"I'm going straight back to the cottage and compare this cloth with the wick of the toy lantern!" Penny exclaimed when they were beyond the storekeeper's hearing.

"It's a pity so many persons bought the material," Susan commented.

"Otherwise it might be possible to trace the buyers."

"Yes," agreed Penny, "but the clue may prove to be a valuable one anyway. If this cloth is the same as the toy lantern wick, it's very possible that the thief who stole the Kirmenbach jewels lives right in this town."

"Aren't you forgetting that other stores may have the same kind of material for sale," Susan remarked.

"That's possible of course. Oh, Dad may not consider the clue of much value, but at least it's worth reporting."

Mr. Nichols was sitting on the front porch when the girls reached the cottage. Making certain that Mrs. Masterbrook was not within hearing, Penny told him of her important discovery in the village. Mr. Nichols examined the cloth very closely and then compared it with the wick of the toy lantern.

"The material looks exactly the same to me, Dad!" Penny declared excitedly.

"It is identical," her father agreed. "Where did you say you bought the goods?"

"At Hunters Store. Unfortunately, every woman in Kendon seems to have bought this same material."

Mr. Nichols reached for his hat. "I'm going down there now and talk with the storekeeper," he declared.

"Then you think the clue is important, Dad."

"Yes, I do, Penny. It may not lead to anything, but one can never be sure."

"Didn't I tell you to call on me if you needed help with the case?"

laughed Penny.

"You certainly did," her father agreed good-naturedly. "As a detective I'm afraid you're showing me up in a bad light."

Before leaving the cottage Mr. Nichols was careful to lock the toy lantern in his room. Considering its value in the Kirmenbach case he did not wish to run any risk of having it stolen.

Mr. Nichols was absent from the cottage a little over an hour. When Penny saw him coming up the road she ran to meet him.

"Did you learn anything, Dad?" she asked eagerly.

The detective shook his head.

"I'm satisfied that the material is the same," he replied, "but the storekeeper couldn't remember anyone who had bought the goods from him.

He seems to be a stupid fellow."

Penny walked along with her father for some distance without making any response. Then she said half apologetically:

"Dad, I have an idea, but I suppose it's a very silly one."

"What is it, Penny?" the detective asked soberly.

"I have a theory that the thief who took the Kirmenbach jewels may have been some person living in this locality."

"That is possible," Mr. Nichols agreed.

"In that case the toy lantern probably belonged to some child who may reside in or near Kendon."

"True."

"This is my idea," Penny explained. "Why not display the lantern in some prominent place where children will be likely to see it--for instance the candy department of Hunter's store. Take Mr. Hunter into your confidence and have him on the lookout for the original owner of the toy lantern. A child seeing it on the store shelf would be almost certain to identify the property as his."

Mr. Nichols did not laugh. Instead he remained thoughtfully silent for a moment.

"There may be something in your idea, Penny," he said gravely. "If we could locate the owner of the toy lantern it should prove fairly easy to trace the thief. But the chance that the right child would enter the store and recognize the toy is a very slim one."

"Would it do any harm to try?"

"No, we've nothing to lose," Mr. Nichols declared. "I've tried all the sensible ways of tracing the thief, and have met with no success. We may as well test out your theory."

"When will you see Mr. Hunter?" Penny asked eagerly.

"We'll get the toy lantern and go right back there together," Mr.

Nichols promised. He smiled down at his daughter. "And by the way, there's a new development in the Kirmenbach case which I forgot to mention."

"What is that, Dad?"

"Mr. Kirmenbach has offered a five hundred dollar reward for the capture of the jewel thief. So you see, if your idea should lead to anything, it will prove a very profitable one."

CHAPTER XIV

A Conversation Overheard

Penny had scant hope that ever she would win the reward offered by Mr.

Kirmenbach. She knew as well as did her father that there was not one chance in fifty that her unique plan would bring results.

Mr. Hunter, upon being taken into the detective's confidence, was very willing to cooperate. He placed the broken toy lantern on a prominent shelf near the candy counter and promised to report at once if any child appeared to claim the trinket.

Susan and Penny fell into the habit of dropping into the store whenever they were in the village. They saw many children come to buy candy and all-day-suckers, but days pa.s.sed and no child took the slightest interest in the broken lantern.

"I'm afraid it was just another dud idea," Penny admitted ruefully.

"You are entirely too impatient," said her father. "Cases aren't solved in a week. The idea hasn't been thoroughly tested yet."

"I've lost confidence in it," Penny declared.

"It was a long shot at best," returned Mr. Nichols. "However, we'll leave the toy lantern at Mr. Hunter's store for another week at least."

Temporarily losing interest in her father's case, Penny remembered that as yet Susan had never met old Herman Crocker.

"We might go back there this afternoon," she suggested.