A glance satisfying her, she replaced the box and next turned her attention to the cabinet behind the large circular table. Here she was richly rewarded as her gaze fell upon a banjo.
“The same one which played during Mrs. Weems’séance!” she thought. “We were able to see it in the dark because it’s covered with luminous paint. But what made it rise into the air, and how could it play without the aid of human hands?”
Penny examined the instrument closely. She chuckled as she discovered a tiny phonograph with a record built into its back side. As she pressed a control lever, it began a stringed version of “Down Upon the Swanee River.”
Quickly turning it off, she inspected other objects in the cabinet. At once she found a rod which could be extended to a height of five feet.
“That’s how the banjo was raised!” she reasoned. “And by use of this rod it would be easy to make a ghost appear to float high overhead. This luminous material must have been used.”
Penny picked up a filmy robe, shaking out the many folds. While it was clear to her that Al Gepper had employed the garment to materialize the so-called spirit of Cousin David, she could only guess how he had made it enlarge from a mere spot to a full sized figure.
“He must have wadded the cloth in his hand, and held it above his head,” she mused. “Then he could have slowly shaken it out until it covered his entire body. Thus the figure would appear to grow in size.”
In one corner of the cabinet Penny came upon a luminous slate.
“This was used for Cousin David’s message,” she thought. “Al probably had an assistant who wrote on it and thrust it through the curtain.”
While many questions remained unanswered, Penny had obtained sufficient evidence to indicate that Al Gepper was only a clever trickster. Greatly elated, she decided to hasten to the Star office to report her findings.
Noticing that she had neglected to return the two suitcases to their former places, Penny pushed them under the bed again. As she straightened, a door slammed on the lower floor.
For an instant she hoped that it was Mrs. Hodges or her husband who had come home. Then she heard footsteps on the stairs, and their rapidity warned her that they could belong only to a young person.
Frantically, she gazed about the room. The cabinet seemed to offer the safest hiding place. Slipping into it, she pulled the black curtain across the opening.
CHAPTER 21
STARTLING INFORMATION
Scarcely had Penny hidden herself when Al Gepper entered the room. With him was the hook-nosed young man known as Slippery.
“I tell you, Al,” the latter was saying, “this town is getting too hot for comfort. We’ve got to blow.”
“It was that Parker girl who queered everything,” muttered Gepper. “How could I know that her father was a newspaper publisher? He’s stirred up folks with his editorials.”
“You never should have let her in here. We had a swell set-up, but now we can expect a raid any day.”
“I tell you I thought she was just a smart-aleck kid, a friend of the Hodges’. Didn’t learn until yesterday who she was.”
“We’ve got to blow, Al. Sade’s threatening to make trouble, too. She thinks we’re holding out on the others.”
“We have picked up a little extra coin now and then.”
“Sure, Al, but we’ve always been the brains of the outfit. We take most of the risk, plan all the big jobs, so why shouldn’t we have more?”
“It’s time we cut loose from ’em, Slippery.”
“Now you’re talking! But we can’t pull out until the Henley job comes off. I’ve had a tip that the house is likely to be deserted tonight. Let’s make the haul and then skip.”
“Okay,” agreed Gepper. “I have some suckers coming for a séance at eight. I’ll get rid of them in quick time, and be waiting. So long, Slippery.”
A door slammed, telling Penny that the hook-nosed man had left. She was somewhat stunned by what she had overheard, believing that the Henley who had been mentioned must be her father’s chief advertiser.
Nervously she waited inside the cabinet, wishing that she might take her information to the police. To her intense annoyance, Al Gepper did not leave the room even for a moment.
Instead he threw himself on the bed and read a tabloid newspaper. After an hour, he arose and began to prepare his supper on an electric grill.
Penny shifted from one position to another, growing more impatient. Every time the man came toward the cabinet her heart beat a trifle faster. She was quite sure the Hodges had not yet returned home, and should Al Gepper discover her, he would not treat her kindly.
The medium finished his supper and stacked the dishes in the closet without washing them. Then he started to get ready for the night’s séance.
Peeping from between the cracks of the curtain, Penny saw him seat himself before the easel. With painstaking care he painted a picture of a woman, using a photograph as a model. After a coating of varnish had been applied, he allowed it to dry and afterwards covered the entire picture with zinc white. The original painting was entirely hidden.
Penny knew that hours had elapsed. The room gradually darkened, and Al Gepper turned on the lights.
“Oh, dear, I must get out of here soon!” the girl thought desperately. “But if I make a break for it he’ll be sure to see me. That will ruin all my plans.”
Eight o’clock came. Al Gepper put on his coat, combed his hair and was alertly waiting when the doorbell rang. However, instead of descending the stairs he shouted an invitation for the visitors to come up.
Two women in their early forties were ushered into the séance chamber, to be followed almost immediately by an elderly man.
“We will start at once if you please,” said Al Gepper brusquely. “I have another engagement tonight. However, before the séance is undertaken I must ask that each of you pay the required fee, five dollars.”
The money was paid, and the three persons seated themselves at the table. Gepper switched off the lights.
The séance began in much the same manner as the one Penny had attended. The medium called upon the spirit of a woman named Flora to appear.
“Now concentrate hard—everyone,” he instructed. “Flora, where are you? Can you not show yourself that we may know it is truly your spirit which communicates with us?”
From the cabinet, so close to Al Gepper that she could have touched his hand, Penny was able to see his every move. Yet so swift was his next action, that she barely discerned it.
Taking a wet sponge from his pocket he wiped it across the painting previously prepared. The picture immediately became visible to the audience as Gepper focused his flashlight on the canvas.
“That wasn’t the way he made Mrs. Weems’ picture appear,” thought Penny. “The fellow must have a great repertoire of tricks!”
The séance had become so interesting that she no longer thought of escape. Nevertheless, she came to a sudden realization of her precarious position as she heard the medium say that he would next endeavor to persuade the Spirit of Flora to take actual shape. With a shock it dawned upon her that in another moment the man would enter the cabinet to make use of the luminous gauze robe and other paraphernalia.
Knowing that she could not hide from him, Penny decided upon a bold break for freedom. Dropping the ghostly robe over her face and shoulders, she pulled aside the dark curtain and flitted into the room.
Her dramatic entrance brought gasps of astonishment from the persons who sat at the circular table. The medium, as dumbfounded as his audience muttered:“What the dickens!” and pushed back his chair, his legs rasping on the floor.
Penny did not linger, but darted past the group and groped for the door. In the darkness she could not immediately find it. Her shining robe, on the other hand, made her an easy target for Al Gepper.
Angrily the medium strode across the room, seizing her arm. She jerked away, but he grasped a fold of the robe. It tore and was left behind.
/> At that critical instant, Penny’s hand encountered the door. She swung it open, and bounded down the stairway.
In the séance chamber a light went on, then the hallway became brilliantly illuminated. But by that time the girl was in the dining room.
She could hear Al Gepper clattering down the steps, intent upon capturing her. Penny was determined that he should never learn her identity.
Letting herself out of the house by way of the kitchen door, she decided that if she attempted to cross the yard, the medium certainly would recognize her. The woodpile offered a hiding place and she crouched behind it.
Scarcely had she secreted herself, when Al Gepper ran into the yard. He glanced about carefully and circled the house twice.
Finally, convinced that the “ghost” had escaped he came back to the porch. His customers, greatly agitated by what had occurred, were demanding explanations.
“Someone played a prank,” Gepper explained briefly. “It will be impossible to resume the séance for the spirits are offended. You will leave, please.”
The customers departed and the medium locked himself in the house. He did not bother to lower the upstairs hall blind, and Penny caught occasional glimpses of him as he moved to and fro.
“He’s packing to leave!” she observed. “Unless I act in double-quick time, he’ll skip town! I must notify Dad and the police without an instant’s delay!”
CHAPTER 22
SCALING THE WALL
The nearest drugstore with a public telephone was two blocks away. Penny ran the distance, and slipping into the booth, she dialed the Star office. Informed by the building switchboard operator that neither her father nor DeWitt was available, she inquired for Jerry Livingston, and to her relief was connected with him.
“Listen, Jerry, this is Penny!” she began excitedly. “I haven’t time to explain, but the lid is blowing off the fake spiritualist story! Rush the police out to the Hodges’ cottage and demand Al Gepper’s arrest! Send another squad or some private detectives to Mr. Henley’s home.”
“Henley!” Jerry exclaimed. “Say, have you gone loco?”
“I’m not making any mistakes,” Penny replied tersely. “If you act quickly we may prevent a robbery. I’m on my way there now to warn Mr. Henley! Oh, yes, try to find Dad or DeWitt and warn them a big story is breaking!”
“Penny, what’s this all about?” the reporter demanded. “I can’t go to the police unless I know what I am doing.”
“You must, Jerry. I have plenty of evidence against Gepper and his crowd, but unless you take the police to the Hodges’ in the next fifteen minutes it will be too late!”
Without giving Jerry opportunity to delay her with other questions, Penny hung up the receiver. Hastening to the street, she gazed frantically about for a taxi. None was to be had.
“I’ll get to the Henley place quicker in Lena than by waiting for a cab to come along,” she thought.
The battered old car had been parked a short distance from the Hodges’ cottage. Hurrying there, Penny jumped into the ancient vehicle and started the motor. As usual it made a loud clatter, but she did not suspect that the sound carried far up the street. Nor did she guess that Al Gepper stood at the darkened window of his room, watching her.
Penny drove as fast as she could to the Henley home in the southern section of Riverview. Lights blazed from the downstairs windows.
Abandoning her car in the driveway, she rang the doorbell. After a long wait, a maid appeared.
“Is Mr. Henley here?” Penny asked breathlessly. “Or Mrs. Henley? It’s most important that I talk with them at once.”
“Mrs. Henley has been at the seashore for a month,” the maid replied in an agitated voice. “Mr. Henley is somewhere downtown. I’ve been trying to get him, but the telephone wire has been cut!”
“The house hasn’t been robbed?”
“Mrs. Henley’s jewelry has been taken! I don’t know what else.”
“When did it happen?” Penny asked.
“It must have been during the last half hour. I went to the corner store for a book of stamps. When I came back five minutes ago I discovered what had occurred. I ought to call the police, but I am afraid to do it until I’ve talked with my employer.”
“The police already have been notified,” said Penny. “They’ll be here any minute.”
“But how did you know—?” the maid began in astonishment.
Penny had turned away. She was convinced that the burglary had been committed by Slippery. Perhaps, by this time he had fled town, but she did not believe he would leave without his pal, Al Gepper.
Climbing into the car again, Penny debated. It was reasonable to suppose that, having accomplished the burglary, Slippery would return to the Hodges’ cottage to meet the medium.
“If he does, the police should be on hand to seize him,” she thought. “At least, he and Al will be held for questioning. But there’s one place I forgot to cover—the Celestial Temple.”
Like a flash came the recollection that Slippery had been deeply interested in something which was guarded in the bell tower. Was it not possible that he might return there before leaving Riverview?
Shifting gears, Penny turned the car and headed for Butternut Lane. Anxiously, she glanced at the gasoline gauge. It registered less than a gallon of fuel and she had used her last dime in the telephone booth.
“If I coast on all the downgrades I should just make it,” she estimated.
In starting for the Celestial Temple Penny was acting upon a “hunch.” However, it disturbed her that the Henley burglary had been accomplished, and she was afraid she might again be wasting precious time. Now that it was too late, she wondered if it would not have been wiser to remain at the Hodges’ cottage until the police arrived.
“I only hope that end of the affair isn’t bungled,” she thought. “I’ll never get over it if Al and Slippery both escape.”
Penny had reached the entrance to Butternut Lane. Parking at the side of the road, she continued afoot toward the Celestial Temple.
From a distance the building appeared dark. However, as she drew closer she could distinguish a dim light. Inside the Temple, a stout man wearing a hat sat with his chair tilted against the door of the bell tower room.
“He must be the guard,” thought Penny. “Probably the one they call Pete.”
Suddenly she paused, retreating into a clump of elder bushes near the walk. From the direction of the cemetery a figure emerged. At first, all that Penny could distinguish was a man carrying a suitcase. As he drew closer, her pulse quickened. Unmistakably, it was Slippery.
Without passing the bushes where the girl had taken refuge, the man walked on toward the Temple. Presently he halted. Glancing carefully about to assure himself that he was unobserved, he shoved his suitcase into the tall weeds which lined the walk. Then he moved to one of the Temple windows, peering into the gloomy interior.
“Now what?” thought Penny, watching alertly. “This should prove interesting.”
Slippery remained beneath the window a minute or two. Instead of entering the Temple, he presently returned to the high weeds, stooping to remove some object from his suitcase. Hiding it under his coat, he circled the building and approached the side adjoining the cemetery.
Thoroughly mystified, Penny cautiously followed, taking care that her body cast no shadow which would attract Slippery’s attention.
The man seemed deeply engrossed in the task he had set for himself. From his coat he took a collapsible rod which he extended to the approximate length of a fish pole. To its end he attached a trailing silken ladder.
Deftly the man raised the ladder until two metal hooks bit into a projection of the bell tower. He tested the ropes to make certain they would bear his weight then, with the agility of a cat, mounted the silken rungs. Penny saw him disappear into the bell tower.
“Now why did he climb up there?” she asked herself. “He must be after something hidden in the belfry.”
&
nbsp; Penny knew that she was a long distance from police aid, but it was unthinkable that Slippery should be allowed to escape. Impulsively, she moved from her hiding place to the base of the tower.
Grasping the silken ladder, she gave it a quick jerk which dislodged the two iron hooks. Down it tumbled into her arms, leaving the man trapped in the turret.
“He’ll never dare call for help when he discovers what has happened,” reasoned Penny. “If he does, the guard, Pete, will have something to say!”
Rolling the ladder into a small bundle, she started across the clearing, intending to seek the nearest telephone. With no thought of lurking danger, she brushed past a clump of bushes. A hand reached out and grasped her arm.
Penny screamed in terror and tried to break free. The hand help her in a grip of steel.
As she struggled, her captor emerged from the shelter of leaves. It was Al Gepper.
“I thought I might find you here, my little one,” he said grimly. “You have had your fun. Now you must pay, and the entertainment shall be mine!”
CHAPTER 23
A PRISONER IN THE BELFRY
Penny tried to scream, only to have Al Gepper clamp his hand over her mouth.
“None of that!” he said harshly. “Behave yourself or you’ll get rough treatment.”
Inside the Temple, lights suddenly were turned on, for the brief struggle had been heard by Pete. The squat, stupid-faced man appeared in the doorway of the building, peering down the lane.
“Who’s there?” he demanded suspiciously.
Al Gepper uttered an angry word beneath his breath. It was not to his liking that Pete should be drawn into the affair. However, he could not avoid detection.
“It’s Al!” he called softly. “This girl broke up my séance tonight, and I trailed her here. She was prowling around the bell tower.”
As he spoke, he dragged Penny toward the Temple entrance. His words convinced her that he had not observed her remove the silken ladder from the belfry wall, nor was he aware that Slippery was a prisoner in the tower.
“Let’s have a look at her,” said Pete. He flashed a light directly into Penny’s face.
The Penny Parker Megapack: 15 Complete Novels Page 39
