"Yes, she is inside," Louise replied.

Bowing again, the man presented himself at the front door, hammering it loudly with the bra.s.s knocker.

"Mrs. Marborough will make short work of him," Penny laughed. "She's so friendly to visitors!"

Before the girls could walk on to the apple tree, Mrs. Marborough opened the door.

"Mr. b.u.t.terworth?" she asked, without waiting for the man to speak.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Come in," invited Mrs. Marborough, her voice impersonal.

The caller stepped across the threshold and the door swung shut.

"Did you see that?" Louise whispered, stunned by the ease with which the man had gained admittance.

"I certainly did!" Penny murmured. "That fellow--whoever he is--has accomplished something that even Riverview's society ladies couldn't achieve! Maybe I was puzzled before, but now, let me tell you, I'm completely tied in a knot!"

CHAPTER 13 _A SILKEN LADDER_

As Penny approached the school grounds the following morning, she heard her name called. A moment later, Rhoda Wiegand, breathless from running, caught up with her.

"Penny, the most wonderful thing has happened!" she exclaimed.

"Your Texas friends have left town?" the other guessed.

Rhoda shook her head. "Unfortunately, it's not quite that wonderful.

They're still here. This news is about my brother, Ted. He has a job!"

"Why, that's splendid. Exactly what you wished for yesterday afternoon at the well."

"Penny, doesn't it seem strange?" Rhoda asked soberly. "This makes twice my wish has come true. How do you account for it?"

"I suppose your brother could have obtained the job through accident,"

Penny answered. "That would be the logical explanation."

"But it all came about in such an unusual way. Judge Harlan saw Ted on the street and liked his appearance. So he sent a note to the Camp asking if he would work as a typist in his office."

"Ted is accepting?"

"Oh, yes. The pay is splendid for that sort of work. Besides, it will give him a chance to study law, which is his life ambition. Oh, Penny, you can't know how happy I am about it!"

At the mid-morning recess, Penny reported the conversation to Louise.

Both girls were pleased that Ted Wiegand had obtained employment, but it did seem peculiar to them that the judge would go to such lengths to gain the services of a young man of questionable character.

"Perhaps he wants to help him," Louise speculated. "Ted is at the critical point of his life now. He could develop into a very fine person or just the opposite."

"It's charity, of course. But who put the judge up to it?"

"Mrs. Marborough heard Rhoda express her wish."

"Yes, she did," Penny agreed, "but I don't think she paid much attention.

She was too angry at Jay Franklin. Besides, Mrs. Marborough doesn't have a reputation for doing kind deeds."

"If you rule her out, there's nothing left but the old wishing well,"

Louise laughed.

"I might be tempted to believe it has unusual powers if ever it would do anything for me," grumbled Penny. "Not a single one of my wishes has been granted."

"A mystery seems to be developing at Rose Acres," Louise reminded her.

"I've not learned anything new since I made my wish. Mrs. Marborough hasn't decided to cooperate with the Pilgrimage Committee either."

The Festival Week program which so interested Penny had been set for the twentieth of the month and the days immediately following. Gardens were expected to be at their height at that time, and the owners of seven fairly old houses had agreed to open their doors to the public. Both Penny and Louise had helped sell tickets for the motor pilgrimage, but sales resistance was becoming increasingly difficult to overcome.

"The affair may be a big flop," Penny remarked to her chum. "No one wants to pay a dollar to see a house which isn't particularly interesting. Now Rose Acres would draw customers. The women of Riverview are simply torn with curiosity to get in there."

"I don't believe Mrs. Marborough ever will change her mind."

"Neither do I," Penny agreed gloomily.

Two days elapsed during which nothing happened, according to the viewpoint of the girls. From Rhoda they learned that Ted was well established in his new job, and that Mr. Coaten seemed displeased about it. Mr. Parker reported that Jay Franklin had made progress in his efforts to sell the Marborough stone to the Riverview Museum. Other than that, there was no news, no developments of interest.

"Louise, let's visit Truman Crocker again," Penny proposed on Sat.u.r.day afternoon when time hung heavily.

"What good would it do?" Louise demurred. "You know very well he doesn't like to have us around."

"He acted suspicious of us, which made me suspicious of him. I've been thinking, Lou--if the writing on those two stones were faked, it must have been done with a chisel--one which would leave a characteristic mark. Every tool is slightly different, you know."

"All of which leads you to conclude--?"

"That if Truman Crocker did the faking he would have a tool in his workshop that would make grooves similar to those on the stones. An expert might compare them and tell."

"Do we consider ourselves experts?"

"Of course not," Penny said impatiently. "But if I could get the right tool, I could turn it over to someone who knows about such things."

"So you propose to go out to the shack today and appropriate a tool?"

"I'll buy it from Mr. Crocker. Perhaps I can convince him I want to chisel a tombstone for myself or something of the sort!"

"I used to think you were just plain crazy, Penny Parker," Louise declared sadly. "Lately you've reached the stage where adjectives are too weak to describe you!"