"Mrs. Weems and I have both been worried. It's going on nine o'clock."

"So late? Didn't Louise telephone you?"

"Yes, she said you had gone on to the Kippenberg estate. Knowing you, I worried all the more. What mischief did you get into this time, Penny?"

"None. Jerry took care of that!"

Mr. Parker held the door open for his daughter and Jerry to pa.s.s through.

"Have you had your dinners?" he asked.

"We stopped at a roadside cafe, Dad. But the food was horrible. We didn't even try to eat it."

"Mrs. Weems can find something for you, I'm sure. She's upstairs."

"Don't call her just yet," said Penny. "First, we want to tell you what we've learned."

Mr. Parker listened attentively as Penny gave a detailed account of her visit to the estate, the finding of the silk hat, and finally of her encounter with the two boatmen at the river cafe.

"I might have learned a lot more if only Jerry hadn't played grandmother," she said crossly. "He refused to follow the boat down the river--said it would only be a wild chase."

"Jerry, I'm glad you had will power enough to overrule her," declared Mr.

Parker. "The possibility of those men being connected with the Atherwald case seems very vague to me."

"Dad, you should have heard what they were saying! The one man drew a design on the tablecloth and asked his companion what he thought of the route. They talked about a quick get-away to the sea."

"The men may have been fugitives," Mr. Parker commented. "But even that isn't very likely."

"They spoke of being uneasy about a certain job they had agreed to do,"

Penny went on earnestly. "They mentioned a girl and said that a fellow named Dietz would bear watching."

Mr. Parker leaned forward in his chair. "Dietz?" he questioned. "Are you certain that was the name?"

"Yes, I heard it clearly."

"I don't see how there could be any connection," Mr. Parker mused. "And yet--"

"Where did you hear the name before, Dad?" Penny asked, all eagerness.

"Well, DeWitt has been digging up all the facts he can about James Kippenberg. As it happens, the man once had a business a.s.sociate named Aaron Dietz who was dismissed because of alleged dishonesty."

"Then there must be a relationship!" Penny cried. She whirled triumphantly to face the crestfallen reporter. "You see, Mr. Jerry Livingston, my theory wasn't so crazy after all! Now aren't you sorry?"

CHAPTER 14 _THE STONE TOWER_

Louise Sidell was washing the breakfast dishes when Penny walked boldly in at the back door.

"Don't you ever answer doorbells, Lou?" she demanded. "I stood around front for half an hour, ringing and ringing."

"Why, h.e.l.lo, Penny. I didn't hear you at all," apologized Louise. "The radio is on too loud. I see you reached home last night."

Penny picked up a towel and began to dry dishes. "Oh, yes, and did I have a day!"

"What happened after you left Andover?"

"It's a long story, so I'll begin at the end. Last night, coming home with Jerry we stopped at a cafe along the river. Guess whom we saw!"

"Knowing your luck, I'd say Charlie Chaplin, or maybe the Queen of England."

"This particular cafe wasn't quite their speed, Lou. Jerry and I saw that same boatman I told you about!"

"The fellow you saw cruising about the Kippenberg estate? What's so remarkable about that?"

"It just happens I've dug up other evidence to show he may know something about Grant Atherwald's disappearance," Penny revealed proudly. "Jerry and I overheard a conversation. It seems this man and a companion of his are mixed up with another fellow named Aaron Dietz."

"Which doesn't make sense to me," complained Louise, scrubbing hard at a sticky plate.

"Aaron Dietz was a former a.s.sociate of James Kippenberg. Dad said he probably knew more about the Kippenberg financial affairs than any other person. Oh, I tell you, Jerry feels pretty sick because we didn't follow the men last night! Dad a.s.signed him to try to pick up the trail today.

He's chartered a motor boat and will patrol the river."

"If you don't mind," said Louise patiently, "I'd like to hear the first part of the story now. Then I might know what this is all about."

Talking as fast as she could, Penny related everything which had happened since she had taken leave of her chum at Andover.

"Which brings me to the point of my visit," she ended her tale. "How about going out there with me this morning?"

"To the Kippenberg estate?" Louise asked eagerly.

"Yes, we may not be able to get across the river, but I mean to try."

"You know I'm wild to visit the place, Penny!"

"How soon can you start?"

"Just as soon as these stupid dishes are done. And I ought to change my dress."

"Wear something dark which won't attract attention in the bushes,"

advised Penny. "Now get to working on yourself while I finish the dishes."

Louise dropped the dishcloth and hurried upstairs. When she returned ten minutes later, her chum was swishing the last of the soapsuds down the sink drain. Another five minutes and they were in Penny's battered car, speeding toward Corbin.

The sun rode high in the sky by the time they came within view of the drawbridge. Noticing that a press car from a rival newspaper was parked at the end of the road, Penny drew up some distance away. She could see two reporters talking with the old watchman.

"Evidently, they're having no luck in getting over to the estate," she remarked.

"Then what about us?"