamper made no such move. Occasionally, they caught +brief glimpses of him as he shifted his position. + +Directing all their attention upon Ezekiel, Penny and her father paid +less heed to the channel. Near them was a passage so narrow a boatman +could have reached out to touch bushes on either side. + +A slight rustling sound close by suddenly startled Penny. + +"What was that, Dad?" she whispered. + +"Only the wind," he reassured her. "Ezekiel's still over there on the +point. We're safe enough." + +Even as he made the observation, a boat moved out from behind the screen +of leaves. Penny and her father found themselves gazing directly into the +barrel of a gun. + +"Safe, are ye?" Coon Hawkins shouted in glee. "We got ye now, ye sneakin' +snoopers! Ye won't do no more spyin' in this swamp!" + +With him in the boat were his brother and Danny Deevers. + +"Git in!" Coon ordered sharply. + +"What will you do with us?" Mr. Parker asked, trying to stall for time. + +"We're takin' ye to Black Island," Coon replied, prodding the publisher +with his gun. "Move!" + +One glance at the grim, determined faces of the men convinced Mr. Parker +and Penny it would be folly to resist. Silently they entered the boat. + +Hod pushed off and the craft moved noiselessly away into the night. + + + + + CHAPTER + 25 + _OUTWITTED_ + + +For an endless time, it seemed, the party moved deeper and deeper into +the swamp. As the night became cool, Penny shivered and leaned close to +her father. + +Worn out, she slumped against his shoulder and finally dropped into a +light sleep. When she opened her eyes, a pale moon had risen over the +treetops, lighting the way. + +At last, the boat brought up in a cove at Black Island. + +"We're leavin' ye here," Coon informed the prisoners. "Maybe ye'll be +found tomorrer or next week after we're safe away. If not, well hit's +jest too bad!" + +Penny and her father were hustled ashore. Despite vigorous struggles, Mr. +Parker then was bound by Coon and Hod and lashed with his back to a tree. +Before Penny could be treated likewise, a dog began to bark. + +"It's Bones!" she cried. "You have him here on the island!" + +"Sure, we got him," agreed Hod indifferently. + +Penny loudly called the dog's name and he bounded through the brush +toward her. His long hair was matted with burs, but he seemed in good +health and well fed. + +Before Penny could get her hands on him, Coon seized and tossed the dog +into the boat. + +"Please let me keep Bones!" she pleaded. + +"Yeah, leave the dog on the island," growled Danny Deevers. "He'll be a +bother to us." + +"Git the dog then, gal," commanded Coon. + +Penny scrambled aboard the Hawkins' boat. Bones had crawled far forward. + +As she bent to gather him into her arms, her hand encountered a gunny +sack. Inside were wrapped three hard, round objects. + +"The cans of stolen money!" Penny thought, her pulse jumping. + +Without considering the punishment that might be meted out to her, she +seized the sack. + +"Hey!" shouted Coon furiously. "Drop those cans!" + +He sprang aboard, intending to strike her a stunning blow. Penny leaped +for shore, but the boat shot from beneath her feet. + +Misbalanced, it went over, tumbling Coon and herself into the water. + +But as Penny went down, she clung fast to the cans of money. Fortunately, +the muddy water was shallow. Her feet touched bottom and she came up +sputtering. + +Hod and Danny started for the boat on a run, intending to seize her. +Suddenly, they halted, listening intently. + +"What was that?" Danny demanded. "Thought I heard the splash of a +paddle!" + +"Two boats are coming!" Hod cried hoarsely. "Police!" + +"Come on!" ordered Danny, seizing one end of the overturned boat. "Help +me right this! We'll still get away! The girl goes with us as a hostage!" + +Hod grasped Penny's arm, while his brother aided Danny with the boat. + +"No go!" ordered a cool voice from the thicket. "I gotta you covered!" + +As the three men whirled around, Tony, rifle in hand, came out of the +deep shadows. + +"Stand-a by tree!" he commanded, motioning with the gun. "Keep-a hands +up!" + +Sullenly the three men obeyed. Tony guarded them closely until policemen +swarmed over the island. + +In the first boat were Salt, Jerry and several officers. Behind came a +second boat, also loaded with policemen. + +Danny, Hod and Coon quickly were handcuffed and placed under heavy guard. +Tony then helped Penny release her father. + +"What about Ezekiel?" the publisher asked. "We ought to get him too!" + +Jerry revealed that the swamper already had been taken prisoner at +Lookout Island. Two policemen had remained behind to guard both him and +his wife. + +"Oh, Jerry! I'm so glad you got through safely!" Penny declared. "Did you +have any trouble?" + +"Not a bit," he replied. "When I reached the farmhouse, police already +were there. Mrs. Jones had telephoned them." + +"We arrested Mrs. Hawkins," Salt took up the story. "Then we captured +Ezekiel at Lookout Point, and followed your boat here. Most of the time +we had you in sight, though from a long distance." + +Penny was greatly relieved to be able to turn over the three cans of +stolen money to police officers. By lantern light a hasty count was made +and it was disclosed that a sizeable portion of the funds were missing. + +However, when Danny Deevers, Hod, and Coon were searched, a large roll of +bills was found in the escaped convict's pocket. + +"This should account for it all," said the police officer, taking charge +of the money and adding it to the other. "So you were trying to +double-cross your pals, Danny? Figured on keeping the lion's share!" + +Danny glared at the officer, refusing to answer. + +"So you got nothing to say, eh?" the officer prodded. "Maybe you'll be in +a more talkative mood when we get you back to the pen. You'll do double +time for skipping out!" + +Danny's sullen gaze fastened briefly on Jerry Livingston. + +"I got only one regret!" he muttered. "I wish I'd slugged that guy harder +when I had the chance!" + +"May I ask the prisoners a question or two?" Penny asked the officer in +charge. + +"Sure, go ahead," he nodded. "If you get anything out of 'em, you're +good." + +Penny knew that Danny, a hardened criminal, would never give her any +information, so she centered her attention upon Hod and Coon. + +At first, they only eyed her sullenly, refusing to speak. But after she +had pointed out that a more cooperative attitude might bring a lighter +sentence, they showed a little interest. + +"How did you come to be mixed up with Danny?" she asked. "Were you all +together in the big bank robbery?" + +The question drew fire from Hod. + +"No, we weren't!" he shouted. "We never even knowed where Danny hid the +money until tonight!" + +"Then why were you so willing to hide and help him?" + +"'Cause him and Paw always was good friends! Danny come here, saying the +cops was after him and would we give him some clothes and hide him fer a +day or two? So like fools we was, we took him in and kept him in the +woodshed. It would have been safe enough if you hadn't come snoopin' +around!" + +"No doubt you all would have gone free if you hadn't made the mistake of +keeping Louise's dog," Penny retorted. "However, you seem to forget you +were operating a still illegally." + +"Anyone else in on that business?" the policeman cut in. "How'd they +market the stuff?" + +"Through a trucker at Hartwell City," Penny exclaimed. "I think they +called him Ike." + +"Too bad the bird will go free, while these eggs do a stretch in the +pen," commented the policeman. "You can depend on it though, they'll +never do the smart thing and turn him in." + +"Oh, wouldn't we?" growled Hod. "He was no pal o' ourn!" + +"Would it git us a lighter stretch if we was to turn him in?" asked Coon +craftily. + +"It might." + +"His name's Ike Glanzy and he stays mostly at the Devon Club in Hartwell +City," Hod volunteered. + +"We'll pick him up," said the policeman. "Depend on it, he'll be behind +bars before another twenty-four hours. Now let's get out of here!" + +As the boats began to load for the return trip through the swamp, Penny +glanced anxiously about the tiny clearing. + +"Where's Tony?" she asked. + +No one had seen the Italian lad in the last few minutes. Unnoticed, he +had slipped away into the interior of the island. + +"We can't leave without Tony!" Penny protested. "He's afraid he'll be +sent back to Italy, so he's run off somewhere!" + +"He can't have gone far," said Salt. "We should be able to find him." + +However, an intensive search of the bushes nearby did not reveal the +missing youth. At last, in desperation, Penny called his name several +times. + +"Please, Tony, give yourself up!" she pleaded. "You won't be sent back to +Italy! I'm sure of it! Please come out of hiding!" + +"If that appeal doesn't fetch him, nothing will," said Salt. "We've held +up the party too long now, Penny. We've got to shove off." + +Penny nodded disconsolately. When the photographer took her arm and +started back toward the waiting boats, she did not resist. + +But after they had gone a few yards, she abruptly halted. + +"Tony _is_ close by!" she insisted. "I can _feel_ that he's watching us +now! Listen! Don't you hear the bushes rustling?" + +"I do hear something. Maybe it's only an animal." + +"Tony," Penny made one last appeal, "if you're back there in the dark, +please come out. Don't you understand? You were a hero tonight--you saved +the day by popping out of the bushes at just the right moment. Please +don't fail me now." + +The leaves were stirring again. Then, to Penny's joy, the branches +parted. Grinning sheepishly, Tony shuffled out. + +"You call-a me?" he grinned. + +"Oh, Tony!" Penny seized his arm and held fast. "We've practically torn +out the lining of our lungs, trying to find you! Come on! You're going +back with us!" + +"Not to Immigration mens!" + +"Oh, don't worry about that now, Tony! My father has a little influence +and he'll help you all he can. Besides, you're almost certain to win a +portion of the reward offered for Danny Deevers' capture." + +"Money no good if they send-a me back to Italy!" Tony said stubbornly. +"Want-a stay in America. I work-a hard. Go to school!" + +"I think perhaps it can be arranged," Penny promised recklessly. With +Salt's help, she kept steering the boy toward the boat. "After all you've +done tonight, Immigration authorities couldn't be hard-hearted enough to +refuse you citizenship." + +Tony allowed himself to be persuaded and entered a boat with Penny and +other members of the party. After a long and tiring but uneventful trip +through the swamp, the Hawkins' farm finally was reached. + +At the farmhouse, Mrs. Hawkins and her husband were being held prisoners +by other policemen. Also waiting were the Widow Jones and Trapper Joe +Scoville, whom she had summoned. + +"Praises be! The police got to ye in time!" the widow exclaimed, giving +Penny's hand an affectionate squeeze. "If harm had befallen ye this +night, I never would have fergiven myself fer having taken ye into the +swamp." + +"Maybe what happened'll teach ye a lesson, but I got m' doubts," +interposed the old trapper with a chuckle. "Wimmin is mighty stubborn +critters!" + +As Mrs. Hawkins and her husband were led out of the house, the woman +caught sight of her two sons handcuffed to officers. "Hod! Coon!" she +screamed hysterically. + +She tried to break away from the policemen who held her, and would have +attacked Danny Deevers had they not restrained her. + +"Ye'r the one who got us into this mess!" she accused the convict. "I +hope they lock ye up fer the rest o' y'er life!" + +Much later, after all the prisoners had been confined in Riverview jail, +Mr. Parker and Penny obtained custody of Tony. Arrangements were made so +that the lad might remain in the Parker home while Immigration officials +considered his case. + +The Italian boy proved to be a perfect guest. Not only did he help about +the house and yard, but he never overlooked an opportunity to improve his +education. Many a time Penny or her father came upon him in the library, +reading a book. + +"If he doesn't get to stay, it will be a crime!" the girl declared. "Oh, +why doesn't the Immigration department reach a decision?" + +Despite Penny's fretting, weeks dragged on and still Tony's case hung +fire. Many telegrams went back and forth between Riverview and +Washington, D. C. So involved did the affair become that even Mr. Parker +began to lose hope the boy could be kept in America. + +But at last word came that the last bit of red tape had been cut. A high +immigration official had ruled that although it was irregular, Tony might +remain in Riverview, providing someone would guarantee his support. + +Mr. Parker willingly signed the necessary papers. A job next was in +order, but this Penny easily arranged through Mark Fiello, the hamburger +shop man. + +As for Danny Deevers, the convict promptly was returned to prison, and +the stolen $50,000 turned over to the Third Federal Bank. + +In due time, Ezekiel, Coon, Hod and Mrs. Hawkins were convicted on +charges of harboring a fugitive from justice. At their trial, evidence +also was introduced, showing they had operated a still illegally. + +For many days the _Riverview Star_ carried front page stories of the +happenings. Penny wrote several of the articles, while others carried +Jerry's byline. + +"The best part of all is that with Danny behind bars, you'll no longer be +in danger," the girl remarked one day to the reporter. "He really was out +to get you." + +"I suppose so," Jerry agreed, "but I never was much worried. Danny's real +motive in coming back to Riverview was to recover the hidden $50,000. +Running into me--and particularly you--proved his undoing." + +In days that followed, Penny drove many times to the swamp to see Mrs. +Jones and Trapper Joe. Both rejoiced that Danny Deevers and the Hawkins +family could cause no more trouble. + +One afternoon as the girl paid the widow a long call, they fell to +talking over their swamp experiences. + +"It was mighty excitin' out there--you and me in the boat," Mrs. Jones +recalled. "Now that it's all over, I hain't ashamed to say I was plenty +skeered we'd never git out o' the swamp alive." + +"So was I," grinned Penny. + +"Revenooers was in yesterday to smash up Ezekiel's still." + +"They were!" + +"Yep, and they got track o' that trucker who was in so thick with the +Hawkins boys." The widow sighed and pulled aside a kitchen curtain to +gaze thoughtfully toward the swamp. "Well, I reckon the last bit o' +evil's been driv' away from Black Island. From now on, the land'll jest +lie there and belong to the wind and the rain." + +"And to us," Penny added softly. + +The widow nodded as her gaze lingered long on the fringe of towering +pines. "One o' these days, when the spirit moves us, we'll go back +there," she promised. "The swamp always belongs to them that loves it!" + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Swamp Island, by Mildred A. 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