Chapter III: Part 3

Suddenly her attention focused upon a well-beaten path in the snow just inside the fence. The footprints, plainly visible in the bright moonlight, extended the full width of the grounds.

Into Penny's mind flashed the wild yarn told by Mose Johnson.

"Ghost tracks!" she thought. "At least those prints must have been made by whatever he saw beyond the gate."

So interested was Penny in the path that for an instant she completely forgot her driving. The front left wheel of the car struck a tiny mound of ice and snow at the road's edge.

Barely in time to avoid an accident, the girl twisted the steering wheel and brought the car back on the highway.

"Another second and I'd have been in the ditch!" she thought shakily. "If I must look for a ghost, guess I'll do the job right."

Penny pulled up, this time at the opposite side of the road. Getting out, she crossed to the iron fence and peered through it. The path which had attracted her attention had been pounded hard by someone who had walked just inside the enclosure.

"Odd!" she reflected. "Maybe Old Mose's ghost has more substance than I thought."

Penny glanced toward the big house, dark and majestic in its setting of evergreens. Obviously the place had been closed for the winter. Walks were not shoveled, blinds had been drawn, and no tire tracks led to and from the three-car garage.

"Wonder who or what could have made that path?" she mused. "Certainly not an animal."

Unable to solve the mystery, Penny turned to re-enter the parked coupe. Before she could cross the road, a light went on in a third floor room of the estate house. Startled, she stared at it. As she watched, it was extinguished.

"Someone must live here!" thought Penny. "Or am I seeing spooks myself?"

For a long while she watched the upper floor of the house. The light did not reappear. At length, wearying of the vigil, she returned to the car.

Penny started the engine and bent down to open the fins of the heater. Straightening, she cast a last, careless glance toward the old estate. Her heart did a flip-flop.

Beyond the iron gate, in the garden area, a white-robed figure slowly paced back and forth!

"My Aunt!" whispered Penny. "Am I seeing things or am I seeing things?"

For a moment she sat very straight, watching. The ghostly figure, white from head to toe, moved with measured steps toward the high gate.

"There aren't any ghosts," she encouraged herself. "But if that's not a spook, it must be someone dressed up like one! And who would play Hallowe'en games on a cold night like this?"

Alone, frankly nervous, Penny had no overpowering desire to investigate the white-robed figure at close range. A large, spreading evergreen half-blocked her view of the gate. She could not see the ghost plainly, but she distinctly heard the rattle of a chain as the apparition tested the lock.

"Real or imaginary, that spook is trying to get out!" Penny thought with a shiver. "If Mose were here now I'd challenge him to a race!"

The white-gowned figure shook the gate chain a second time, then slowly retreated. Penny watched for a moment, before abruptly swinging open the car door. She had decided to investigate.

As she crossed the road, the white figure moved away from her. By the time she reached the gate, it had disappeared around a corner of the house.

"At least Mr. Spook wasn't carrying his own tombstone!" Penny observed to herself. "Mose exaggerated that part."

She waited, leaning against the gate post. Within three minutes a light went on in the upper part of the house. For a fleeting instant before the blind was pulled, she saw someone standing in front of an old-fashioned dresser.

"Mr. Ghost seemingly has turned in for the night," thought Penny. "But is it a he, she, or it?"

Soon the bedroom light was extinguished. Cold and tired, Penny decided that the mystery must remain unsolved. However, as she drove on, she kept thinking about what she had seen. Of one thing she now was certain. The estate was not deserted!

Without stopping at the Yacht Club grounds, Penny made certain that her stripped car and ice boat remained as she last had seen them. Driving on to Riverview, she left Salt's car at the _Star_ plant, then taxied home to tell Mrs. Weems of her failure at the cemetery.

"Don't feel badly about it," the housekeeper comforted. "Surely the woman who telephoned will make another attempt to reach you."

"I doubt it," Penny replied gloomily. "She'll know now that the police are watching for her."

"This entire affair is so bewildering," sighed Mrs. Weems. "How could your father have been kidnaped? If what we've learned is true, he left the scene of the accident of his own free will."

"I never was so baffled in my life," Penny returned, throwing herself on the davenport. "I used to think I was good at solving puzzles. Now I know I'm just plain dumb."

"Have you thought about employing a private detective?"

"It might be a good idea!" Penny agreed, encouraged. "I'll see what I can do tomorrow."

As she started wearily up the stairs to bed, Mrs. Weems called after her to say that Louise Sidell had telephoned earlier in the evening. Penny nodded absently, assuming that her chum had phoned to express sympathy. She did not think of the matter again until the next morning at breakfast. As she was leaving the table, Mrs. Weems came in to report that Louise once more was on the telephone.

"Penny, I can't tell you how shocked I was to learn about your father," her chum began breathlessly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm afraid not, Lou."

"What are you using for a car? You must need one badly."

"Salt Sommers let me have his last night. I'll get along."

"Penny, I know how you can buy tires!" Louise went on. "In fact, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"How can I buy tires? Rubber is supposed to be scarce."

"When I was having my hair fixed at the beauty parlor yesterday I heard two women talking!" Louise declared excitedly. "It seems there's a garage where you can get them if you pull the right strings!"

"Oh! A Black Market place?"

"I suppose that's what you would call it."

"I don't want to get tires illegally," Penny said. "I'm not interested, Lou."

"You don't even care to know the name of the garage?"

"What good would it do?"

"None perhaps, but it might give you a surprise."

"A surprise?" Penny repeated. She glanced at the clock, impatient because the conversation was being prolonged. A great deal of important work awaited her.

"You don't want to know the name of the place?" Louise persisted.

"Yes, I do. On second thought, it might be well worth while to find out what I can about Black Market operations in tires."

The conviction had come suddenly to Penny that all the evidence contained in her father's lost portfolio must be gathered anew. No word had been received from Jerry Livingston. In the quest for information, she must depend upon her own efforts.

"It's going to give you a real shock to learn the name of the place," Louise went on.

"I'm shock proof by this time," answered Penny. "Let 'er fly."

But Louise was unwilling to divulge the information over the telephone.

"I don't dare tell you now," she replied. "Just sit tight for ten minutes and I'll deliver my bombshell in person."

CHAPTER
13
_A BLACK MARKET_

Ten minutes later Louise was at the front door with the Sidell family car. She tooted the horn until Penny put on her coat and went outside.

"Jump in and I'll take you to the place of mystery," Louise greeted her. "On second thought, you'd better drive. I hate icy roads."

Penny slid behind the steering wheel. "But where are we going?" she protested. "Honestly, Lou, I haven't much time--"

"Mattie Williams' garage is the place that sells the tires! Now, are you interested?"

"Am I? Why, we stopped there with Salt Sommers!"

"We did indeed. Remember the big truck?"

"Lou, you may have stumbled into something really important!"

"Glad you think so, chum. But you're not interested in Black Markets."

"I've changed my mind! I want to talk to Mattie Williams right away!"

Penny started the car. Driving with a mechanical, unthinking efficiency born of many years' practice, she questioned Louise as to the source of her information. The girls were deep in a discussion when they heard someone shout. Salt Sommers had hailed them from the curb.

"Why, hello," Penny greeted him, stopping the car with a jerk. "Any trouble at the _Star_?"

"Not from Schirr," grinned Salt. "I'm hot-footing it to the Ladies Club to mug some dames pouring tea! For the society page."

"Poor Salt!" smiled Penny, knowing how he hated trivial assignments.

"On your way to the office?" the photographer questioned.

Penny hesitated, then decided to confide in Salt. She repeated what Louise had told her about the Mattie Williams' garage.

"Well, can you beat that!" the photographer exclaimed. "I don't know Mattie and her partner well, but I always supposed they were honest. So they're dealing in stolen tires!"

"We don't know for sure," Penny said hastily. "Our information is mostly founded on rumor."

"And the tires may not be stolen ones," contributed Louise. "I only heard they can be bought there."

Penny added that she would not take time to run down the Black Market story save that her father's disappearance might have a connection with the tire-thief gang.

"I aim to learn the names of those men Dad intended to expose," she said earnestly.

Somewhat startled by the grim note of Penny's voice, Salt warned her that she might be venturing on dangerous ground.

"We all admire your courage," he said, "but you mustn't take foolish risks. Your father would turn thumbs down on that idea."

"It's because of Dad that I must investigate every angle of the tire-theft racket."

"Quite an ambitious assignment," Salt said dryly. "Now as soon as Jerry gets back from Canada--"

"We can't wait! Something has to be done right away!"

"I know how you feel," responded Salt, "but there's such a thing as being too courageous."

"I'm not courageous," Penny denied. "Last night at the cemetery I was scared half to death. And then when I saw the ghost--"

"What ghost?" interrupted Louise.

Penny had not intended to speak of what she had seen at the Harrison estate. The slip of tongue made it necessary to tell of the path by the gate, the retreating figure, and the mysterious light.

"That's funny," commented the photographer, regarding her with a peculiar expression. "Since I've been on duty at the observation tower I've never seen any activity at the estate."

"I don't believe in ghosts, but I saw one all that same!" Penny insisted. "Just watch some night and see for yourself!"

Annoyed by Salt's smile, she shifted gears and drove on down the street. Turning to Louise, she asked earnestly: "You believe I saw something wandering about the estate last night, don't you?"

"Well," Louise hesitated, unwilling to offend her chum. "You must have been quite upset after failing to meet that woman at the cemetery. Under the circumstances...."

"I was as calm as I am now," Penny cried indignantly. "I saw it, I tell you!"

"Of course you did, dear," Louise soothed. "Do please watch your driving more carefully, or I'll have to take over."

Penny suddenly relaxed. "Okay, have it your own way," she shrugged. "I wouldn't believe Mose Johnson, so why should you believe me? It's just one of those things."

For a long while they rode in silence. Few cars were on the road and there was little business activity at Kamm's Corner. Penny parked in front of the Mattie Williams' garage.

"What excuse will we have for questioning her?" Louise asked dubiously.

"I'm not going to make an excuse," said Penny. "I'll just come right out and ask her if she sells tires without a special order."

The girls entered the warm little office, stamping snow from their galoshes.

"Just a minute," called a voice which belonged to Mattie Williams.

The garage owner was busy with a customer. Soon however, she came in from the main part of the building, wiping her oily hands on a piece of waste.

"What can I do for you?" she inquired briskly.

"You remember us, don't you?" asked Penny, leading into the subject of tires as gradually as possible. "We're friends of Salt Sommers."

"Oh, sure!" the woman's face lighted. "You came in with him the night of the bad storm."

"My car had been stripped of its tires. Ever since, I've been wondering how to get new ones."

A slightly guarded expression came over Mattie Williams' face. She said nothing.

"I was told I might obtain some here," Penny plunged on.

"You can," said Mattie. "Provided you have an order from your Ration Board."

"Not without it?"

Mattie gazed at Penny with undisguised scorn. "What sort of a place do you think we run here?" she demanded. "Of course we don't sell tires without an order."

"But we were told--"

"Well, you were told wrong," snapped Mattie. "Sorry. I can't help you."

Picking up a wrench from the desk top, the woman left the office.

"I guess I didn't approach her the right way," remarked Penny sadly. "Either that, or our information was incorrect. Louise, are you sure--"

"Oh, I am!" her chum insisted. "The two women I overheard, distinctly said Mattie Williams' garage. Of course, they might have been wrong about it."

Before Penny and Louise could leave the office, a middle-aged man with glasses came in through the street door.

"Sam Burkholder here?" he demanded, warming himself by the stove.

Penny started to say that she did not know. Just then Mattie Williams' partner came in the other door.

"Hi, Sam!" the stranger greeted him. "I've got the car parked around back. Are you ready to put on that tire?"

Sam frowned, darting a quick glance at the two girls.

"Oh, the one I patched for you!" he returned. "Sure, it's fixed. Drive your car in the back entrance and I'll take care of it."

Both men went out into the main part of the garage. Just beyond the door they paused for a whispered conference, then separated.

"Shall we go?" inquired Louise, glancing at her chum.

"Not just yet," replied Penny. "I'm curious to see that patched tire. Let's kill a little more time here."

Pretending to warm themselves by the stove, they waited ten minutes. Then, without attracting attention, they sauntered out onto the main garage floor. Mattie Williams was busy washing a car and did not see them.

The garage workroom was divided into sections, separated by a double door which was closed. Penny strolled over and pushed it open just enough to see through the crack.

Sam Burkholder was working on the stranger's car. He had removed an old tire and wheel, and was replacing it with one whose tread appeared new.

"A patched tire, my left eye!" Penny whispered to Louise. "It's just as we thought! This garage must be a Black Market place!"

CHAPTER
14
_A FAMILIAR FIGURE_

Only for a moment did the girls dare remain at the door watching Sam Burkholder mount the tire. Then, their curiosity satisfied, they moved quietly away. Without speaking to Mattie Williams, they returned to the parked automobile.

"Well, wasn't I right?" Louise demanded triumphantly. "What do you think we should do?"

The question plagued Penny. "I don't know," she confessed. "If only we were absolutely sure the tire was new--"

"It certainly looked new."

"Yes, but it could have had some wear. It's possible, too, that the customer had a legal right to buy a new tire."

"Then you don't intend to report to the police, Penny?"

"I want to talk to Salt about it first. We must move carefully, Lou. You see, my main objective is to learn the names of the higher-ups involved in the tire-theft racket."

"And where does this garage fit into the picture?"

"If it fits at all, my guess is that Sam and Mattie are buying illegal tires--perhaps from the same men who stripped my car and threatened Dad."

Driving slowly toward Riverview, Penny reviewed what she had seen. She was convinced the information was valuable, yet she scarcely knew how to use it.

"If Salt suggests that I report to the police, that's what I'll do," she decided.

Enroute home, Penny stopped at another garage to make arrangements to have her stripped coupe hauled into the city.

"How about the _Icicle_?" Louise asked, thinking her chum had forgotten the iceboat.

"It will have to stay where it is for the time being," Penny replied. "If it's stolen, I won't much care."

At the Sidell home, the girls separated. Thanking Louise for the use of the car, Penny returned afoot to the _Star_ office. Salt Sommers was absent on assignment, so she did not linger long. As she rounded a street corner on her way home, a newsboy for a rival paper blocked her path.

"Read all about it!" he shouted. "Anthony Parker Believed Kidnaped! Paper, Miss?"

Penny dropped a coin into the lad's hand and hastily scanned the front page. The story of her father's disappearance was a highly colored account, but contained not a useful item of information. Tossing the sheet into a street paper-container, she moved on.

She was passing the Gillman Department Store when her attention was drawn to a woman who waited for a bus.

"I've seen her somewhere before," thought Penny, pausing. "Last night--"

The woman wore a small black hat and a long, old-fashioned dark coat which came nearly to her ankles. It was the shape of the garment and its unusual length which struck Penny as familiar. Why, the woman resembled the one who had fled from the cemetery!

Penny pretended to gaze into the store window. Actually she studied the woman from every angle. She might have been forty-seven years of age and was large-boned. Her face was heavily lined, and her long hands were covered by a pair of cheap, black cotton gloves.

"Can it be the same woman?" thought Penny in perplexity.

A bus bearing a county placard glided up to the curb. The woman in black was the only passenger to board it.

"That bus goes out toward Baldiff Road and the cemetery!" Penny told herself. "And that's where I'm going too!"

An instant before the folding doors slammed shut, she sprang aboard. Paying her fare, she sought a seat at the rear of the bus.

No sooner was the coach in motion than Penny regretted her hasty action. What could she hope to gain by pursuing the strange woman? She was not certain enough of her identification to make a direct accusation. County buses ran infrequently. In all likelihood, she would find herself stranded in the country.

Penny arose to leave the bus. Then changing her mind a second time, she sat down. Try as she would, she could not rid herself of a conviction that the woman she followed was the same one who had visited the cemetery.

The bus made few stops in the city. Once beyond the city limits, it sped along at a brisk speed. To Penny's satisfaction, the woman in black soon began to gather up her packages. She pressed a button and the bus skidded to a stop at a crossroads.

With no show of haste, Penny followed the woman from the bus. Pretending to enter a grocery store at the corner, she waited and watched.

Apparently the woman lived nearby, for she started off down a narrow, winding road which ran at right angles to the main highway.

"Why that's the road that runs past the Harrison place," Penny thought. "Wonder if she can be going there?"

Waiting until the woman was nearly out of sight, she trudged after her. Walking was difficult for the road had not been cleared by a snow plow. Fortunately for Penny, the woman did not once glance behind her. She kept steadily on until she came within view of the big estate house on the hill. Just before she reached the boundary fence, she cut across a field, approaching the dwelling from the rear.

Penny remained at the road, watching. The woman took a key from her pocket, unlocking a small, padlocked gate at the rear of the grounds. She snapped the lock shut again, and disappeared into the house.

Penny perched herself on top of an old-fashioned rail fence to think over what she had seen. The woman, whoever she was, obviously lived at the estate. Yet the cheap quality of her clothing suggested that she could not be the owner of such an expensive establishment.

"Probably a servant or caretaker," Penny reasoned. "But is she the one who ran away last night?"

Far over the hills in a lonely grove of pines stood Oakland Cemetery. On either side of Baldiff Road stretched dense woods, a growth that crept to the very boundaries of the Harrison estate. Penny instantly noted that it would be possible for a person to flee from the cemetery to the very door of the estate without once leaving the shelter of trees.

"Perhaps it was the same woman!" she thought. "If she lives here, it would be logical for her to specify Oakland Cemetery as a meeting place! And escape would be easy for her, too!"

Penny slid down from the fence. It would do no good to question the woman. Rather, if she were guilty, questions might serve to place her on the alert. Far better, she reasoned, to bide her time.

"I'll learn everything I can about that woman," she thought. "Tonight I'll watch the house."

In making her plans, Penny did not take into account Mrs. Weems' attitude. Upon reaching home late in the afternoon, she found the housekeeper in a most discouraged mood. No favorable news had been received from any source.

"I've been worried about you too, Penny," Mrs. Weems confessed. "Where did you go after you left the _Star_ office?"

Penny told of her trip to Mattie Williams' garage and later to the Harrison estate. In particular she described the mysterious woman she had followed by bus.

"I plan to go back there tonight," she concluded. "For the first time since Dad disappeared, I feel I may have stumbled into a valuable clue!"

Mrs. Weems looked troubled. "But Penny," she protested, "you can't go to the estate alone!"

"I thought perhaps Louise would accompany me."

"Two girls alone at night! I can't give my consent, Penny. It's not safe."

"But I don't wish to call the police just yet, Mrs. Weems. I've no real evidence. Will you come with me?"

The housekeeper hesitated. Naturally a timid woman, she had no desire to stir from her own fireside that night. But she knew where her duty lay.

"Yes, I'll go with you, Penny," she consented. "Shall we start soon?"

"Not until after dark. One can't expect a ghost to show up in broad daylight."

"A ghost!" Mrs. Weems quavered. "Penny, what are you letting me in for?"

"Frankly, I don't know. Some strange things have been going on at the Harrison estate. Tonight I hope to solve part of the mystery at least."

Pressed for an explanation, Penny repeated Mose Johnson's story and told of seeing the strange white-robed figure with her own eyes. The tale did not add to Mrs. Weems' comfort of mind.

"We're crazy to go out there," the housekeeper protested. "Must we do it?"

"I think it may be our one hope of gaining a clue which will lead to Dad."

"Then I'm willing to risk it," agreed Mrs. Weems. "However, we'll drive out in a taxi. And I shall personally select the driver--a man to be depended on in an emergency."

So excited was the housekeeper that she had difficulty in preparing the evening meal. In the end Penny took over, shooing her out of the kitchen.

"I declare I don't know why I am so nervous," Mrs. Weems shivered. "I haven't felt so shaky since the time I attended a seance at Osandra's."

"You saw ghosts a-plenty on that occasion," smiled Penny. "I only hope we have as much luck tonight."

By eight o'clock everything was in readiness for the journey into the country. Dressing warmly and carrying an extra blanket, Penny and Mrs. Weems walked to a nearby cab station. There the housekeeper selected a driver, a burly man who looked as if he might have been an ex-prizefighter.

"Sure, Ma'am," he said as Mrs. Weems questioned him, "you can depend on me to look after you."

"How are you at capturing ghosts?" inquired Penny, climbing into the cab.

The driver looked a trifle startled. "Swell!" he rejoined. "Bring on your spook, and if he don't weigh no more than two hundred pounds, I'll nail him!"

Penny and Mrs. Weems were satisfied that they were in good hands. They instructed the man, Joe Henkell, to drive directly to the old Harrison estate.

"By the way, do you know who owns the property?" Penny asked as the cab rolled toward the country.

"Fellow from the East," Joe flung over his shoulder. "I'm not sure. Think his name is Deming--George Allan Deming. Wealthy sportsman. Has his own plane an' everything."

"Married?"

"Couldn't tell you. The estate has been closed up this winter."

The cab soon approached the familiar grounds. Penny directed the driver to pull up some distance from the dark house.

"Switch off the headlights," she instructed. "We'll wait here. It may be a long time too, so make yourself comfortable."

Joe, taking Penny at her word, began to smoke a vile-smelling cigar which nearly drove Mrs. Weems to distraction. After an hour had elapsed, the housekeeper scarcely could endure the stuffy air of the cab.

"Penny, must we wait any longer?" she asked plaintively.

"Why, it's early, Mrs. Weems. I expect to stay until midnight at least."

"Midnight!" The housekeeper quietly collapsed.

Just then the cab driver turned around, touching Penny's arm. He directed her attention to the house by saying briefly: "A light just went on."

Penny and Mrs. Weems focused their attention on the upper floor of the estate. A single light could be seen burning there, but as they watched it blinked off.

"Now if a ghost is to appear this is the time!" announced Penny. "Why don't we get closer?"

She sprang from the cab. Mrs. Weems and the taxi driver followed with less enthusiasm. The housekeeper, quivering and shaking, clutched the man's arm as she struggled against the wind.

"Joe, you stay right beside me!" she ordered.

"Sure, Ma'am," he said soothingly. "I couldn't get away if I had a mind to."

Penny, a step ahead, held up her hand as a warning for silence. She had seen the familiar white figure rounding a corner of the house.

"There's the ghost!" she whispered. "See! Beyond the gate!"

Joe whistled softly.

"A spook, sure's I'm alive!" he muttered.

"And you promised to nail him," reminded Penny, starting forward along the fence. "We'll creep a little closer. Then Joe, I shall expect you to do your stuff!"

CHAPTER
15
_GHOST IN THE GARDEN_

The three investigators moved stealthily along the high fence. Through the iron palings they could see a white-garbed figure walking with measured tread amid the shrubs of the frozen garden. Back and forth the apparition strolled, following a well-trod path between the shrunken snowdrifts.

Penny, Mrs. Weems, and the taxi driver crept closer. The ghostly one did not note their approach. Hooded head bent low, he glided to the gate, testing chain and padlock.

"Poor restless soul!" whispered Mrs. Weems.

Penny gave the housekeeper a tiny pinch to break the spell which had fallen upon her. "That's no ghost," she whispered. "Don't you see! It's a man wearing a heavy white bathrobe over his clothing. He's pulled the wide collar up over his head like a hood!"

"It's a man all right," added the taxi driver. "You can tell by the way he walks. Ghosts kinda slither, don't they?"

"I believe it's someone imprisoned on the grounds!" Penny whispered tensely. "Watch!"

The ghost, his face shadowed, rattled the chain again. Then with a distinct, audible sigh, he turned and tramped back along the fence away from the gate.

"Aw, that spook could get out if he wanted to," muttered the taxi driver. "Why don't he climb over the fence?"

"Perhaps the man is a sleep walker," suggested Mrs. Weems nervously. "Whoever he is, the poor fellow should be in his bed."

Penny was determined to learn the identity of the man. Moving to the gate, she called softly. The figure in white whirled around, looking straight toward her.

Penny caught a fleeting impression of a lean, startled face. Then the man turned and fled toward the house. No longer could there be any doubt that he was a man, for as he ran the legs of his woolen pajamas showed beneath the white robe.

"Wait!" Penny called. "Please wait!"

The ghostly one hesitated, and glanced over his shoulder. But the next moment he was gone, having vanished through a side door into the house.

Penny, weak from excitement, clung to the gate. "Mrs. Weems!" she cried. "Did you see him?"

"Yes, you frightened him away when you shouted."

"But didn't you notice his face? As he turned toward me, I caught a glimpse of it. Mrs. Weems, the man looked like Dad!"

"Oh, Penny," the housekeeper murmured, taking her arm, "you can't be right. How could it be your father?"

"It looked like him."

"Not to me," said Mrs. Weems firmly. "Why, if it had been Mr. Parker, he would have answered when you called. He wouldn't have run away."

Penny was compelled to acknowledge the logic of the housekeeper's reasoning. "I guess that's true," she said reluctantly. "I'll admit I didn't see his face plainly. I wanted it to be Dad so badly I may have imagined the resemblance."

A light was switched on in an upstairs room of the estate house. However, blinds were lowered, and those on the ground did not obtain another glimpse of the mysterious man who haunted the snowy garden. Finally Mrs. Weems induced Penny to return to the taxi.

Speeding toward Riverview, neither of them had much to say. Penny could not blot from her mind the vision of a startled, bewildered face. Reason told her that Mrs. Weems was right--the man could not be her father. Who then, was he? Why had he refused to talk to her at the gate?

"The man may have been a sleep walker," she thought. "Possibly the owner of the estate, Mr. Deming."

The cab had reached the business section of Riverview. Upon impulse Penny decided to stop at the _Star_ plant to make sure that everything was going well.

"It won't take me long," she assured Mrs. Weems. "Why don't you wait in the cab?"

Only a skeleton night force was on duty at the _Star_ office. The advertising department had been closed, and on the floor above, scrub women were busy mopping up. A sleepy-eyed desk man greeted Penny as she entered the deserted newsroom.

"Everything's Okay," he assured her. "The final edition's out, and most of the boys have gone home. I was just taking a little cat nap."

"Any news?"

"Not about your father. The police have been kept busy chasing down false rumors. About four hours ago a report came in your father had been seen in Chicago."

"Chicago!"

"Just a fake report."

"Oh, I see," said Penny weakly. "No word from Jerry, I suppose?"

The deskman shook his head. "Plenty of mail for you though."

"Anything important?"

"Mostly replies to that reward offer you made. A lot of 'em are screwball letters. Your father's been seen in every section of the city from the river to the Heights."

"Where is the mail?"

"I dumped it on your father's desk."

"I'll take it home to read," Penny said. "By going through every letter carefully I may stumble upon a clue."

She crossed the newsroom and opened the door of her father's office.

The light was not on. Groping for the wall switch, her keen ears detected stealthy steps moving away from her. Sensing the presence of someone in the room she called sharply: "Who's here?"

There was no reply. Across the room, a door softly opened and clicked shut. Penny was startled. Although the private office had two entrances, one leading directly into the hall, the latter had not been used in years. Usually the door was locked and a clothes tree stood in front of it.

Her groping fingers found the switch and she flooded the room with light. A glance revealed that mail lying on the desk had been disturbed. One of the top drawers remained open. The clothes tree had been moved from in front of the hall door. Plainly, someone had just fled from the room!

Darting to the corridor door, Penny jerked it open. No one was in sight. However, at the end of the deserted hall, she saw the elevator cage moving slowly downward.

"I'll get that fellow yet!" she thought grimly.

Taking the hall at a run, she plunged down the stairway two steps at a time. Breathless but triumphant, she reached the lower corridor just as the cage stopped with a jerk.

Harley Schirr stepped out, closing the grilled door behind him.

"Fancy meeting you here!" said Penny, her eyes flashing. "What were you doing in my father's office?"

Schirr regarded her coolly. Without answering, he tried to brush past her.

"You were looking for something in Dad's desk!" Penny accused, blocking the way. "I know how you got in too! Through the hall entrance. You're such a professional snooper you probably have a skeleton key that unlocks half the doors in the building!"

"I've had about enough of your insolence!" Schirr retorted. "There's no law which says I can't come to this plant. And speaking of law, I may sue you for libel."

"What a laugh."

"You'll not be laughing in a few days, Miss Parker! Oh, no! I've hired a lawyer, and we're preparing our case. You've insulted me, humiliated me in the eyes of my fellow newspapermen, but you'll have to pay. And pay handsomely!"

The threat failed to disturb Penny. Schirr, determined to wound her deeply, went on with grim satisfaction.

"You kid yourself you'll see your father again," he jeered. "Well, you won't! Mr. Parker is dead and you may as well get used to the idea."

Penny's eyes burned. "You say that only to torture me!"

"It's the truth. If you weren't so blind you'd acknowledge it. Your father tried to run a gang of professional tire-thieves out of this town, and they did for him."

"You seem very certain of your facts, Mr. Schirr. Perhaps you know some of the higher-ups personally."

"How would I?"

"Your knowledge is so complete," Penny said scathingly.

"I'm only telling you my opinion," Schirr growled, now on the defensive. "If you want to ride along in a sweet dream that's Okay with me."

"I want to get at the truth," said Penny shortly. "Do you have one scrap of evidence that Dad has fallen into the hands of enemies?"

Schirr hesitated, knowing well that an affirmative answer might lead to questioning from the police.

"I don't have any knowledge of the case," he said. "At least not for publication!"

Flashing a superior smile, he pushed past Penny, and went out of the building.

CHAPTER
16
_A DOOR IN A BOX_

Penny scarcely knew what to think of Harley Schirr's actions. All her accusations were true, of that she was sure. But she was unable to decide whether or not he had any information about her father's strange disappearance.

"The old snooper may be hand in glove with the tire thieves!" she thought bitterly. "I wouldn't put it past him. If I could prove anything, wouldn't I like to turn him over to the police!"

Climbing the stairs, Penny explained briefly to the _Star_ deskman what had occurred.

"Shirr here again!" he exclaimed. "Why, I'm sure he never came through the newsroom."

"No, he got into Dad's office by means of that old hall door. Tomorrow I want a new lock put on."

"I'll have it taken care of myself," promised the deskman.

Reentering her father's office, Penny gathered up the mail and carefully locked both doors. She then returned to the waiting taxicab. During the ride home she made no mention of Mr. Schirr, preferring not to worry the housekeeper.

Later in Mr. Parker's study, she and Mrs. Weems examined every letter written in response to the reward offer. Not even one of them offered the slightest promise.

"I'll turn everything over to the police," Penny said with a sigh. "Maybe they'll find a clue I've not considered important."

Both she and Mrs. Weems were feeling the effects of such a long period of strain. Meals had been irregular, appetites poor. Penny in particular had lost so much weight that she looked thin and sallow. Yet somehow she managed to keep up her strength and to face each day with hope.

"Mrs. Weems," she said the next morning at breakfast, "if you'll advance me some money, I'm going on another taxi jaunt today."

"Not to the Harrison place."

"No, out to Mattie Williams' garage. I'm convinced that place is dealing in stolen tires. If only I can reconstruct the evidence which disappeared in Dad's portfolio, I may get a clue that will lead to him."

Without protest, Mrs. Weems gave Penny the money. Secretly she thought that the girl would do much better to turn all of her information over to the police. However, she realized that Penny needed activity to keep her from brooding, so she wisely did not discourage her.

"Don't get into any trouble," she warned anxiously.

"No danger of that, Mrs. Weems. I've not enough pep for it these days."

Engaging the same cabman who had served her so well the previous night, Penny motored to the Williams' garage. She had made no plans and scarcely knew what she would say when she entered the place. As she debated, the big doors of the building opened, and a tow car drove away with Mattie at the wheel.

"There she goes!" thought Penny, disappointed. "I'm afraid my interview will have to wait."

Getting out, she sauntered into the garage office. Mattie's partner, Sam, was nowhere to be seen. Nor did he appear to be working in the main part of the building.

Penny waited a few minutes, then wandered about the floor where a number of cars had been stored. No workmen were in evidence.

"This might be a good time to do a bit of looking around!" she thought suddenly. "I'll never have a better chance."

Penny opened the doors into the room where she had observed Sam Burkholder mount a new tire on the car of a customer. One wall was stacked high with large wooden boxes, not unlike those she and Louise had seen delivered by the truck driver, Hank Biglow, on the night of the blizzard.

She thumped one of the boxes with her knuckles. It gave off a hollow, empty sound. She tried another box with no better luck. Some of the big crates had been opened. They contained nothing except a little brown wrapping paper.

Disappointed, Penny turned away. But as she moved toward the exit, her eyes flashed upon one of the boxes which had escaped her attention. Boards were loose at one end, and could be hinged back on their nails like a door.

Intrigued, Penny crossed to the crate. As she pulled on one of the boards, all swung back as a unit.

"Why, it's like a door!" she thought. "A door in a box!"

Penny gazed into the box and was further amazed. It had no back wall. Instead, she saw a long, empty tunnel formed by several crates piled one in front of the other. And at the very end stood a real door!

"Maybe this is the pay-off!" thought Penny excitedly.

Pulling the boards into place behind her, she stooped and made her way through the tunnel to the door. It was locked.

"I'll bet a cent stolen tires are stored in that room!" reasoned Penny. "If only I could get in there!"

Her mind did not dwell long on the problem. A moment later she was alarmed to hear a low murmur of voices. Someone was approaching the storage room from the main part of the garage. Unless she wished to be trapped in the tunnel of boxes, she must abandon the investigation!

Penny started hurriedly toward the opening. Before she could get through the tunnel, the big double doors squeaked open and she heard heavy footsteps in the room. Peering out through a knothole in one of the boxes, she saw Mattie Williams and her partner, Sam. They were arguing and their voices came to her plainly:

"Guess you didn't look for me back quite so soon, Sam," Mattie reprimanded her partner. "When I went off in the tow car you figured I'd be gone a long time. Thought it would give you a good chance to tamper with the books!"

"That's not so, Mattie. I was marking up some expenses like I always do."

"I've been aiming to have a straight talk with you for a long time, Sam," the woman resumed. "That's why I asked you to step back here in the storage room. No use having the customers know about our differences."

"I don't see what you've got to squawk about," Sam retorted. "Ain't you made more money since I teamed up with you than you ever did before?"

"Yes."

"But you're always afraid I'll cheat you out of a penny."

"I've caught you in some dishonest tricks. About those tires--"

A loud, insistent tooting of an automobile horn broke up the conversation. Abandoning the argument, Mattie and Sam went to serve the impatient customer.

Penny did not tarry. Crawling from the tunnel, she glanced about for a means of escape. Fortunately, the room had an outside exit. Making use of it, she returned to the waiting taxi, without seeing either Sam or Mattie again.

"Police station, Joe," she instructed.

"How do you want to go?" the cab driver inquired. "This road or No. 32?"

"Let's drive past the old Harrison place."

"Sure," grinned Joe. "Maybe we'll see that spook again!"

The cab bumped along the frozen road, soon coming within view of the hillside estate. Joe slowed down without being requested to do so.

"I was tellin' the boys about that place last night," he flung over his shoulder. "They tell me the owner is this guy Deming. He's gone East for the winter. A big, fat, bald-headed man."

"Our ghost was a thin person."

"Yeah, I was thinking that," agreed Joe. "Maybe Deming's got a sick relative or something."

The explanation did not satisfy Penny. With troubled eyes she gazed toward the rambling old house which by daylight looked so deserted. No smoke curled from the chimneys. Had it not been for a trail of footprints along the fence, she easily could have convinced herself that she had imagined the events of the previous night.

"Say, who's that trackin' through the fields?" Joe suddenly demanded.

Penny turned to glance in the direction that the cabman pointed. Her heart did a little flip-flop. A woman in a long black coat, market basket on her arm, was hastening toward the rear door of the estate house.

"Stop the cab, Joe!" she cried.

The car came to a halt with a little sideways skid. Leaping out, Penny plunged through the drifts and was able to confront the woman at the rear gate of the premises.

"How do you do," she greeted her breathlessly.

The woman was so startled that she nearly dropped her market basket. Confused, she stammered a reply and started to unlock the gate.

"Just a moment, please," requested Penny. "May I come inside and talk to you?"

"About what?"

"My father's disappearance. You made an appointment to meet me at the cemetery. Why did you run away?"

The bold attack was not without an effect. The woman gasped, and fumbled nervously with the key to the padlock.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she muttered.

"Unless you tell me everything you know regarding my father's disappearance, I'll call the police!"

"The police--" the woman repeated, plainly frightened.

"Yes," Penny went on relentlessly, "this is a serious matter. It will do you no good to bluff."

The woman gave up trying to unlock the gate. Setting her basket down in the snow she said weakly: "You advertised a reward--"

"I'll still be glad to pay it for worthwhile information. What do you know about my father?"

The woman drew a deep breath. "Well, I picked him up in my car after the accident."

"You did?" Penny became jubilant. "Where is he now?"

"I can't tell you that. Mr. Parker asked me to take him to Mercy Hospital. I let him off at the entrance to the grounds. That's the last I saw of him."

"My father entered the hospital?"

"I don't know. I didn't remain to watch."

The story was disappointing. If true, Mr. Parker's disappearance remained as mysterious as ever. Penny was silent a moment and then she asked the woman why she had fled from the cemetery.

"Because I saw a police car parked behind the bushes," the other answered defiantly. "And those detectives chased me, too! I only intended to be helpful and maybe win a reward. Now I want nothing to do with the case. I've told you everything I know."

The woman unlocked the gate and started to enter the grounds.

"You're not Mrs. Deming?" Penny asked quickly.

"Who I am is my own business."

"I suppose the ghost is your own affair too!"

"Ghost? What ghost?"

"You live here, yet you haven't learned that the grounds are haunted?" Penny inquired significantly. "Nearly every night a man in white wanders back and forth in the garden."

"I don't know anything about it!" the woman said nervously. "I'll not answer any more questions either!"

Plainly frightened, she snapped shut the padlock of the gate and fled into the house.

CHAPTER
17
_ADVENTURE BY MOONLIGHT_

A moment Penny stood gazing at the estate house. She considered climbing the iron fence and trying to gain entrance to the dwelling. Then, deciding that nothing would be achieved by again accosting the strange woman, she returned to the waiting taxi.

"Where to?" asked the cabman.

"It's still the police station," directed Penny, repeating an earlier order. "I have twice as much to report now."

As the cab pulled away, she noticed a movement of curtains at the front of the estate house. Evidently the woman who had fled, was watching.

Joe made a quick trip to Riverview, depositing Penny at the doorstep of Central Station.

"Will you need me any more?" he asked hopefully.

"I may."

"Okay," said Joe, slamming the cab door. "I'll stick around. You know, I kinda like this job."

Once inside the police station, Penny inquired for Chief Jalman. Unable to see him, she asked to speak to the two detectives who had been assigned to her father's case. Both men were away from the building.

"Why not talk to Carl Burns?" suggested the desk sergeant. "He's familiar with the case."

Penny was sent to see a heavy-set man who warmed himself by a steaming radiator. Evidently he had spent several hours in an unheated police car for he stamped his feet to restore circulation.

"Mr. Burns?" inquired Penny.

The man turned, staring at her. Penny returned the stare. She had seen the officer before and the recollection was not entirely pleasant. He was the same officer she had met near Mattie's garage on the night of the blizzard.

"What may I do for you?" he asked.

Uncomfortably aware of the officer's scrutiny, Penny began to tell of her visit to the Williams' garage. She stammered a bit and lost confidence.

"You say you saw some big boxes at the garage," he demanded. "What's so suspicious about that?"

Penny tried to explain about the tunnel of boxes which led to a hidden storage room. Even to her own ears the story had a fantastic sound.

"What you _think_ or _surmise_ doesn't go in this business!" the officer said rather rudely. "Did you actually see any stolen tires?"

"Well, no, I didn't," Penny admitted. "The door was locked."

"Are you willing to swear out a warrant charging Mattie and her partner with dealing in stolen merchandise?"

"I don't suppose I'd dare do that. I thought if police would investigate--"

"We can't go on suspicions, Miss Parker. We act only on sound evidence."

"Well, it doesn't matter so much about the stolen tires," Penny said desperately. "I have another clue--a really important one. I've found the woman who eluded Detectives Brandon and Fuller at the cemetery!"

"Now we may get somewhere," replied the officer. "Who is the woman? Where did you see her?"

Penny told everything she knew about the woman who had taken her father to Mercy Hospital. Word for word she repeated their recent conversation together.

"I'll turn this evidence over to Detective Fuller," the policeman promised. "He'll probably want to question the woman himself."

"I hope he does it right away," replied Penny. "She may take it into her head to skip out of town."

Officer Burns smiled wearily. "Just trust us to handle the case," he said. "We know our business."

Penny left the station feeling none too satisfied. Although she had nothing against Mr. Burns, she sensed that he did not like her. She wondered if she could depend on him to repeat her story as she had told it.

"If that estate house isn't investigated immediately, I'll do something myself!" she thought.

Joe, the cabman, still waited. Signaling him, Penny regretfully explained that she would have no further use for his services.

"Well, if you change your mind and want to do some more ghost huntin' tonight, just give me a ring," Joe grinned. "My number's 20476."

Penny carefully wrote it down. She then walked to the nearby _Star_ building where many matters awaited her attention. There she worked without interruption until late afternoon, taking only enough time to call the police station. Detective Fuller was not available. So far as she could learn, no investigation had been made of the Harrison estate.

Thoroughly annoyed, Penny tramped home to dinner. Only a cold meal awaited her. Mrs. Weems, ill with a headache, had set out a few dishes on the kitchen table, and gone to bed.

"It's nothing," the housekeeper insisted as Penny questioned her anxiously. "I've just worried too much the past few days."

"Let me call Doctor Barnell."

"Indeed not," Mrs. Weems remonstrated. "I'll be all right tomorrow."

Penny brewed a cup of tea and made the housekeeper as comfortable as she could. By the time she had eaten a snack and washed the dishes it was eight o'clock. Debating a long while, she went to the telephone and summoned a cab.

"Number 20476," she requested.

Penny was zipping on her galoshes when the doorbell rang. Without giving her time to answer it, Louise Sidell marched into the kitchen bearing a freshly baked lemon pie.

"Mother sent this over," she explained. "I slipped on the ice coming over and nearly had a catastrophe!"

Carefully Louise deposited the pie on the kitchen table. Cutting short Penny's praise of it, she inquired alertly: "Going somewhere?"

Penny explained that she intended to motor to the Harrison estate.

"Not alone?" Louise demanded.

"I'll have to, I guess. Mrs. Weems is sick, so I can't take her along."

"You could invite me," Louise said eagerly. "I'll telephone mother to come over and stay with Mrs. Weems while we're gone!"

The arrangement proved satisfactory to everyone. Mrs. Sidell came immediately to the house, and very shortly thereafter the girls sped away in Joe's taxicab.

The night was a pleasant one, mildly cold, but with a bright moon.

"Park before you get to the estate," Penny directed the driver. "We don't want to be seen. It might defeat our purpose."

Joe drew up in a clump of trees some distance from the Harrison grounds. He then walked with the girls to the spiked fence. There was no sign of activity.

Two hours elapsed. During that time nothing unusual occurred. No lights were visible inside the house. Even Penny began to lose heart.

"This is getting pretty boring," she sighed. "I don't believe the ghost is going to show up tonight."

"We may have been observed," suggested Louise. "One can see very plainly tonight."

After another half hour had elapsed Penny was willing to return to the cab. The three started away from the fence. Just then they heard a door slam inside the house. Instantly they froze against the screen of bushes, waiting.

"There's the ghost!" whispered Louise.