Saboteurs on the River Part 24

Yet at the receiving post, the message would be unscrambled to its original form."

"I wish our telephone at home was fixed that way!" Penny declared with a laugh. "Wouldn't some of the neighbors develop a headache!"

Having been informed that a Coast Guard cutter would proceed at once to the locality, the girls felt relieved of further responsibility. As Commodore Phillips said that he would stand by with his yacht until the cutter reached the scene, they finally decided to return to sh.o.r.e. Once well away from the yacht they raised sail and tacked toward their own dock.

"I hope the Coast Guard gives Carl Oaks a good lecture," Penny remarked, turning to gaze back at the slowly drifting barge. "Why, he wasn't one bit concerned what might happen to other vessels!"

"I never did like him," said Louise with feeling. "He complains too much.

Was it his fault that the barge was cut adrift?"

"Not according to his story. Three men attacked him while he was in the deck house. Of course, he couldn't have been too alert."

"Carl Oaks wouldn't be!"

"There was one rather peculiar thing," Penny said slowly. "It never occurred to me until now."

"What's that?"

"Why, Mr. Oaks' bonds were very loose. If he had tried, I believe he could have freed himself."

"That does seem strange," agreed Louise. "You don't think he allowed those saboteurs to board the barge?"

Penny brought the dinghy around, steering to avoid a floating log.

"I wouldn't know," she replied soberly. "But I'm glad we forced Mr. Oaks to wait for the Coast Guard. I hope they question him until they get to the bottom of this affair."

CHAPTER 17 _A STOLEN BOAT_

The mists were lifting as Penny and Louise sailed slowly past the Ottman Dock toward their own snug berth. Sara, in blue slacks, a red bandana handkerchief over her head, was trying to start a stubborn outboard motor. Glancing up, she called a greeting, and then asked abruptly:

"Say, what's that barge doing out on the river? It looks to me as if it's adrift, but I can't see well enough to tell."

Penny and Louise, eager to impart information, brought the dinghy to a mooring at the floating platform. Sara listened with interest as they revealed how they had boarded the barge, released Carl Oaks, and then notified the Coast Guard.

"Neat work!" she praised. "That Carl Oaks! He's one of the most s.h.i.+ftless men I ever knew. He doesn't deserve to hold a job."

Penny glanced about the dock, searching for Burt Ottman.

"Your brother isn't here?" she remarked absently.

"No, he isn't," Sara replied, rather defiantly. "If you think he had anything to do with that barge--"

"Why, it never entered my mind!" Penny exclaimed.

"I'm sorry," the older girl apologized. "I shouldn't have said that. I don't know why I'm so jumpy lately."

"You have a great deal to worry you," said Louise sympathetically. "And you work too hard."

"I'll be all right as soon as Burt's trial is over. He's not here this morning--" Sara's voice broke. "In fact, I don't know where he is."

Louise and Penny said nothing, though the remark astonished them.

"Burt was out all last night," Sara spoke and then seemed to realize that her words easily could be misinterpreted. She added hastily: "He's been trying to gain evidence which will prove his innocence."

"You mean your brother went away yesterday and failed to return?" Penny asked after a moment.

Sara nodded. "He's on the trail of the real saboteurs, and it's dangerous business. That's why I'm so worried. I'm afraid he's in trouble."

"Have you talked to the police?" Penny inquired.

"Indeed, I haven't."

"Didn't your brother tell you where he was going when he left home?"

"No, he didn't. He keeps things from me because he says I worry too much now."

"I suppose he never explained what happened at The Green Parrot?"

"He said he couldn't remember. Oh, everything's so mixed up. I try not to think about it, because when I do my head simply buzzes."

Once more Sara tried to start the balky engine, and this time her efforts brought success.

"Thank goodness for small favors!" she muttered. "Now I've got to go out on the river and look for our stolen boat. Hope no one runs off with this place while I'm gone."

"You've not had another boat stolen?" Louise asked in surprise.

"I figure that's what happened to it. Late yesterday afternoon a man came here and rented our fastest motorboat. That's the last I've seen of him or it."

"Didn't you report your loss to the Coast Guards?" inquired Penny.

Sara answered with a trace of impatience. "Of course, I did. They searched the river last night. No accident reported, and no trace of the boat."

"The man might have drowned," Louise offered anxiously.

"It's not likely. If he had gone overboard, the boat would have been found by this time. No, it's been pulled up somewhere in the bushes and hidden. Last year one of our canoes was taken. Burt found it a month later, painted a different color!"

"Didn't you know the man who rented the boat?" questioned Penny.

"Never saw him before. He was tall and thin and dark. Wore a brown felt hat and overcoat. I noticed his hands in particular. They were soft and well manicured. I said to myself, 'This fellow doesn't know a thing about boats,' but I was wrong. He handled that motor like a veteran."

"The man didn't look like a waiter, did he?" Penny asked quickly.

"You couldn't prove it by me."

Penny groped in her mind to recall a characteristic which definitely would describe the head waiter of The Green Parrot. To her chagrin, she could think of only one unusual facial characteristic, a tiny scar on his cheek. She did remember that the man had worn a large, old fas.h.i.+oned gold watch which might have been of foreign make.