Part 3

"Really?" The information excited Penny. "You never told me that before, Dad. And I suspect that you're keeping a lot of other secrets from me too!"

"Sunset Beach's caves are no secret. They're part of the tourist attraction."

"All the same you never mentioned them, Dad. I thought it was odd that you chose this place for a vacation. Now I'm beginning to catch on."

Mr. Parker pretended not to understand.

"Isn't it true that you came here to do a bit of investigation work?" Penny pursued the subject relentlessly.

"Now don't try to pin me down," Mr. Parker laughed. "Suppose we just say we came here for a vacation."

Penny eyed her father quizzically. From the way he sidestepped her questions she was certain that he had more than a casual interest in the outlaw radio station.

"Dad, will you let me help you?" she pleaded eagerly.

"Help me?" Mr. Parker joked. "Why, you seem to think that I'm a Government investigator in disguise!"

"You don't deny that you came here largely because of your interest in that station?"

"Well, I may be a tiny bit interested. But don't jump to conclusions, young lady! It doesn't necessarily follow that I have set out to track down any enemy agent single handed." Mr. Parker brought the discussion to an end by opening the car door. "I'm dead tired, Penny. If you'll excuse me, I'll turn in."

After her father had gone to the tent, Penny remained for a while in the car. Soberly she stared at the stars and thought over what she had learned.

"I don't care what Dad says," she reflected, "he came here to find that radio station! But maybe, just maybe, I'll beat him to it!"

CHAPTER 6 _BREAKFAST BLUES_

Penny awoke next morning to find the tent cold and damp. She rolled over on the hard cot and moaned with pain. Every muscle in her battered body felt as if it had been twisted into a knot.

Swinging her feet to the canvas floor, she pulled away the curtain to peer at her father's cot. It was empty.

"Guess I've overslept," she thought. "Hope Dad's started breakfast."

Penny dressed quickly, cringing as she pulled on damp shirt and shorts. Dew lay heavy upon the tent and the grass outside was saturated. She walked gingerly as she picked her way toward the parked car.

Mr. Parker had set up a portable table nearby and was tinkering with the gasoline stove. He was unshaven and looked very much out of sorts.

"Hi, Dad!" Penny greeted him with as much cheer as she could muster. "What are we having for breakfast?"

"Nothing, so far as I can see! This stove is on strike again. I've tried for half an hour to get it started."

Penny climbed into the car to use the mirror. The sight of her face horrified her. One cheek was blotched with ugly red mosquito bites, there were dark circles under her eyes, and her hair hung in strings.

"If anyone ever gets me on another camping trip I'll be surprised!" Mr. Parker exclaimed. He slammed the stove down on the table. "I'm through monkeying with this contrary beast!"

"Oh, Dad, such a temper," Penny chided, giggling despite her own discouragement.

"Suppose you suggest how we're to eat."

"Well, there's cold breakfast food with canned milk." Penny burrowed deep in a box of supplies stored in the car. "Two soft bananas. No coffee, I'm afraid."

"Wonderful!" Mr. Parker said grimly. "Well, bring on the bird food."

Penny set the table and dished up the dry breakfast cereal.

"At least we have beautiful scenery," she remarked as she sat down to the dismal repast with her father. "Just look at those grand old trees."

"The place is all right. It's camping that has me tied in a knot. Now at the Crystal Inn we could be comfortable--right on the beach too."

"No," Penny said, though not very firmly. "We'll like it here after we get adjusted."

"Need any supplies today?" Mr. Parker asked abruptly.

"Yes, we'll have to have fresh meat and milk. I forgot salt too and bread."

"I'll drive down to Sunset Beach and get the things. May as well take the stove along too and try to have it repaired."

"That might be a good idea," Penny admitted, though with reluctance. "Don't be gone long, will you? I thought we might explore some of the trails."

"Oh, there's plenty of time for that."

Mr. Parker was noticeably cheerful as he stowed the portable stove in the car and drove away. Not without misgiving Penny watched him go. She remained somewhat troubled as she washed the breakfast dishes at the brook and struggled with the beds. The camping trip hadn't worked out as she had hoped and expected. So far it had been all work and no fun.

"Dad was up to something when he skipped out of here so fast," she mused. "Wonder why he doesn't come back?"

The sun rose high above the trees, drying the grass and tent. Penny went for a short hike in the woods. She returned to find that her father still had not returned.

Just then a car rattled up the twisting road. Recognizing the same ranger who had caused so much trouble the previous night, Penny prepared herself for further blows. However, the government man was all smiles as he pulled up not far from the umbrella tent.

"Just dropped by to see if you're getting along all right," he greeted her in a friendly way. "Everything Okay?"

"I wouldn't venture such a rash statement as that," Penny answered, her face downcast.

Because the ranger, whose name was Bill Atkins, seemed to have a genuine interest, she found herself telling him all about her troubles.

"Why, you've not had a decent meal since you came here!" he exclaimed, climbing out of the car. "Maybe I can help you."

"Can you wave a magic wand and produce hot food?"

"We'll see," laughed the ranger. "Gasoline stoves are more bother than they're worth in my opinion."

As Penny watched in amazed admiration he built a good fire which soon made a bed of glowing cherry red coals.

"How about a nice pan of fish fried to a crisp brown?" the ranger tempted her. "I caught a string of them this morning. Beauties!"

From the car he brought a basket of fat trout, already dressed and ready for cooking. Without asking Penny for anything, he wrapped them in corn meal, salted each fish and let it sizzle in hot butter.

"Do you always travel with your car equipped like a kitchen cabinet?" Penny joked. Crouching beside the fire, she barely could take her eyes from the food.

"Not always," the ranger laughed. "I've been on an overnight trip. Usually have the fixings of a meal with me though."

While the fish slowly sizzled, Bill put on a pot of coffee and fried potatoes. He accomplished everything with such ease that Penny could only watch dumbfounded.

"Guess you and your father considered me an old crab last night," he remarked. "Sometimes we hate to enforce the rules, but we have to treat everyone alike. If we allowed folks to camp wherever they pleased the danger of forest fire would be greatly increased."

"You're right, of course. Have you had any fires this season?"

"Not here." Deftly the ranger dished up the potatoes and crisply browned fish. "Plenty of them farther South. Not all caused by carelessness of campers either."

Penny was quick to seize upon the remark. "Sabotage?" she questioned.

"That's what we think," the ranger nodded. He poured two cups of steaming, black coffee. "Fact is, enemy agents have made quite a few attempts to set fire to our forests. Nearly always they're caught, but that doesn't mean we dare let up our vigilance."

Penny ate every morsel of the food, praising the ranger highly for his cooking ability.

"I wish Dad could have had some of this fish," she added. "He went down to Sunset Beach for supplies and for some reason hasn't returned."

"I'll have to be on the road myself," the ranger declared, getting up from the ground. "I'm due in town at twelve o'clock and it's nearly that now."

"You're driving to Sunset Beach?"

"Yes, want to ride along?"

Penny debated briefly. "Wait until I get my coat," she requested. "It's lonesome here alone. Anyway, I want to learn what's keeping Dad."

The park road had dried considerably, but even so the car skidded from side to side until it reached the paved highway. At Sunset Beach, the ranger dropped Penny off at the postoffice. Rather at a loss to know what to do with herself, she wandered about the half-deserted streets in search of her father. He was not at any of the stores, nor did inquiry reveal his whereabouts.

"Perhaps he's sunning himself on the beach," she thought.

A boardwalk led over the dunes to the water front. The tide was at ebb, revealing a long, wide stretch of white sand strewn with shells and seaweed. Penny paused to gaze meditatively upon the wind-swept sea. For a time she watched the waves break and spill their foam on the sandy shore. Then she walked slowly on toward the imposing Crystal Inn.

Approaching the private beach area, Penny met only a few persons, mostly soldiers on furlough with their girls. There were no bathers for a sharp, cool wind blew off the water.

"Sunset Beach is nice," thought Penny, "but it's lonesome."

At the Crystal Inn there was more activity. Tennis courts were in use and so was the swimming pool. Penny circled the well-kept grounds, not intending to enter the building. However, as she drew near, her attention was drawn to the flagstone terrace overlooking the formal garden. Though it was set with tables there were not many diners.

Suddenly Penny stopped short, scarcely believing her eyes. At one of the tables near the stone railing sat her father with Mrs. Deline.

CHAPTER 7 _THE BEARDED STRANGER_

Penny's first thought upon seeing her father and Mrs. Deline was to steal quietly away. Then amazement and injury gave way to a feeling of indignation. Perhaps her father had a perfect right to lunch with Mrs. Deline, but it was inconsiderate of him to so completely forget his own daughter.

"I might just as well be an orphan!" Penny sighed. "Well, we'll see!"

Stiffly she marched across the lawn to the railed-in hotel veranda. Her father saw her coming. His look of surprise changed to one of guarded welcome.

"Come up and have lunch with us," he invited. "The food here is quite an improvement on what we've been having at camp."

Penny could find no outside entranceway to the terrace. To Mrs. Deline's horror and her father's amusement, she climbed over the stone railing.

"Dad," Penny began, ignoring the widow except for a curt nod, "I was just about ready to get out a search warrant for you."

Mr. Parker drew another chair to the table for his daughter. Her hair was none too well combed, she wore no stockings, and the coat did not entirely cover her camp costume. By contrast Mrs. Deline was perfectly turned out in tailored tweed suit with a smart little hat of feathers. Though the woman said nothing, her gaze was scornful as she appraised Penny.

"What shall I order for you?" Mr. Parker asked, signaling a waiter.

"Nothing, thank you." Penny was coldly polite. "I had a very fine lunch at camp, thanks to one of the rangers."

"I'm sorry I didn't get back," Mr. Parker apologized. "It took a long while to have the stove repaired. Then I met Mrs. Deline and--"

"Oh, I understand," Penny broke in. "The point is, when, if ever, are you coming back to camp?"

"Why, right now I suppose. We've finished our luncheon."

The waiter had come to the table. Mr. Parker asked for the bill, paid it, and arose. As he bade Mrs. Deline goodbye, he remarked that he probably would see her again soon.

Walking to the hotel parking lot where Mr. Parker had left the car, neither he nor Penny had much to say. Not until they were driving through the village was the subject of Mrs. Deline mentioned.

"I don't see why you can't be a bit nicer to her," Mr. Parker commented. "You scarcely spoke a word to her."

"Did she say anything to me?"

"Well, I don't recall."

"I've treated Mrs. Deline just as well as she treats me!" Penny defended herself. "I'll admit I don't like her."

"And you show it too."

"Maybe I do, but she has no business taking so much of your time."

"So that's where the shoe pinches," chuckled Mr. Parker. "My little girl is jealous."

"The very idea!"

"Mrs. Deline is brilliant--a highly educated woman and I enjoy talking to her," Mr. Parker said thoughtfully. "I assure you it's no more serious than that."

Penny moved close to her father and squeezed his arm.

"We've been pals for such a long while," she said wistfully. "If anything ever should come between us--"

"Penny, you're positively morbid!" her father interrupted. "Of course nothing ever will come between us! Now let's talk of more cheerful subjects."

"Such as?"

"I've been thinking, Penny. You need a friend, someone to pal around with."

"You're the only friend I need, Dad."

"I mean someone your own age, Penny. Why not send for Louise Sidell? I'll gladly pay her train fare."

"It would be fun having Lou here."

"Then it's settled. We'll send a wire now." Mr. Parker turned the car around and drove to the local telegraph office.

Before Penny could change her mind, the message was sent. Not until long after she and her father had returned to the park did it occur to her that unwittingly she might have fashioned her own undoing. Though camping would be far more interesting with Louise to share her experiences, it also would give her father added opportunity to see Mrs. Deline.

"Maybe he didn't think of that angle," Penny reflected uneasily. "I'll keep it to myself."

The following day Mr. Parker spent the entire day in camp. With the gasoline stove in working order, hot meals were prepared though not without endless effort. There were dishes to wash, beds to make, and by the time the tasks were done, neither Penny nor her father had any energy left for hiking.

The second day was much easier. However, with more free time, Mr. Parker became increasingly restless. He missed his morning paper and was dissatisfied with the skimpy news reports that came in over the radio. Penny was not surprised when he mentioned that he would walk down to Sunset Beach.

"Mind if I go with you?" Penny asked quickly.

"Of course not," her father answered. "Why should I?"

At Sunset Beach a call at the local telegraph office disclosed a message for Penny which had been held for lack of an address. The wire was from Louise and read:

"ARRIVING AT SUNSET BEACH THURSDAY ON THE 12:30 PLANE. HOLD EVERYTHING."

"Thursday!" Penny cried, offering the telegram to her father. "That's tomorrow! My, will I be glad to see Lou! This place has been like a morgue without her."

"I imagine the town will brighten up quite a bit within the next few days," Mr. Parker said, a twinkle in his eye. "In fact, Louise may not be the only new arrival."

"Is someone else coming to see us?"

Mr. Parker would not answer her many questions. "Wait and see," he teased.

Since arriving at Sunset Beach Penny had been eager to visit the lighthouse located on Crag Point. Noticing that the tide was low, she suggested to her father that they go there together.

"Too long a walk," he complained. "You run along by yourself. I'll sun myself on the beach."

Leaving her father, Penny started off alone. The sun was warm and there were a number of bathers splashing about in the surf. A long row of picturesque cottages lined the water front. They thinned out as she went farther up the beach, and presently there were no habitations, only desolate, wind-blown sand.

Midway to the lighthouse, Penny met a man of early middle age who carried fishing rod and creel. He stared at her, hesitated, then paused to speak.

"I notice you're going toward Crag Point," he remarked pleasantly. "Are you a stranger to this locality?"

Penny admitted that she was.

"Then perhaps you haven't been told that the Point is a dangerous place to be at high tide."

"No, I hadn't heard."

"The Point is very nearly covered at that time," the stranger explained. "There's no danger at the present moment, of course."

"How long will I have here?"

"Oh, several hours," the stranger replied. "There's no cause for alarm if you just keep watch of the tide."

Penny thanked the stranger and walked on toward the lighthouse. The structure rose to a height of seventy-five feet above the beach and was reached by means of a narrow little iron stairway.

No one was about the premises as Penny approached. However, as she started up the iron steps, a door far above her head opened. A burly, stout man whose face was browned by wind and sun, peered down at her.

"You can't come up here!" he shouted. "No visitors are allowed!"

"Oh," Penny murmured, retreating a step. "I didn't know. I only wanted to see the tower."

"No visitors," the keeper of the light repeated. "War regulations."

The rule seemed a reasonable one, but after such a long hike, Penny was disappointed. Walking back to the main section of the beach, she looked about for her father. He had disappeared.

"I'll bet a cookie he's at the Crystal Inn!" she thought indignantly.

But Penny could not find her father there nor at any other place along the water front. After an hour's search she decided that he must have returned to camp. Returning there, she approached the tent, noticing that the flap was closed, though not buttoned as she had left it.

"Dad must be here," she thought.

Drawing nearer she could see movement within the tent as someone brushed against the canvas walls.

"Oh, Dad!" she called.

There was no answer. But the next instant a man in rough garments and straw hat rushed out of the tent. Penny never before had set eyes upon him. She was so astonished that she gained only a fleeting impression of the bearded stranger. Seeing her, he thrust some object beneath his coat and fled into the woods.

CHAPTER 8 _KEEPER OF THE LIGHT_

Recovering from astonishment, Penny darted to the tent and jerked open the flap. The beds had been torn apart. Her purse, hidden beneath the pillow, was gone. Suitcases lay open on the canvas floor.

"That man was a thief!" she thought angrily.

Too late, she tried to determine which direction he had taken. She could hear no sound of crackling leaves or running feet.

"He's lying low," she told herself. "No use chasing him. I never could find him among the trees."

Thoroughly incensed, she went back to the disordered tent. A preliminary check revealed that besides the pocketbook, a pair of her father's shoes and a sweater had been taken.

"Lucky I didn't have much money in my purse," Penny congratulated herself. "It was a good leather pocketbook though, and I hate to lose it."

Going outside, she discovered other losses. The supply of groceries had been ransacked. Bread was gone, several oranges and a tin of cold meat.

"That fellow was hungry," Penny reflected. "Probably some shiftless person who isn't willing to work for a living."

Entering the tent again, she busied herself making the beds and repacking the suitcases. As she finished the task, she heard footsteps outside. Fearful that the thief had returned, she jerked open the canvas flap. It was her father who had arrived.

"Oh, Dad, I'm glad you're back!" she exclaimed, rushing out to meet him. "We've been robbed!"

"What?"

Penny told him how she had frightened away the bearded stranger.

"That's bad," Mr. Parker said, frowning. "I didn't suppose there was another camper within miles of us."

"This man didn't look like a camper, Dad. He wore dirty, mussed clothing and a beard of at least a week's growth."

"How old a fellow?"

"Why, he looked young to me. And he ran like a young person."

"We'll report it to the ranger," Mr. Parker said, entering the tent to check over his belongings. "Probably never will get any of our things back though."

"The ranger may know who the fellow is, Dad."

"That's possible," Mr. Parker admitted. "Penny, I'm glad Louise is coming tomorrow. I certainly don't like the idea of your remaining here in camp alone."

"Then why don't you stay with me?" Penny countered instantly.

"Well, I'm planning on being rather busy."

"With Mrs. Deline."

"Penny, you're impossible!"

"Weren't you with her today? I looked everywhere for you."

"Mrs. Deline and I did go for a little walk. No harm in that, is there?"

"It all depends upon your viewpoint," Penny said loftily. "Personally, I consider her about as harmless as a Grade A rattler!"

"Penny, enough of such talk!"

"Okay," she returned grimly, "but never say I didn't warn you."

"I was about to tell you," Mr. Parker resumed, "that I expect to be busy the next few days helping local authorities trace that outlaw radio station we heard on the air."

"Oh!"

"In fact, Army experts are being sent here to aid in the work. My days will be pretty well tied up."

"I'm sorry, Dad," Penny said contritely. "Naturally I thought--"

"I'm afraid your trouble is that you don't stop to think," Mr. Parker lectured. "Please, will you forget Mrs. Deline?"

"I promise not to bother you about her again, Dad."

"Good!" Mr. Parker awkwardly patted his daughter's hand. "I realize you've had an unpleasant time of it so far, Penny. But things should pick up after Louise arrives."

"And that other surprise you hinted about?"

"Oh, you'll have to wait and see," Mr. Parker smiled. "However, I promise you that what's coming really will prove a pleasant surprise."

Though Penny kept up a running fire of questions, her father would tell her no more. From a few hints he dropped, she gathered that he was expecting a visitor within a day or so. That rather disappointed her, for with the exception of Louise, she could think of no one she particularly wanted to see at Sunset Beach.

Later that day when a forest ranger stopped at camp for a few minutes, Mr. Parker reported the theft of food and clothing to him.

"So the thief was a young man with a beard?" the ranger pondered. "Don't know of anyone in the area answering such a description. We'll certainly be on the watch for him."

Penny and her father expected to hear no more from the matter. Toward sundown, however, the same ranger returned to camp, bringing the missing pocketbook. It was stripped of money but still contained a compact and various toilet articles.

"Where did you find the purse?" Penny inquired eagerly.

"On the Beech Trail not far from here."

"Then it was dropped on purpose?"

"Apparently it was. I followed the trail for a quarter of mile, then lost the fellow when he took to the brook."

"Rather a smart fellow to think of that," commented Mr. Parker thoughtfully. "Perhaps he wasn't an ordinary snatch-thief after all."

The ranger offered no comment. As he turned to go, he did assure Penny again that every effort would be made to capture the culprit.

"If the fellow still is in the park we'll get him," he declared. "Don't you worry about that."

With the coming of dusk a penetrating chill settled over the camp. Even the hot supper of steak and potatoes that Penny prepared failed to sufficiently warm the two tenters. They did the dishes and then, not wishing to go to bed, sought the enclosed car for heat.

"It's starting to rain," Mr. Parker observed as a few drops splashed against the windshield. "Looks as if we're in for another siege of it."

"And Louise is due tomorrow," Penny sighed. "Unless the weather improves I'd not blame her one bit if she turns right around and starts back to Riverview."

The rain came down steadily with a promise of continuing throughout the night. Mr. Parker read a day-old newspaper by the light in the car, grumbling because the news was so old. Presently he switched on the radio, trying without success to tune in the outlaw station which had been heard previously at the same hour.

"No luck," he commented. "Reception must be poor tonight, or the station has changed to another time. Probably it's shifted to a different locality too."