Saboteurs on the River Part 3

Both Penny and the watchman were questioned at considerable length by the detective. Meanwhile, other officers were searching for the escaped saboteur. Several members of the squad went beneath the bridge to inspect the damage and collect shattered sections of the wrecked boat.

Dismissed at last by the detective, Penny, her father and Jerry crossed the bridge to join in the search. Carl Oaks, whose answers did not entirely satisfy police, was detained for further questioning.

"Penny, tell me more about this fellow Oaks," Mr. Parker urged his daughter. "I suppose he did his best to stop the saboteur?"

"It seemed so to me," Penny replied slowly. "He was a miserable marksman, though. I guess he must have been excited when he fired."

Following a trail of moving lights, the trio soon came to a group of policemen who were examining footprints in the mud of the river bank.

"This is where the saboteur got away," Penny whispered to her father. "Do you suppose the fellow is still hiding in the woods?"

"Not likely," Mr. Parker answered. "A job of this sort would be planned in every detail."

The newspaper owner's words were borne out a few minutes later when a policeman came upon a clump of bushes where an automobile had stood.

Gra.s.s was crushed, a small patch of oil was visible, and the soft earth showed tire imprints.

Penny, her father and Jerry, did not remain long in the vicinity.

Satisfied that the saboteur had made his get-away by car, they were eager to report their findings to the _Star_ office.

Mr. Parker telephoned DeWitt and then joined the others at the press car.

As Salt Sommers climbed aboard with his camera, an automobile bearing a _News_ winds.h.i.+eld sticker, skidded to a stop nearby.

"Too bad, boys," Salt taunted the rival photographers. "Better late than never!"

Already news vendors were crying the _Star's_ first extra. Once well away from the bridge, Mr. Parker stopped the car to buy a paper.

"Nice going," he declared in satisfaction as he scanned the big black headlines. "We beat every other Riverview paper by a good margin. A colorful story, too."

"Thanks to whom?" demanded Penny, giving him a pinch.

"I suppose I should say, to you," he admitted with a grin. "However, I see you've already received ample credit. DeWitt gave you a by-line."

"Did he really?" Penny took the paper from her father's hand and gazed affectionately at her own name in print. "Nice of him. Especially when I didn't even suggest the idea."

To a newspaper reporter, a story tagged with his own name means high honor. Many times Penny, ever alert for news, had enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing her stories appear with a by-line. Early in her career as a self-made newspaper girl, her contributions had been regarded as something of an annoyance to her father and the staff of the _Star_.

But of late she had turned in many of the paper's best scoops and incidentally, had solved a few mysteries.

"This is the way I like a story written," Mr. Parker declared, reading aloud from the account which bore his daughter's name. "No flowery phrases. Just a straight version of how your sailboat upset and what you saw as it floated down toward the bridge."

"It's a pretty drab account if you ask me," sniffed Penny. "I could have written it up much better myself. Why, the re-write man didn't even tell how Louise and I happened to upset!"

"A detail of no importance," Mr. Parker returned. "I mean, in connection with the story," he corrected hastily as Penny flashed him an injured look. "What did cause you to capsize?"

"A blue bottle, Dad. It had a piece of paper inside. I was reaching for it and--oh, my aunt!"

"Now what?" demanded her father.

"Turn the car around and drive back to the bridge!"

"Drive back? Why?"

"I've lost that blue bottle," Penny fairly wailed. "Louise had it, but I know she didn't take it home with her. It must be lying somewhere on the beach near our stranded sailboat. Oh, please Dad, turn back!"

CHAPTER 3 _STRAIGHT FROM THE SHOULDER_

Mr. Parker did not slacken the speed of the car. Relaxing somewhat, he edged farther away from Penny, whose sodden garments were oozing water.

"A bottle!" he exclaimed. "Penny, for a minute you had me worried. I thought you meant something important."

"But Dad, the bottle is important," she argued earnestly. "You see, it contains a folded piece of paper, and I'm sure it must be a message."

"Of all the idiotic things! At a time like this when you should be worried about your health, you plague me about a silly bottle. We're going straight home."

"Oh, all right," Penny accepted the decision with a shrug. "Nevertheless, I'm curious about that bottle, and I mean to find it tomorrow!"

Mr. Parker dropped Jerry and Salt off at the newspaper plant and then drove on to his home. The house, a modern two-story dwelling, was situated on a terrace overlooking the river. Lights glowed from the living room windows and Mrs. Weems, the stout housekeeper, could be seen hovering over the radio.

"I was just listening to the news about the dynamiting," she remarked as Mr. Parker and his daughter came in from the kitchen. Turning her head, she stared at the girl's bedraggled hair and wet clothing. "Why, Penny Parker!"

"I guess I _am_ a little bit moist," Penny admitted with a grin. Sitting down on the davenport, she began to strip off her shoes and stockings.

"Not here!" Mrs. Weems protested. "Take a hot shower while I fix you a warm drink. Oh, I knew you shouldn't have gone sailing at night."

"But Mrs. Weems--"

"Scoot right up to the bathroom and get out of those wet clothes!" the housekeeper interrupted. "You'll be lucky if you don't come down with your death o' cold."

Carrying a shoe in either hand, Penny wearily climbed the stairs. By the time she had finished under the shower, Mrs. Weems appeared with a gla.s.s of hot lemonade.

"Drink this," she commanded sternly. "Then get into bed and I'll fix you up with the hot water bag."

"But I'm not sick," Penny grumbled.

"You will be tomorrow," the housekeeper predicted. "Your father told me how he allowed you to stay at the bridge while police searched for the saboteur. I declare, I don't know what he was thinking of!"

"Dad and I are a couple of tough old news hawks," Penny chuckled. "Well, I suppose I'll have to compromise with you."

"Compromise?" Mrs. Weems asked suspiciously.

"I'll drink the lemonade if you'll let me skip the hot water bottle."

"Indeed not," Mrs. Weems returned firmly. "Now jump into bed, and no more arguments."

Although Penny considered the housekeeper entirely too thorough in her methods, she enjoyed the pleasant warmth of the bed. She drank the lemonade, submitted to the hot water bottle, and then snuggling down, slept soundly. When she awakened, sunlight streamed in through the Venetian blinds. c.o.c.king an eye at the dresser clock, she saw to her dismay that it was ten o'clock.