Part 8

As the bridge was lost to view beyond a bend in the river, she gave all her attention to watching the coves and inlets. Her father sat hunched over in the seat beside her, slapping at mosquitoes. Now and then he would switch on the flashlight to look at his watch.

Gradually the river had widened, so that it was possible to cover only one shore.

"We'll search the other side on our return trip," Mr. Parker said. "But it looks to me as if we're not going to have any luck."

As if to add to the discouragement of the party, dark clouds began to edge across the sky. One by one the stars were inked out. Penny's light coat offered scant protection from the cold wind.

And then, Harry Griffith throttled down the motor and spun the wheel sharply to starboard. He leaned forward, trying to pierce the black void ahead of the boat's bright beam.

"Looks like something over there," he said pointing. "Might be a log. No, it's a boat."

"I can't see anyone in it!" Penny cried. "It's drifting with the current."

"That looks like one of my boats, sure as you're born," Griffith declared, idling the engine. "The same I rented the young feller this morning."

"But where is Jerry?" cried Penny.

Griffith maneuvered his own boat close to the one which drifted with the current. Mr. Parker was able to reach out and grasp the long rope dangling in the water.

"The flashlight, Penny!" he commanded.

She turned the beam on, and as it focused upon the floor of the boat, drew in her breath sharply. On the bottom, face downward, lay a man.

"It's Jerry!" Penny cried. "Oh, Dad, he's--"

"Steady," said her father. "Steady."

While Griffith held the two boats together, he stepped aboard the smaller one. He bent over the crumpled figure, feeling Jerry's pulse, gently turning him upon his back.

"Is he alive, Dad?"

"His pulse is weak, but I can feel it. Yes, he's breathing! Hold that light steady, Penny."

"Dad, there's blood on his head! I--I can see it trickling down."

"He's been struck with a club or some blunt object," Mr. Parker said grimly. "He may have a fractured skull."

"Oh, Dad!"

"Keep a grip on yourself," her father ordered sternly, "It may not be as bad as I think, but we'll have to rush him to the nearest doctor."

"If it was me, I wouldn't try to move him out of there," advised Harry Griffith. "Leave him where he is. I'll get aboard and we'll take this boat in tow."

Penny helped the man make their craft fast to the other boat, and then they both climbed aboard. Griffith started the engine and turned around in the river.

"I'll head for Covert," he said. "That's about the closest place. There ought to be a good doctor in a town that size."

While Griffith handled the boat, Penny and her father did what they could to make Jerry comfortable. They stripped off their coats, using one for a pillow, and the other to cover his body.

"Those two men he was sent to follow must be responsible for this!" Penny murmured. "How could they do such a brutal thing?"

"I'll notify the police as soon as we touch shore," her father said grimly. "We'll search every cove and inlet until we find the ones responsible!"

As he spoke Mr. Parker bent lower to examine the wound on Jerry's head. Blood had nearly stopped flowing and he was hopeful that it came from a flesh wound. He pressed a clean handkerchief against it and the young man stirred.

"How long do you suppose he's been like this, Dad?"

"Hard to tell. An hour, maybe two hours."

Presently, as the boat made full speed up the river, Jerry stirred once more. His lips moved but the words were indistinguishable.

"How far to Covert?" Mr. Parker asked anxiously.

"About four miles from this point," Griffith flung over his shoulder. "It's the next town above the Kippenberg estate. I'm making the best time I can."

Jerry moved restlessly, his hands plucking at the coat which covered him.

"Flaming eyes," he muttered. "Looking at me--looking at me--"

Penny and her father gazed at each other in startled dismay.

"He's completely out of his head," whispered Penny.

"He's gone back to that other accident which happened last year," nodded Mr. Parker. "The Vanishing Houseboat affair."

"Jerry's had more than his share of bad luck, Dad. Twice now on this same river, he's met with disaster. And this time he may not come through."

"I think he will if his skull hasn't been fractured," Mr. Parker told her encouragingly. "Listen!"

Jerry's lips were moving again, and this time his words were more rational.

"Got to get word to the Chief," they heard him mutter. "Got to get word--"

A long while after that Jerry remained perfectly quiet. Suddenly arousing, his eyes opened wide and he struggled to sit up. Mr. Parker gently pressed him back.

"Where am I?" Jerry muttered. "Let me out of here! Let me out!"

"Quiet, Jerry," soothed Mr. Parker. "You're with friends."

The reporter's tense grip on the editor's hand relaxed. "That you, Chief?"

"Yes, Jerry. Just lie quiet. We'll have you to a doctor in a few more minutes."

"Doctor! I don't need any doctor," he protested, trying once more to sit up. "What happened anyway?"

"That's what we would like to know."

"Can't you remember anything, Jerry?" Penny asked. "You went out on the river to try to trace those two men in the cruiser."

"Oh, it's coming back to me now. I ran into their boat down by Cranberry Cove. They tied up there."

"And then what happened?" Penny demanded, as Jerry paused.

"I saw 'em walk ashore. Thought I would follow so I tied up my boat, too. They started off through the trees. Pretty soon they met a third man, a well dressed fellow, educated too."

"Did you hear any of their conversation?" Mr. Parker questioned.

"I heard Kippenberg's name mentioned. That caught my interest so I crept closer. Must have given myself away because that's about the last I remember. A ton of dynamite seemed to explode in my head. And here I am."

"Obviously, you were struck from behind with some heavy object," Mr. Parker said. "They probably dumped you back in your own boat and set it adrift. You never saw your attacker?"

"No."

Jerry rested for a moment, and then as it dawned upon him that he was being speeded to a doctor, he began to protest.

"Say, Chief, I'll be all right. I don't need any doc. Head's clear as a bell now."

"That's fine, Jerry. But you'll see a doctor anyway and have X-rays. We're taking no chances."

"Then at least let me go back to Riverview," Jerry grumbled. "I don't want to be stuck in any hick town hospital."

"If you feel equal to the trip, I guess we can grant you that much. You seem to be all right, but I want to make sure. Can't take chances on the paper being sued later on, you know."

"Oh, I get the idea," said Jerry with a grimace. "Thinking of the old cash register, as usual."

Penny drew a deep sigh of relief. If Jerry were able to make jokes he couldn't be seriously injured. She still felt weak from the fright she had received.

"The police will find those men who attacked you," she told him. "I hope they're put in prison for life, too!"

"The police?" Jerry repeated. He stared up into Mr. Parker's face. "Say, Chief, you're not aiming to spill the story, are you?"

"I was."

"But see here, if you notify the police, we'll show our hand to the rival paper. If we keep this dark we could do our own investigating, and maybe land a big scoop."

"Justice is more important than a scoop, Jerry," returned Mr. Parker. "If those men had anything to do with Atherwald's disappearance, and it looks as if they did, then we are duty bound to hand our clues over to the police. By trying to handle it alone, we might let them escape."

"Guess maybe you're right at that," Jerry acknowledged.

As she saw that the reporter was rapidly recovering strength, Penny left him to the care of her father and went forward to speak with Harry Griffith.

"Where are we now?" she inquired.

"Just comin' to the Kippenberg estate," he told her.

"Only that far? We don't seem to be making very fast time."

"We're buckin' the current, Miss. And there's a right stiff wind blowing."

She had not noticed the wind before or how overcast the sky had become. One could not see many yards in advance of the boat.

Ahead loomed the drawbridge in open position as usual. But Penny could not see the red lantern which she had noticed upon the trip down. Had the light been blown out by the wind?

In any case, it would not greatly matter, she reflected. Few cars traveled the private road. And any person who came that way would likely know about the bridge.

And then, above the steady hum of the motor boat engine, Penny heard another roar which steadily increased in intensity. A car was coming down the road at great speed!

"The lantern must be there," Penny thought. "It's probably hidden by a tree or the high bank. Of course it's there."

She listened with a growing tension. The car was not slowing down. Even Harry Griffith turned his head to gaze toward the entrance ramp of the drawbridge.

It was all over in an instant. A scream of brakes, a loud splintering of the wooden barrier. The speeding automobile struck the side of the steel bridge, spun sideways and careened down the bank to bury itself in the water.

CHAPTER 19 _A DARING RESCUE_

Those in the motor boat who had witnessed the disaster were too horrified to speak. They could see the top of the car rising above the water into which it had fallen, but there was no sign of the unfortunate driver or other possible occupants.

Penny began to kick off her shoes.

"No!" shouted her father, divining her purpose. "No! It's too dangerous!"

Penny did not heed for she knew that if the persons in the car were to be saved it must be by her efforts. Her father could not swim well and Harry Griffith was needed at the wheel of the motor boat.

Scrambling to the gunwale, the girl dived into the water. She could see nothing. Groping her way to the overturned coupe, she grasped a door handle and turned it. All her strength was required to pull the door open. Her breath was growing short now. She worked faster, with frantic haste.

A hand clutched her own. Before she could protect herself she felt the man upon her, clawing, fighting, trying to climb her shoulders, upward to the blessed air.

His grasp was loose. Penny ducked out of it but held fast to his hand. She braced her feet against the body of the car and pushed. They both shot upward to the surface.

Griffith and her father lifted the man out of the water into the motor boat.

"Have to go down again," Penny gasped. "There may be others."

She dived once more, doubling herself into a tight ball, and giving a quick, upthrust of her feet which sent her straight to the bottom. She swam into the car and groped about on the seat and floor. Finding no bodies, she quickly shot to the surface again. Her father pulled her over the side, saying curtly: "Good work, Penny."

The victim she had saved seemed little the worse for his ducking. With Griffith's help he had divested himself of his heavy coat and was wringing it out.

Penny had obtained no clear view of the man, nor did she ever, for just at that moment, Jerry raised himself to a sitting position. He stared at the bedraggled one and pointed an accusing finger.

"That's the fellow!" he cried in an excited voice. "The one I was telling you about--"

The man took one look at Jerry and gazed quickly about. By this time the motor boat had drifted close to shore. Before anyone could make a move to stop him, the man hurled himself overboard. He landed on his feet in shallow water. Splashing through to the shore, he scuttled up the steep bank and disappeared in the darkness.

"Don't let him get away!" shouted Jerry. "He's the same fellow I saw in the woods!"

"You're certain?" asked Mr. Parker doubtfully.

"Of course! If you think I'm out of my head now, you're the one who's crazy! It's the same fellow! Oh, if I could get out of this boat!"

Griffith brought the craft to shore. "I'll see if I can overtake him," he said, "but he's probably deep in the woods by this time."

The boatman was a heavy-set man, slow on his feet. Penny and her father were not surprised when he came back twenty minutes later to report he had been unable to pick up the trail.

"The overturned car may offer a clue to his identity," Mr. Parker said, as they started up the river once more. "The police will be able to check the license plates."

"I wonder what the man was doing at the estate?" Penny mused.

She groped her way toward the cabin, thinking that she would divest herself of some of her wet garments. Suddenly she stopped short.

"Dad, that fellow took off his coat!" she exclaimed. "He must have left it behind!"

"It's somewhere on the floor," Harry Griffith called to her.

Penny found the sodden garment lying almost at her feet. She straightened it out and searched the pockets. Her father moved over to her side.

"Any clues?" he asked.

Penny took out a water-soaked handkerchief, a key ring and a plain white envelope.

"That may be something!" exclaimed Mr. Parker. "Handle it carefully so it doesn't tear."

They carried the articles into the cabin. Mr. Parker turned on the light and took the envelope from his daughter's hand. They were both elated to see that another paper was contained inside.

Mr. Parker tore off the envelope and flattened the letter on the table beneath the light. The ink had blurred but nearly all of the words could still be made out. There was no heading, merely the initials: "J. J. K."

"Could that mean James Kippenberg?" Penny asked.

The message was brief. Mr. Parker read it aloud.

"Better come through or your fate will be the same as Atherwald's. We give you twenty-four hours to think it over."

"How strange!" Penny exclaimed. "That man I pulled out of the water couldn't have been James Kippenberg!"

"Not likely, Penny. My guess would be that he had been sent here to deliver this warning note. Being unfamiliar with the road, and not knowing about the dangerous drawbridge, he crashed through."

"But James Kippenberg isn't supposed to be at the estate," Penny argued. "It doesn't make sense at all."

"This much is clear, Penny. Jerry saw the man talking with the two seamen, and they all appear to be mixed up in Grant Atherwald's disappearance. We'll print what we've learned, and let the police figure out the rest."

"Dad, this story is developing into something big, isn't it?"

He nodded as he moved a swinging light bulb slowly over the paper, hastening the drying process.

"After the next issue of the _Star_ is printed, every paper in the state will send their men here. But we're out ahead, and when the big break comes, we may get that first, too."

"Oh, Dad, if only we can!"

"Count yourself out of the case from now on, young lady," he said severely. "You scared the wits out of me tonight, risking your life to save that no-good. Now shed those wet clothes before you come down with pneumonia."

He tossed her an overcoat, a sweater and a crumpled pair of slacks which Griffith had found under one of the boat seats. Leaving the cabin, he closed the door behind him.

Penny did not change her clothes at once. Instead, she sat down at the table, studying the warning message.

"'Better come through,'" she read aloud. "Does that mean Kippenberg is supposed to pay money? And what fate did Atherwald meet?"

CHAPTER 20 _AN IMPORTANT INTERVIEW_

Those same questions were pounding through Penny's mind the next morning when she read the first edition of her father's paper. Propped up in bed with pillows, she perused the story as she nibbled at the buttered muffins on her breakfast tray.

"Is there anything else you would like?" Mrs. Weems inquired, hovering near.

"No, I'm quite all right," smiled Penny. "Not even a head cold after my ducking. Have you heard about Jerry?"

"Your father said he was doing fine."

"Did he leave any message for me before going to the office?"

"He said he thought you should stay in bed all day."

"Dad would," Penny pouted. "Well, I feel just fine. I'm getting up right away." She heaved aside the bed clothes.

Then, because she couldn't get the Kippenberg case out of her head, she dressed quickly and went downstairs. She was going out the front door when Mrs. Weems stopped her.

"Now where are you going, Penny?"

Penny's bright eyes twinkled and she flashed the housekeeper an arch, provocative smile.

"Not sure just where I'm going," she replied, her smooth forehead creasing with thought. "But if Dad should get curious, you can tell him he shouldn't be surprised if he finds me visiting with the Kippenbergs."

"Penny! You're not going there again?"

"Why not? I'm after a story for the _Riverview Star_ and I mean to get it. See you later."

With a wave of her hand Penny walked jauntily off. A few moments later Mrs. Weems heard the clatter of Penny's Leaping Lena careening down the street in the direction of Corbin. First, however, she called for her chum, Louise, who was eager to accompany her on the long ride.

"I won't be able to stay long, Penny," said Louise. "Mother wants me to go shopping with her later this afternoon."

"That's all right," responded Penny as the old car bolted along the road. "If I get delayed, you can take Leaping Lena back home, and I'll follow later on."

With both girls keeping up a steady run of conversation they soon reached their destination.

Penny wondered if she would be able to enter the Kippenberg estate without being challenged by the bridgeman or a servant. Her anxiety increased upon approaching the river, for she saw that a large group of persons had gathered by the drawbridge.

No one paid the slightest attention to the two girls as they abandoned the car and proceeded to the water's edge. Penny was pleased to find the youthful boatman at his usual haunt on the river. He rowed the girls across to the estate, promising to await their return.

Penny escorted Louise through the trees to the Kippenberg house. Boldly she rang the doorbell which was answered by a butler.

"I should like to speak with Mrs. Kippenberg," she requested.

"Madam will see no one," began the man.

Footsteps sounded behind him in the hallway and Mrs. Kippenberg stood in the door.

"So it is you?" she asked in an icy voice. "Julius, see that this person is ejected from the grounds."

"One moment please," interposed Penny. "If I leave now, I warn you that certain facts will be published in the _Star_, facts which will add to your embarrassment."

"You can print nothing which will humiliate us further."

"No? You might like to have me mention the alligator in your lily pool. And the reason why you and your daughter are so anxious to be rid of it before the police ask questions."

Mrs. Kippenberg's plump face flushed a deep red. But for once she managed to keep her temper.

"What do you wish of me?" she asked frigidly.

"First, tell me about that painting, 'The Drawbridge' which was presented to your daughter as a wedding gift. Was it not given to her by your husband?"

"I shall not answer your question."

"Then you prefer that I print my own conclusions?"

"You are an impudent, prying young woman!" Mrs. Kippenberg stormed. "What if the picture was given to Sylvia by her father! Is that any crime?"

"Certainly not," said Penny soothingly. "It merely proves that you both know the whereabouts of Mr. Kippenberg."

"Perhaps I do. But I'll tell you nothing, absolutely nothing!"

"I have a few questions to ask about your new gardener," Penny went on, unmoved. "For instance, why does he wear a wig?"

The door slammed in her face.

"That certainly was a very cold reception," remarked Louise as the girls walked away, the sound of the slamming door still ringing in their ears.

Penny shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "That's nothing. When you're a reporter you have to expect those things." She looked about the deserted estate. "Well, I think I'll do some more sleuthing in the vicinity of the pool."

Louise looked at her wristwatch. "Goodness, it's getting late," she stated. "I'd like to stay, Penny, but I think I'd better be getting home to meet Mother."

"Go ahead," said Penny. "You take Leaping Lena. The boy in the boat will row you across."

"But how will you get home, then?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll find a way. You just go on. I only hope the old bus holds up all the way home."

Louise laughed and then the two girls walked to the boat dock. In a few moments the boy in the rowboat appeared and took Louise across. Afterward, Penny turned back through the trees and went on to the forbidden part of the estate.

She spent a long time about the pool, examining the earth all about it, but she failed to learn anything new. Finally, she retraced her steps to the river. She expected to find the boy waiting for her, but he had disappeared. She walked through the trees to the boat dock and stood there until the old watchman on the other side observed her predicament.

He obligingly lowered the drawbridge and she crossed the river, pausing at the gear house to chat with him.

Penny listened without comment to his story of the automobile accident. Thorny had his own version of how it had occurred and she did not correct any of the details.

"I wish I had a way to get into Corbin," she remarked when he had finished his lengthy account.

"If you walk down to the main road you kin catch the county bus," he told her. "It runs every hour."

A long hike along a dusty highway, an equally tedious wait at a crossroad, and finally Penny arrived in Corbin. She went directly to the Colonial Hotel, placing a telephone call to her father's office.

"What are you doing in Corbin, Penny?" her father demanded as he recognized her voice.

Penny answered him eagerly. "I've made an important discovery which may blow your case higher than a kite. No, I can't tell you anything over the telephone. The reason I am calling is that I may need help. Is Jerry still in the hospital?"

"He never was there," responded her father. "I couldn't make him go. He and Salt are out on the river looking for the men who cracked him over the head. I expect they'll call in any time now."

"If you do get in touch with Jerry, ask him to meet me at the Colonial Hotel," urged Penny. "I have a hunch the big story is about to break. In any event I'll need a ride home."

There was a great deal more to the conversation, with Mr. Parker delivering a long lecture upon the proper deportment for a daughter. Penny closed her ears, murmuring at regular intervals, "Yes, Dad," and finally went back to her post in the lobby.

CHAPTER 21 _THE WHITE CRUISER_

For at least an hour she waited. She watched the clock until the hands pointed to six o'clock. Tantalizing odors came to her from the dining room, but she resolutely downed her hunger. She did not wish to give up her vigil even for a few minutes.

Finally Penny's patience was rewarded. She saw a man moving across the lobby toward the desk. He wore well-cut tailored clothes and a low-brimmed felt hat, yet the girl recognized him at a glance. He was the Kippenberg gardener.

The man paused at the desk and asked for a key.

"Good evening, Mr. Hammil," said the clerk, handing it over.

Penny had noted that the key was taken from a mailbox which bore the number, 381.

"So my friend, the gardener, has an alias," she mused. "Several of them, perhaps."

Another half hour elapsed while the girl waited patiently in her chair. Each time the elevator descended she watched the people alight. At exactly six forty-five Mr. Hammil stepped out of the lift, and without glancing toward the girl, dropped his key on the desk and went into the dining room.