“Let’s stop somewhere near Blue Hole Lake,” Penny proposed. “This locality is as pretty as we’ll find anywhere. Besides, I haven’t much gasoline.”
“Suits me,” agreed Louise, amiable as always.
Finding a grove within view of the tiny lake, they spread out their picnic lunch. Afterwards, they stretched flat on their backs beneath the trees and relaxed.
“It’s getting late,” Penny finally remarked regretfully. “Time we’re starting home.”
“I want a drink of water first,” Louise declared. “Pass me the thermos, will you please?”
“It’s empty.” Penny uncorked the bottle and held it upside down. “But we can stop at a farmhouse. I see one just up the road.”
Returning to the car, they drove a few hundred yards down the highway, pulling up near a large two-story frame house which bore a sign in the front yard: “Tourist rooms.”
In response to their knock on the side door, a pleasant, tired-faced woman of mid-fifty came to admit them.
“I’m full up,” she said, assuming that they wished to rent a room. “My last suite was taken by the professor and his wife.”
Penny explained that all they wanted was a drink of water.
“Goodness, just help yourselves at the well!” the woman exclaimed. “Wait, I’ll fetch a clean glass.”
The deep well, which operated with a chain and a crank, was situated in a vine-covered summer house only a few yards away. The farm woman, who said her name was Mrs. Herman Leonard, showed them how to operate it. The water, coming from deep in the earth, was cool and sweet.
“It must keep you quite busy, running a tourist home,” Penny said to make conversation.
“Indeed, it does,” sighed the woman. “Most of my roomers aren’t so bad, but this last couple runs me ragged. They seem to expect hotel service.”
“The professor and his wife?”
“Yes, Professor and Mrs. Bettenridge.”
“Bettenridge,” Penny repeated alertly. “I’ve heard that name before. Does the professor come from Silbus City?”
“He never said. But he’s an inventor, and he brought his invention with him.”
“What sort of invention is it?”
“A light ray machine which explodes mines on land or sea. The affair is very complicated.”
At Penny’s expression of doubt, Mrs. Leonard added: “It really works too! The first night the professor came here, he exploded a mine out in the lake. Such a splash as it made! I saw it with my own eyes! The professor expects to sell it to the Army or Navy for a lot of money.”
“If it will do all he claims, why hasn’t the government taken it over before this?”
“Oh, it takes a long while to complete negotiations,”Mrs. Leonard replied. “The professor is expecting an officer here tomorrow to witness another demonstration.”
“Where is the machine kept? In your house?”
“Oh, dear no! The professor has it in a little shack down by the lake. You can see the place from here.”
Mrs. Leonard led the girls a short distance from the summer house, pointing through the trees to a knoll at the edge of Blue Hole Lake.
“The professor and his wife went down there a few minutes ago,” she revealed. “Why don’t you ask them to show you the invention? They might do it.”
“I doubt if we have time.”
“Oh, let’s take time,” Louise urged. “It sounds so interesting, Penny.”
Thus urged, Penny agreed, and with her chum, walked down the hill toward the lake.
“It sounds fishy to me,” she declared skeptically. “Probably this professor is just a crack-pot who thinks he has a wonderful invention, but hasn’t.”
“Mrs. Leonard said she saw a successful demonstration.”
“I know, Lou. But how could a light ray machine explode mines that were under water? Why, if it could be done, military warfare would be revolutionized!”
“Unbelievable changes are coming every day.”
“This one certainly is unbelievable! I’ll take no stock in it unless I see the machine work with my own eyes!”
Approaching the shack, the girls saw no one. The door was closed. And it was locked, Penny discovered, upon testing it.
“No one here,” she said in disappointment.
“They must be around somewhere,” Louise declared, unwilling to give up. “Maybe that car belongs to them.”
A sedan stood in a weed-grown lane not far away. Penny, turning to gaze carelessly at it, suddenly became excited.
“Lou, this trip has been worth while!” she cried. “Look at the license number of that auto! It’s D F 3005!”
CHAPTER 11
A FAMILIAR CAR
Louise gazed again at the automobile parked in the lane and at its mud-splattered license number.
“D F 3005,” she read aloud. “What about it, Penny?”
“Why, that is the number of the car that went off with Salt Sommers’ camera and plates the night of the big explosion,” her chum explained excitedly.
“You’re sure it’s the same auto?”
“It certainly looks like it. Now I remember! Salt traced the license to an owner named Bettenridge!”
Hopeful of recovering the lost property, Penny, with Louise close at her side, tramped through the high grass to the deserted lane. Apparently the car owner had not gone far, for the doors had not been locked.
Penny climbed boldly in. A glance assured her that the camera or plates were not on the back seat where they had been tossed. As Penny ran her hands beneath the cushions, Louise plucked nervously at her skirt.
“Someone is coming, Penny! A man and a woman! They’re heading straight toward this car.”
“All the better,” declared Penny, undisturbed. “If they own the car, we may be able to learn what became of Salt’s property.”
The man, middle-aged, was tall and thin and wore rimless glasses. He walked with a very slight limp. His wife, a striking brunette, who appeared many years his junior, might have been attractive had she not resorted to exaggerated make-up.
“Good afternoon,” the professor said, eyeing the girls sharply. “My car seems to interest you.”
“I was searching for something I thought might be on the back seat,” Penny explained.
“Indeed? I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“I was looking for a camera and plates.”
“I regret I still fail to follow you,” the man said stiffly. “Why should our car contain a camera? My wife and I take no interest in photography.”
“Aren’t you Professor Bettenridge?”
“I am.”
Penny gazed again at the car. “This must be the automobile,” she said, deeply troubled. “On the night of the Conway Steel Plant explosion, I tossed a camera and photographic plates into the back seat to prevent them being destroyed by a mob.”
“Not this car,” said the professor with quiet finality. “I have not been in Riverview for nearly a month.”
“A woman who resembled your wife was driving the car.”
“Are you accusing me of stealing a camera?” the woman demanded angrily.
“Oh, no! Certainly not! I just thought—” Penny became confused and finished: “The camera was expensive and didn’t belong to me.”
“I know nothing about the matter! You certainly have your nerve accusing me!”
“Come, come,” said the professor, giving his wife a significant, warning glance. “There is no need for disagreement. The young ladies are quite welcome to search the car.”
“We’ve already looked,” Penny admitted. “The camera isn’t there.”
“Isn’t it possible you were mistaken in the automobile?”
“I may have jotted down a wrong license number,”Penny acknowledged reluctantly. “I’m sorry.”
She turned to leave.
“That’s quite all right,” the professor assured her, his tone now becoming more friendly. “Do you girls live near here?”
“In Riverview,” Louise supplied eagerly. “We drove over for a picnic. Mrs. Leonard told us about your light ray machine!”
“Indeed.” Professor Bettenridge looked none too pleased.
“She said you might be willing to show it to us.”
“Mrs. Leonard displays a remarkable interest in our affairs,” Mrs. Bettenridge commented sarcastically.
Again her husband shot her a warning glance.
“My dear, it is only natural that she should be interested in such an amazing machine as ours,” he said. “I see no reason why the young ladies should not view it.”
“Oh, may we?” Louise cried eagerly.
Although his wife scowled with displeasure, the professor bade the girls follow him to the nearby shack. The door was padlocked and he opened it with a key.
Inside, the room was bare of furniture. There were a few boxes and a large table upon which rested a sizeable object covered with canvas.
“My secret ray machine is expected to revolutionize warfare,” the professor said proudly. “Behold the product of fifteen years of faithful work!”
Dramatically he jerked aside the canvas cover, revealing a complicated mechanism of convex and concave mirrors which rotated on their bases. In the center of the machine was a small crystal ball.
“How does it operate?” Louise asked, deeply impressed.
“I am afraid a technical explanation would be too involved for you to understand. Briefly, a musical note produced on the crystal globe, is carried by ultra violet ray to the scene of the mine. The vibration will cause any unstable substance such as melinite to explode.”
“And you claim you actually can explode mines with this machine?” Penny asked.
“I not only claim it, I have demonstrated the machine’s powers,” Professor Bettenridge replied. “How I do it, of course, is my own secret.”
“Will you explode a mine for us now?” Louise questioned eagerly.
Professor Bettenridge looked mildly amused. “My dear young lady,” he said. “Do you realize that mines are very expensive? I have been able to obtain only a few, and naturally I must save them for official tests.”
“Of course,” stammered Louise. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Besides, the demonstrations have a certain element of danger,” the professor resumed. “I never give one without my assistant.”
Penny, who had been studying the machine with increasing interest, remarked that a story about it might make an interesting feature for the Star. To her surprise, the professor did not seem to favor the idea.
“You are employed by a newspaper?” he inquired.
“Yes, the Star.”
“I must ask you to say nothing about this matter,” the professor directed. “Under no circumstance could I permit a story to be written about my work.”
“But why?”
“Publicity at this time might rob me of an opportunity to sell the machine. A very prominent man, James Johnson, is now considering its purchase.”
“But I thought you were expecting to sell your invention to the government,” Penny said, puzzled.
Professor Bettenridge bit his lip. Obviously, he was beginning to share his wife’s annoyance at the girls.
“I regret I can’t tell you all the details of my negotiations,” he said. “My wife and I are very tired, so if you will excuse us—”
“Certainly,” said Penny, taking the hint. “Louise and I must be on our way to Riverview.”
They started to leave, but before they could reach the door, someone tapped lightly on it. Professor Bettenridge and his wife exchanged a quick glance which Penny could not fathom. For a fleeting instant, she thought they both looked frightened.
Then the professor went to the door and opened it. A little man in a derby hat and with an apologetic manner stood on the threshold.
“Mr. Johnson!” exclaimed the professor, extending his hand. “My wife and I did not expect you until tomorrow.”
“I came a little sooner than I planned,” the newcomer admitted. “A business conference I had expected to attend was postponed until tomorrow. Naturally, that has upset my schedule. I had hoped you might consent to a demonstration of your machine tonight.”
“Tonight?” The professor seemed caught off guard. “But that is impossible!”
“Impossible?” inquired Mr. Johnson. “Why?”
“For one thing, my assistant is not here.”
“Can’t you get in touch with him?”
“I doubt it. Besides, I have another engagement.”The professor hesitated and added: “Officials of the Navy have invited me to confer with them tonight at the Gables Hotel in Riverview. I rather expect them to make me a very attractive offer for my invention.”
“But you promised me first option on it!” Mr. Johnson protested. “If necessary, I can wait for the demonstration tomorrow night, though it will greatly inconvenience me.”
“Tomorrow at eight o’clock,” the professor nodded. “If you should care to put up a small sum of money as a guarantee of your intentions, I promise to make no final deal with the Navy until after that time.”
“Why, yes,” Mr. Johnson agreed, taking out his check book. “Any amount you say.”
Feeling themselves no longer welcome by the Bettenridges, Penny and Louise slipped quietly away. As they climbed the hill they could hear the professor and Mr. Johnson discussing the amount to be paid.
“It’s a graft, if you ask me,” Penny declared. “Poor Mr. Johnson seems hypnotized.”
“I wish we could see that test tomorrow night!”
“So do I. In fact, I’d be willing to bet the machine won’t work.”
“What makes you think so?”
“Just my doubting nature, I suppose. No, there’s more to it than that, Lou. Didn’t you notice how startled the Bettenridges were when their star customer appeared?”
“They did look a bit upset.”
“And the professor refused to give a demonstration tonight, although obviously it would have been to his advantage.”
“He explained he had an engagement with Navy men.”
“Which I suspect was all a made-up story. No, Lou, there must be another reason why the professor was unwilling to give the demonstration. He probably knows his machine won’t work.”
“You’re convinced he’s a fraud.”
“Yes, I am,” Penny said. “Furthermore, I believe he knows what became of Salt’s camera.”
“We can’t prove anything.”
“No, but if he would steal a camera he might also take to swindle in a big way.”
“There’s nothing we can do unless we want to report him to the police.”
“I have a little idea,” Penny confessed. “As soon as we reach Riverview I propose to check the Gables Hotel and learn if any Navy men have registered there. By talking to them, we may get at the truth.”
CHAPTER 12
THE PROFESSOR’S HELPER
Climbing the hill, Penny and Louise sought their parked car. The day had been an interesting one, replete with surprises, and yet another surprise was in store.
As they were ready to drive away, a man came slowly down the road, cut across the Leonard yard and vanished down a path which led toward Blue Hole Lake.
“See that fellow!” Penny exclaimed.
“Why, yes,” agreed Louise, surprised by her chum’s tense manner. “What about him?”
“I’m sure he’s Webb!”
“Webb?”
“The man who was pushed off the Snark and who stole Ben’s watch!”
“What would he be doing here?”
“That’s exactly what I want to learn! I’d like to get Ben’s watch back for him!” Quickly Penny pushed open the car door and jumped out.
“What are you going to do, Penny?” Louise asked anxiously.
“Follow that man and learn for certain who he is!”
“But it’s late,” Louise protested. “Besides, he looks like an
unpleasant sort of individual.”
Penny paid no heed, but started off in pursuit of the stranger. He had already disappeared among the trees and was well on his way toward the lake. Not wishing to be deserted, Louise quickly followed her chum.
“He’s going to the professor’s shack!” Penny observed a moment later.
“Perhaps he is another prospective buyer of the secret ray machine,” Louise speculated. “Business seems to be rushing today.”
Penny was not convinced. “I’m sure it is Webb,” she declared. “If we can force him to admit his identity, we may get Ben’s watch back.”
Not wishing to attract attention, the girls paused behind a large rock on the hillside. From there they could watch the man without being seen.
He walked directly to the shack and tapped on the door. In a moment it was opened by the professor, who looked anything but pleased to see the new arrival. Closing the door behind him as if fearful that Mr. Johnson would hear, he stepped out of doors.
The girls were too far away to overhear the conversation, but they saw the two men talk earnestly together for a moment. Then the man they believed to be Webb, walked on down the hill toward the lake’s edge. Professor Bettenridge reentered the shack.
“Now what?” inquired Louise, straightening up from a cramped position behind the rock.
“Let’s follow Webb. I have a hunch he may be the assistant Professor Bettenridge told Mr. Johnson about.”
“But the man wasn’t expected here until tomorrow.”
“Which may or may not have been true, Lou. There’s more to this deal than meets the eye. Let’s see what we can learn.”
Already the man had disappeared from view, so the girls walked swiftly after him. Reaching the lake’s edge, they saw him striding along the sandy beach. Apparently he had no suspicion that he was being trailed, for he did not glance backward.
Presently the girls noticed another shack which had been erected in a clump of trees a few yards back from the beach. It was much smaller than the other little house, a mere box-like structure with a flat, low roof.
Walking directly toward it, the man unfastened a padlock and went inside. He closed the door behind him.
“Now what is he doing in there?” Penny fretted, as minutes elapsed and the man remained inside the building. “Listen!”
The Penny Parker Megapack: 15 Complete Novels Page 153
