Chapter XIV: A Diamond Ring

"Mr. Laponi, kindly move away from that safe!"

Penny spoke sharply as she quietly stepped into the living room. The man whirled and saw her. Taken by surprise, his hand fell away from the dials and he looked confused.

"You seem to be very much interested in Mr. Winters' valuables," Penny said sternly.

By this time Max Laponi had recovered his composure.

"Why shouldn't I be?" he retorted. "After all, I am Mr. Winters' heir."

"That remains to be seen, Mr. Laponi. You appear to be very handy at opening safes, I notice." Penny crossed the room and after turning the handle to make certain that Laponi had not succeeded in his purpose, closed the panel and returned the oil painting to its former position.

"I suppose you think I was trying to steal," Laponi began after a minute of dead silence. "Nothing was further from my intention."

"No?"

"Ever since I caught Caleb Eckert trying to break into this safe I've been worried. Last night I saw him prowling around the house after dark and it made me uneasy. I was afraid he would make another attempt to steal Mr. Winters' valuables."

"So you thought you would just beat him to it!" Penny retorted sarcastically.

"Certainly not. When you entered the room I was merely inspecting the safe to make certain that it was securely locked."

Penny could not refrain from smiling. She did not believe a word of what Max Laponi was telling her.

"That safe seems to be the real attraction of this house," she remarked. "I've suspected for some time that it contains Mr. Winters' ivory collection."

If Max Laponi were taken aback he did not disclose it. But he eyed Penny shrewdly.

"You're a smart little girl. Too smart to go around making trouble for yourself. Now if you're wise you'll team up with me and I'll promise you that you'll come out at the top of the heap."

"Just what is your proposition?" Penny asked quickly.

Max Laponi was too alert to place himself in any trap.

"If you're willing to follow my orders I'll promise you that when I come into my fortune you'll be well paid."

"And what are your orders?"

"I'll tell you after you give me your promise."

Penny regarded him coldly.

"I'll promise nothing, Mr. Laponi, except that I intend to see justice done to Rosanna Winters! You and Mrs. Leeds are trying to cheat her out of her rightful inheritance."

"She'll never get a cent. If you had an ounce of sense you'd ditch her and come in with us. It's all fixed--"

"Fixed!" Penny tripped him. "And by 'us' I imagine you mean Mrs. Leeds. You're both hatching some scheme to defraud Rosanna."

Laponi smiled impudently.

"Well, don't say I didn't give you your choice, Miss Nichols. It is your decision to have no share in the spoils?"

"It is."

Laponi's face darkened slightly. "As you wish, Miss Nichols. But let me give you a little warning. Keep your nose out of my affairs or it will be the worse for you!"

He turned and walked from the room. A minute later Penny saw him leave the house by the side door.

"If he thinks he can frighten me with a threat he has another guess coming!" she thought indignantly. "For two cents I'd call in the police."

Upon second consideration she decided that such a move would not be wise. After all she had no real evidence against Laponi. While she was convinced in her own mind that his motives were dishonest the police might take a more conservative attitude. Then too, she would be forced to offer a satisfactory explanation for her own presence in the house.

"Laponi is after something more valuable than a will," Penny mused as she stood at the window watching his car vanish down the driveway.

Her eye wandered to the oil painting on the wall. She felt certain that the safe which was screened beneath it guarded Mr. Winters' collection of ivory. And from the expression of Laponi's face when she had mentioned her belief, she was sure that he shared the same conviction.

"He practically admitted he was involved in some scheme to defraud Rosanna," she thought. "I can't help feeling he's a crook even if he is a relative of Mr. Winters. I wish I dared search his room for evidence!"

The more she considered the idea, the greater became its appeal. Probably Laponi would not return to the house for at least an hour. She would have ample time. Still, the undertaking would be a risky one and not at all to her liking.

"I suppose a professional detective wouldn't feel squeamish about entering another person's room if the case demanded it," she encouraged herself. "Laponi practically admitted his guilt--that was because he thought I couldn't do anything about it. Maybe I'll show him!"

By this time Penny's mind was made up. Quietly she stole up the stairway. In the upper corridor she paused to listen for a minute. Everything was still.

Penny tiptoed down the hall to Max Laponi's room. She tried the door. It was locked.

"That's funny," she thought. "He must keep something inside that he's afraid to have folks see."

She was more eager than before to search the room. But with the key gone it seemed out of the question. Then Penny's face lighted as she recalled the empty bedroom adjoining the one occupied by Laponi. It was possible that they might have a connecting door.

Looking carefully about to make certain that she was not under observation, she moved on down the hall and tried the next door. To her delight it opened. She entered the dusty chamber, gazing quickly about. She was disappointed to see that the two bedrooms had no connecting door.

However, when she walked to the window and raised it, she noted a wide ledge which ran the length of the building.

"If only I dared lower myself to it I could reach Max Laponi's room, for the ledge is only a few feet below from his window!" she reasoned.

Penny decided that the chance was worth taking. She naturally was athletic and had confidence that she could maintain a foothold. Lowering herself to the ledge she flattened herself to the wall of the house and moved an inch at a time toward the next window. It was a long fall to the ground. Penny did not dare glance downward. Although the distance between the two windows was not more than twelve feet it seemed an age until her hands clutched the sill.

As she pried at the window a sudden fear assailed her. What if it too were locked?

The window had only stuck a little. A quick jerk brought it up. By sheer strength of muscle, Penny raised herself to the level of the sill, swinging her feet through the opening.

"I must work fast," she told herself, glancing appraisingly about. "I'd not care to be caught here."

Her attention was drawn to Max Laponi's open suitcase which had been left carelessly on the bed. Crossing over to it she began to explore the contents systematically.

"My hunch about Laponi may have been wrong," she thought uncomfortably as the search revealed nothing of interest.

Just then her hand touched something hard and cold. Penny knew instantly that it was a revolver. She was not afraid of firearms for her father had taught her to shoot. Carefully she inspected the weapon.

"All this heavy artillery must have been brought here for a purpose," she reflected grimly. "It's clear Laponi is out to get what he wants by one means or another."

After an instant's hesitation Penny placed the revolver on the table. She had decided to take it with her when she left.

"Things in this house are fast approaching a crisis," she reasoned. "Before I get through I may need that weapon myself."

Save for an inner pocket in the suitcase, Penny had completed her inspection. She ran her hand into the cloth pouch and brought to light several papers. Rapidly she went through them.

Suddenly she uttered a cry of delight. She had discovered the letter which Max Laponi claimed had been sent him by the same lawyer who had notified Rosanna of her newly inherited fortune.

Although Laponi, upon his arrival at Raven Ridge, had flourished the document, he had permitted no one to inspect it closely.

Now as Penny read the letter carefully she recalled that the wording was identical with the message which Rosanna had received. Closely she studied the salutation, holding the paper to the light.

"I believe the name has been changed!" she exclaimed. "Max Laponi has cleverly removed Rosanna's name and substituted his own. This must be the letter which Rosanna lost!"

It occurred to her that the man doubtlessly had found the missing key as well. She again ran her hand into the cloth pocket and triumphantly brought it forth.

"He's nothing but a rank impostor!" she told herself. "I'll keep this letter as evidence against him and the key will come in handy too!"

Penny hastily rearranged the suitcase as she had found it and prepared to depart. The search had well repaid her for her efforts, but it had taken longer than she had intended.

However, as she crossed the room toward the window she noticed a number of small objects spread out over the dresser and could not resist pausing to inspect them. They held her interest only briefly.

She turned away again but as she moved off a button on her sleeve caught in the lace work of the runner which covered the dresser top. It pulled awry and Penny paused to straighten it.

As she rearranged the piece, her fingers touched a small hard object on the under side. Her curiosity aroused she turned back the runner and looked beneath it.

There lay a diamond ring.

"A diamond!" she exclaimed. "As big as a house too. It's evidently been hidden here by Max Laponi!"

She picked it up and examined it, reflecting that somewhere she had seen a similar piece of jewelry. She was certain the diamond was not an imitation for it sparkled brightly. However, she had no opportunity to give it more than a hasty glance for she was startled to hear footsteps coming down the hall.

"Max Laponi may be coming back," she thought nervously.

Leaving the diamond ring where she had discovered it she hastily rearranged the dresser cover. With her newly acquired evidence, she darted to the window and lowered herself to the outside ledge.