Mr. Parker hesitated and then said: "I can trust you, can't I, Penny?"

"Of course."

"Then I'll tell you this in confidence. For weeks Jerry Livingston, our star reporter, has been working on the case. He's rounded up a lot of evidence against the outfit."

"Then we have a chance to get those tires back!"

"I'm not thinking about that," Mr. Parker said impatiently. "Jerry's gathered enough evidence to smash the entire gang. It will be as big a story as the _Star_ ever published."

"When are you breaking it, Dad?"

"Perhaps tomorrow. Depends on the state prosecutor."

"John Gilmore? What does he have to do with it?"

"This story is loaded with dynamite, Penny. If we spread it over our front page before police have a chance to act, the guilty parties are apt to make a getaway."

"That's so," nodded Penny.

"There's another reason I want to consult the Prosecutor before I use the story," Mr. Parker resumed. "Some of the men involved--"

A tap sounded on the door. Without completing what he had started to say, the editor called, "Come in."

Jerry Livingston entered the office. He was a good-looking young man, alert and clean-cut. Smiling at Penny, he slapped a folded paper on Mr.

Parker's desk.

"Here's my story on the tire thefts, Chief," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, this winds up the case."

"You've done fine work, Jerry," Mr. Parker praised. "Thanks to your work, we ought to clean out the gang."

"I hope so, Chief. Guess you have all the proofs needed to back up the story."

"All the evidence is locked in my safe. I have an appointment scheduled with the Prosecutor. If he Okays the story, we'll publish it tomorrow. By the way, Jerry, what are your plans?"

"Well, I have a couple of weeks before I go into the Army Air Corps."

"Then treat yourself to a vacation, starting right now," said Mr. Parker.

"Can you use it?"

"Can I?" grinned Jerry. "Know what I'll do? I'll hop the noon train and head for the Canadian wilds on a hunting trip."

Mr. Parker wrote out a check which he presented to the young man.

"We'll be sorry to lose you, Jerry," he said regretfully. "But remember, a job always will be waiting when you return."

The reporter shook hands with Mr. Parker and Penny, then left the office.

"We'll miss Jerry around here," the editor remarked.

Penny nodded. She and Jerry had shared many an adventure together, and he was one of her truest friends. The office would not seem the same without him.

"My appointment with the Prosecutor is at ten-thirty," said Mr. Parker briskly. "I'll gather my papers and be on my way."

The editor placed Jerry's signed story in a leather portfolio. Next he went to the safe and fumbled with the dial.

"Want me to open it for you?" Penny asked, after he had tried several times.

Without waiting for a reply, she stooped down, twisted the dial a few times, and opened the heavy door.

"Young lady, how did you learn the combination?" Mr. Parker demanded in chagrin.

"Oh, the numbers are written on the under side of your desk," Penny grinned. "Not a very good place either! You must trust your office help."

"Fortunately my reporters aren't quite as observing as a certain daughter," Mr. Parker retorted grimly.

The editor removed a fat brown envelope from one of the drawers of the safe. Glancing at the papers it contained, he added them to the contents of the portfolio. He then locked the safe.

"How about letting me see that story?" Penny asked.

Mr. Parker smiled but shook his head. "Only two persons know the facts of the case--Jerry and myself."

"Let's make it a trio."

"It will be after I've talked to the Prosecutor. I've got to step right along, too, or I'll be late."

"But Dad--"

"You'll read the story in tomorrow's _Star_--I hope," her father laughed.

Picking up the portfolio, he started for the door. "Just contain your impatience until I get back. And please keep those slippery little fingers away from my safe!"

CHAPTER 5 _AN IMPORTANT INTERVIEW_

After her father had gone, Penny remained in the private office. Eager to be off, Mr. Parker had neglected to make any arrangements concerning the stripped car at the Riverview Yacht Club.

"Oh, bother!" she thought impatiently. "Now I must wait here until he comes back to learn what I'm to do. The car should be hauled home."

Penny wrote a letter on the typewriter. As she searched for a stamp, the door swung open. A slightly bald, angular man with hard brown eyes, paused on the threshold. The man was Harley Schirr, an a.s.sistant editor, next in authority to Mr. DeWitt. Of the entire _Star_ staff, he was the only person Penny actively disliked.

"Oh, good morning, Miss Parker," he said with elaborate courtesy. "Your father isn't here?"

"No, he went away a few minutes ago."

"And you are taking care of the office in his absence?" Mr. Schirr smiled. Even so, to Penny's sensitive ears, the words had an insolent ring.