Jerry took the melon from Penny’s hand to examine it.
“This stamp may be helpful,” he said dubiously,“but I doubt it. The Hoods never would be so stupid as to sell melons which could be traced. No, I think our investigation will have to center close at home.”
“You’re referring to the Holloway Cooperative, Jerry?”
“That outfit certainly merits an investigation. In the morning I’ll jog out to their packing plant and talk to the manager, Hank Holloway.”
“What time will you be going, Jerry?”
“About nine o’clock probably.”
“Perhaps I’ll meet you there,” Penny said thoughtfully. “That is, if you don’t mind.”
“Glad to have you,” the reporter responded in a hearty voice.
The two cars soon started for the Riverview Orphans’Home, arriving there without mishap. After unloading the boys entrusted to their care, Jerry and Penny then went to their respective residences.
“I’m glad you came at last,” Mrs. Weems remarked as the girl entered the house. “You’re to telephone Miss Anderson at the Riverview Orphans’ Home.”
“But I just left there,” Penny protested. “When did the call come?”
“About fifteen minutes ago.”
Wondering what could be amiss, Penny went to the telephone. In a moment she was in communication with Miss Anderson, who assisted the matron of the institution. The young woman’s voice betrayed agitation as she disclosed that following the night’s outing, an orphan had been discovered missing.
“Oh, goodness!” Penny exclaimed, aghast. “One of those six boys?”
Miss Anderson’s reply slightly reassured her.
“No, the missing child is a little girl who was not permitted to attend the party because of a severe cold. You may remember her—Adelle.”
“Indeed I do, Miss Anderson. Tell me how I may help.”
“We’ve already organized searching parties,” the young woman returned. “Adelle surely will be found within a few hours. However, if the story gets out it will do the institution no good—particularly at this time when our drive for funds is on.”
“I see,” Penny murmured, “you would like the news kept out of the Star?”
“Can it be arranged?” Miss Anderson asked eagerly. “If you will talk to your father about it we’ll be very grateful.”
“I’ll ask him not to print the story,” Penny promised, none too pleased by the request. “I do hope Adelle is found soon.”
She could not help feeling that the institution officials seemed far more worried about the prospect of unfavorable publicity than over the missing child’s welfare. Saying goodbye to Miss Anderson, she sought her father who was reading in the library.
“Penny, you know I don’t like to grant such favors,”Mr. Parker frowned when the conversation was repeated to him. “As a matter of principle, it never pays to withhold information unless the telling will harm innocent persons.”
“In this case, it will damage the institution,” Penny argued quietly. “Besides, I feel more or less responsible. What started out as a nice little party for the orphans, ended in a regular brawl. It was planned primarily for Adelle and then she ran away because she wasn’t permitted to attend.”
Starting at the very beginning, Penny told her father everything that had happened during the night. The tale was one of absorbing interest to Mr. Parker. When she had finished, he said:
“Don’t worry about the affair, Penny. I am as interested in the Riverview Camp fund as you are. We’ll give the institution no unfavorable publicity.”
“Oh, thanks, Dad!” she cried gratefully, wrapping her arms about his neck. “You’re just grand!”
“Weak as water, you mean,” he corrected with a chuckle. “By the way, I suppose you know that your friend Blake has been named to the Camp Fund board.”
“No!” Penny exclaimed. “How did that happen?”
“He hinted to Mrs. Van Cleve that he would like to serve. Naturally, after his handsome donation, she couldn’t refuse.”
“Why do you suppose Mr. Blake has taken such a sudden interest in the Home?”
“I wonder myself. I’ve thought from the first that he’s up to something. So far I’ve not been able to figure out his little game.”
“Well, you’re on the board too,” Penny declared, undisturbed. “If he starts any monkey business you can put a quick stop to it.”
“I fear you overestimate my talents,” Mr. Parker responded. “However, I do intend to see that Blake doesn’t profit too much by his donation.”
The hour was late and Penny soon went to bed. Disturbed by Adelle’s disappearance, she did not sleep well. Arising early, she telephoned the Orphans’Home, hoping to learn that the child had been found. No such good news awaited her.
“Searchers have looked everywhere between here and the Davis farm,” Miss Anderson revealed. “Unless the child is found by noon, it will be necessary to broadcast a general alarm. And that’s certain to bring unfavorable attention to the Home.”
“Is there any chance she could have been kidnaped?”Penny asked thoughtfully.
“Not the slightest,” was the prompt reply. “Adelle took most of her clothes with her. It’s a plain case of a runaway, but most annoying at this time.”
Penny ate a hasty breakfast, and then remembering her appointment with Jerry, drove to the Holloway Cooperative. The buildings were of modern concrete construction, located three and a half miles from Riverview in the heart of the truck farming district.
Jerry Livingston had not yet arrived, so Penny waited in the car. Soon his coupe swung into the drive and pulled up alongside Leaping Lena.
“Sorry to be late,” he apologized. “I was held up at the office.”
Knowing that her father would have told Jerry about Adelle’s disappearance, Penny inquired regarding the latest news.
“So far there’s not a trace of the child,” the reporter answered. “Your father’s sore at himself for promising not to carry the story. It may develop into something big.”
Penny walked beside Jerry to the entrance of the cooperative plant.
“No one seems to worry much about Adelle,” she remarked. “The institution people are afraid of unfavorable publicity, Dad’s alarmed about his story, while you and I are just plain indifferent.”
“I’m not indifferent,” Jerry denied. “In a way I feel responsible for that kid. But what can we do?”
“Nothing, I guess,” acknowledged Penny unwillingly. “Miss Anderson said they had enough searchers.”
Opening the door of the building, they stepped into a huge room which hummed with activity. Girls in uniforms stood at long tables inspecting melons which moved on an endless belt arrangement before them. Sorted as to quality and size, each cantaloupe was stamped and packed in a crate which was then borne away.
“Hank Holloway around here?” Jerry asked one of the workers.
“Over there,” the girl responded, pointing to a burly, red-faced man who stood at the opposite end of the room.
Jerry and Penny approached the manager of the cooperative.
“Good morning,” the man said gruffly, gazing at them critically. “What can I do for you?”
“We’re from the Star,” Jerry informed. “Do you mind answering a few questions?”
“I’m pretty busy,” Hank Holloway responded, frowning. “What do you want to know?”
“There’s a rumor going the rounds that this cooperative has been forcing farmers to market their melons through your organization.”
“It’s a lie!” the manager retorted. “Why they come here begging us to take their stuff! We get better prices than anyone in this section of the state, and we pass the profit right back to the farmers.”
“How do you account for the depredation that’s been going on around here lately? Who would you say is behind it?”
“What d’you mean, depredation?” Hank Holloway demanded.
“The d
estruction of the Preston barn just as their melons were ready for market. Then last night a truck of cantaloupes was stolen from the Davis place.”
“That so?” the manager asked. “Hadn’t heard about it. Clem Davis always was a worthless, no-good. It wouldn’t surprise me that he covered his harvest with plenty of insurance, and then arranged the snatch so he could collect.”
“That hardly seems reasonable,” Jerry said dryly.
“You asked for my opinion and I’m giving it to you. The Davis melons were so inferior we wouldn’t handle them at the cooperative.”
“Why, I thought their cantaloupes were particularly fine ones!” Penny protested.
“I don’t know what you two are trying to get at!”Hank Holloway said with sudden anger. “The Cooperative does business in a fair and square way. Our books are open for inspection at any time. Now you’ll have to excuse me, for I’ve got work to do.”
With a curt nod, he turned away.
Penny and Jerry wandered about the room for a few minutes, watching the packers. They did not much blame Hank Holloway for showing irritation. Their questions had been very pointed and the man had immediately guessed that their purpose was to uncover facts detrimental to the Cooperative.
“We learned about as much as I expected to,” Jerry said with a shrug, as he and Penny finally left the building. “Naturally one couldn’t hope he’d break down and confess all.”
“What did you really think of him, Jerry?”
“Hard to say,” the reporter answered. “He’s a rough and ready sort, but that’s not against him. There’s no real reason to believe he’s crooked—just a hunch of mine.”
Having been assigned to cover a board meeting, Jerry hurriedly said goodbye to Penny. Left to herself, she drove slowly toward Riverview.
“Since I am so near Seth McGuire’s place, I may as well stop for a minute or two,” she thought impulsively.
Despite many exciting events, Penny had not lost interest in the Hubell clock. Although it seemed reasonable that a faulty mechanism had caused it to strike thirteen, such an explanation did not completely satisfy her. She was eager to learn from the former caretaker if the difficulty had been corrected.
Leaving her car by the main road, Penny went directly to the shop. The door was closed and locked. However, as she turned away, she distinctly heard a voice inside the building. Although she could not make out the words, she was certain that a child had called.
“Who is it?” she shouted.
“Help! Let me out!” came the plaintive cry from inside the shop.
Penny ran to the window and peered into the dark interior. She scarcely was able to believe what she saw. A little girl, her face streaked with tears and dirt, pounded fiercely on the heavy door, seeking release.
“It’s Adelle!” she gasped. “How in the world did she get locked in Mr. McGuire’s shop?”
CHAPTER 13
AN EXTRA STROKE
With all the windows and the door of the shop locked, Penny did not know how to free the imprisoned child. However, as she considered the problem, Seth McGuire appeared on the porch of the cottage.
“Good morning,” he greeted her pleasantly.
“Oh, Mr. McGuire!” Penny exclaimed. “Did you know there is a child locked inside your shop?”
“A child!” the old man exclaimed, coming quickly down the steps. “Why bless me! How can that be?”
“I don’t understand how she got inside, but she’s there! Officials of the Riverview Orphans’ Home have been searching for Adelle Hanover since last night.”
“Wait until I get my key,” the old man said in an agitated voice. “I hope you don’t think I locked the child into the shop!”
Knowing Mr. McGuire as she did, Penny entertained no such thought. Waving encouragingly to Adelle through the window, she waited for the old man to return.
“I locked the door about eleven o’clock last night,” he explained, fumbling nervously with the key. “The little girl must have stolen in there sometime between six o’clock and that hour.”
The old man’s hand shook so that he could not unlock the door. Taking the key, Penny did it for him. Adelle, her hair flying wildly about her face, stumbled out of the shop.
“I’m hungry,” she sobbed. “It was cold in there, and a big rat kept running around. Why did you lock me inside?”
“Why, bless you,” Mr. McGuire murmured, “I never dreamed anyone was inside the shop! How did you get in there?”
“I went inside last night and hid,” Adelle explained in a calmer voice. “It was cold outside and I had to have some place to sleep.”
“You never should have run away from the Home,”Penny reproved. “Why did you do it?”
“Because I don’t like it there,” the child answered defiantly. “I’ll never be adopted like the other children.”
“Why, how silly!” Penny answered. “Of course someone will adopt you.”
Adelle shook her head. “Miss Anderson says I won’t be—I heard her tell the matron. It’s on account of a nervous ’fliction. I’m afraid of things, ’specially cars.”
“That’s very natural, everything considered,”Penny replied, thinking of the story Miss Anderson had told her. “Now I’ll take you to the Home.”
Adelle drew away, and as if seeking protection, crowded close beside Mr. McGuire.
“I’m never going back, even if I freeze and starve!” she announced. “I’ll find me a cave and live on berries. It would be more fun than being an orphan.”
Penny gazed despairingly at the old bell maker. With a chuckle, he took the child by the hand and led her toward the cottage.
“We’ll have lunch and talk things over,” he proposed. “How will that be?”
“I’m awful hungry,” Adelle admitted, smiling up at him. “But you won’t give me any old boiled potatoes, will you? We have ’em every single day at the Home.”
“No potatoes,” he laughed. “We’ll have the very nicest things I can find in the icebox, and maybe a stick of candy to top it off.”
While Mr. McGuire pottered about the kitchen preparing a warm meal, Penny washed Adelle and combed her tangled hair. Afterwards, she telephoned officials of the Home, telling them that the child had been found.
“I’ll bring her there within an hour,” she promised. “Just as soon as she has had her lunch.”
Adelle was ravenous. She was not a pretty child, but her face had an elfin quality when she smiled. Her brown eyes, roving about the spick and span little dinette, took in every detail.
“This is almost as nice as it was at our home,” she remarked. “I mean my real home, when Daddy and Mother were alive.”
“You’ll have a nice place again when you are adopted,” Penny assured her kindly.
“I’d like to stay here,” Adelle said, looking thoughtfully at the old man. “Would your wife let me?”
“Why, bless you, I haven’t a wife,” he answered in embarrassment. “I’m a bachelor.”
“Wouldn’t you like a little girl?” Adelle persisted. “I could do your dishes for you and sweep the floor. I’d be real good.”
“Well, now I’ve often thought I would like a nice little girl,” he replied, smiling.
“Then you can have me!” Adelle cried, jumping up from her chair. “You can tell the Home I won’t be back!”
“Not so fast, not so fast,” Mr. McGuire said hastily. “I’d like a little girl, but I am afraid I can’t afford one. You see, I don’t make much money any more and there are other reasons—”
“Oh, I won’t eat much,” Adelle promised. “Please keep me, Mr. McGuire.”
The old man was so distressed that Penny tried to come to his rescue. However, despite repeated explanations, Adelle refused to understand why she could not immediately become Mr. McGuire’s little girl.
“If I had my old job back, I’d be tempted, sorely tempted,” the old man said to Penny. “I’ve always wanted someone that was near and dear to me.” He drew
a deep sigh. “As things are, I don’t see how it could be worked out.”
“Won’t you keep thinking about it?” Adelle pleaded. “Anytime you want me, I’ll come right away.”
“Yes, I’ll think about it,” Mr. McGuire promised soberly. “I really will.”
An hour later Penny took a very depressed Adelle back to the Riverview Orphans’ Home. Leaving her there, she drove on into town, chancing to see her chum, Louise Sidell on the street. Signalling her with a toot of the horn, Penny swung wide the door.
“On your way home, Lou?” she inquired.
“No, just wandering around in a daze trying to do a bit of shopping,” Louise answered, sharing the seat. “The stores here never have anything I want.”
“Then why not go to Claymore?” Penny proposed suddenly.
“I would if I could get there.”
“I’ll take you,” Penny offered. “I need to go to Claymore on special business, and I’d like to have someone ride along.”
“Well, I don’t know,” Louise replied dubiously. “I doubt Leaping Lena would stand such a long trip.”
“Oh, I’ll take the other car.”
“In that case the answer is ‘yes,’” Louise replied instantly.
Penny drove directly home to exchange cars and tell Mrs. Weems where she was going.
“Louise and I may not be back until very late,” she warned. “It’s barely possible we’ll attend the theatre while we’re at Claymore. There’s a new play on, and everyone says it’s grand.”
“If you drive after night, be very careful,” the housekeeper responded uneasily. “There are so many accidents these days.”
A brief stop was made at the Sidell residence, and then the girls took to the road. Deliberately, Penny selected the same route which she and Jerry had followed the previous night.
“Is that why we’re going to Claymore?” Louise inquired curiously, as she heard the story of what had happened to the Davis truck. “You intend to trace those stolen melons?”
“I haven’t much hope of doing that,” Penny answered. “I want to visit the telegraph office and get an original message which was sent to Dad. His life has been made miserable by a pest who keeps sending him telegrams, and I’m out to catch the rascal.”
The Penny Parker Megapack: 15 Complete Novels Page 61
