Part 8

The invitation took Mrs. Deline by surprise. "No, thank you," she declined. "I can't swim."

"We'll teach you," offered Penny.

"You're too kind. I don't care for the water. I particularly detest cold water."

"The air is warming up," Penny tried to encourage her. "Why not try it with us?"

"Nothing could induce me."

Louise nodded grimly, as much as to say that she had known how it would be. Penny would not give up. She decided to adopt drastic measures.

"No, I didn't suppose you would go into the water," she said. "You're probably afraid you'll get salt water on that lovely skin of yours, or muss up your hair."

"Oh!" gasped Mrs. Deline. "The very idea!"

"Isn't that the reason?" Penny pursued ruthlessly. "You have to protect your beauty?"

"No, it's not the reason!" Mrs. Deline snapped. "If I had a bathing suit, I'd show you!"

"You can use mine," Penny said promptly. "Louise has an extra one she'll let me have."

Mrs. Deline looked trapped and angry. She sprang to her feet.

"All right, I'll go swimming!" she announced. "If I catch pneumonia I suppose you'll be satisfied!"

"Oh, you'll love the water once you're in," Penny said sweetly. "The bath house is this way."

Mrs. Deline spent so long getting into the borrowed suit that the girls began to fear she had outwitted them. But just as they were ready to give up, the woman came out of the dressing room. Penny's suit was a size too small for her so that she looked as if she had been poured into it. Her legs were skinny, her hips bulged. She still wore the elephant charm.

"Don't I wish Dad could see her now!" Penny muttered. "What a disillusionment!"

Ignoring the girls, Mrs. Deline walked stiffly toward the surf. A wave rolled in, wetting her to the knees. Mrs. Deline shrieked and backed away.

"It's freezing!" she complained.

"You have to get wet all at once," Penny instructed kindly. "This way."

She seized Mrs. Deline's hand and pulled her toward the deeper water.

"Let me go!" Mrs. Deline protested, trying to shake free. "Stop it!"

Penny held fast to her hand. A big roller broke over their heads. Mrs. Deline sputtered and choked and struggled.

"Oh, this is dreadful!" she whimpered.

"You have to watch for the waves and jump just as they strike you," Penny laughed. "Now!"

She leaped, but the widow mistimed the roller. It struck her a resounding whack on her shoulders and head.

"Oh! Oh!" she moaned.

"Here comes another!" warned Louise. "A big one too!"

Mrs. Deline broke away from Penny. She started to run for shore. The big roller overtook her, sweeping her from her feet.

This was the opportunity that Penny awaited. Pretending that she too had lost her balance, she allowed the tide to carry her straight into Mrs. Deline. For an instant they both were beneath the surface of the water.

Penny worked fast. Clutching Mrs. Deline as if in terror, she yanked hard at the slender chain that held the green elephant charm. It snapped and the jade piece came off into her hands. Deftly she thrust the charm into the front of her bathing suit. Then she popped up above the water, winking at Louise.

Mrs. Deline scrambled to her feet, clutching at the broken chain.

"See what you've done!" she accused Penny. "You pulled it apart. My beautiful charm has fallen into the water!"

"Let me help you look for it," Louise offered, darting forward.

As the pair were groping about on the sandy floor, another wave rolled in. Penny neglected to warn Mrs. Deline. It struck her from behind, toppling her over on her face. Her cap slipped awry and she swallowed salt water.

"Oh, I can't stand any more of this!" she spluttered. "It was cruel of you to get me to come into the surf! Now I've lost my charm, and it was all your fault, Penny Parker."

"I'll buy you another ornament," the girl offered. Seeing Mrs. Deline's distress she felt a bit ashamed of herself.

"Another ornament!" the widow mocked. "I don't want another! I want the one I've lost. It's of vital importance to me to keep it."

Mrs. Deline made another futile search for the charm.

"It's been washed away," she cried. "I'll never find it now!"

Glaring furiously at Penny, she turned and fled to the bath house.

"Did she really lose the charm?" Louise demanded the moment the girls were alone. "Or did you get it, Penny?"

Penny answered by producing the green elephant charm from the front of her bathing suit where she had hidden it.

"Easy as taking candy from a babe," she chuckled. "My, but was she hopping mad!"

"You may not be laughing if your father hears about this," Louise warned. "He's apt to look at matters from a different angle than we do."

Penny skipped through the shallow water and sat down on the beach well beyond the reach of the waves. Louise flopped beside her. Eagerly they examined the jade green trinket.

"Looks like any ordinary charm to me," Louise remarked. "No special carving."

"It should open," Penny said. "The first night when Mrs. Deline and I shared a room, I was sure I saw her close it."

Louise turned the charm over and pried at it with a hairpin.

"It does have a back lid!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Penny, I think it's going to open!"

"I'll say magic words while you work," Penny laughed. "Furthermore, I'll keep watch of the bath house. We don't want Mrs. Deline to pop out here and see us."

Louise pried again at the lid of the charm. It gave suddenly.

Inside the tiny cavity was a folded piece of paper. While Louise stared in delighted awe, Penny gained possession. With nervous haste she unfolded the paper. She gazed at it a moment and her face fell.

"Why, I can't make anything of the writing!" she declared in disappointment. "The words don't make sense."

"Just a mess of letters," Louise agreed, peering over her shoulder.

The girls were decidedly let-down for they had gone to much trouble and risk to obtain the jade ornament. But Penny's disappointment did not last long. As she stared at the paper, its significance dawned upon her.

"Why, this is important, Lou!" she cried. "Maybe we've stumbled into something big!"

"How do you mean?"

"Don't you see?" Penny demanded triumphantly. "The letters, of this message must comprise a secret code! If only we can break it down we may learn all we need to know about Mrs. Deline and her strange friends!"

CHAPTER 21 _THE CARDBOARD BOX_

While Penny and Louise were puzzling over the strange writing found inside the jade charm, Mrs. Deline appeared in the doorway of the bath house. Barely in time to escape detection, the girls hid the tiny elephant and the paper in the sand.

Mrs. Deline crossed the beach to speak to the girls. Her hair was damp and stringy, her face pinched and blue from cold.

"Here's your suit!" she snapped, slapping the wet garment into the sand at Penny's feet. "I hope you enjoyed the swim! I'm sure I didn't."

Turning her back, the widow marched to the hotel.

The moment Mrs. Deline had disappeared into the white brick building, Penny dug the jade elephant and paper from the sand.

"Let's get dressed," she urged Louise. "We've no time to waste."

So thrilled were the girls over what they had accomplished that they could talk of nothing else. Penny felt that by obtaining the jade elephant she had proven her case.

"You thought I was only jealous of Mrs. Deline," she told Louise triumphantly as they dressed in adjoining booths. "Now what do you say?"

"That you're a genius!" Louise praised. "Mrs. Deline certainly is mixed up in some shady business."

Once dressed, the girls wrapped the jade elephant in a handkerchief and carried it to the hotel. Jerry was nowhere to be found, and a bellboy told Penny that her father had gone for a walk.

"Perhaps we can work the message out ourselves," Penny suggested hopefully. "Let's try."

In their hotel room, the girls spent an hour attempting to decipher the strange jargon of letters appearing on the paper. At the end of that time. Penny tossed aside her pencil in disgust.

"This is a job for an expert," she declared. "I certainly don't classify as one."

The telephone jingled. Penny answered it and was delighted to hear Jerry's familiar voice. He was down in the lobby and had been told that the girls wished to see him.

"We certainly do!" Penny answered gaily. "Hold everything! We'll be with you in a jiffy."

The elevator being entirely too slow, the girls raced down the stairs. Breathlessly they started to tell Jerry what they had learned.

"Not here!" he said quickly. "Let's go outside where we won't be overheard."

Once out in the open with no one close by, Jerry lent an attentive ear to Penny's tale of their afternoon adventure. He did not have much to say in return, but he studied the jade green elephant and the paper with deep interest.

"You don't think it's anything?" Penny asked in disappointment.

"On the contrary, it may be something of very great importance," he returned soberly. "I'll take this to Headquarters. We have an expert on codes who should be able to break it in a short while."

The girls hoped that Jerry would invite them to accompany him, but he did not do so. Instead he said:

"Penny, you were telling me that Mrs. Deline had buried a package in the sand. Any luck in finding it?"

"Not a bit."

"You don't think that she went back there and dug it up herself?"

"We didn't see any footprints."

"How did you mark the place?"

"By a stick that someone removed."

"Not a very reliable way to take observations," Jerry remarked. "Ever try the clock system?"

The girls looked blank.

"For example," Jerry illustrated, "imagine that the landscape is like the face of a clock. Now what do you see on the hour of two?"

"I don't get it," Louise complained.

"Oh, I do!" laughed Penny. "A big tree!"

"That's right," agreed Jerry. "And at the hour of six?"

"Why, a signboard!" chuckled Penny. "At the hour of seven there's a big sand dune!"

"If you picture things in your mind as if they're on the face of a clock it's much easier to remember and keep them in proper proportion. Now, using that same system can you recall anything more about the place where Mrs. Deline buried the package?"

"Not very much," Penny admitted. "I didn't take notations at the time."

"Speaking of signboards, I remember one," Louise said thoughtfully. "It was a long distance back from the beach, slightly to the right. A cigarette advertisement."

"That's right!" agreed Penny.

"Perhaps that will help some," Jerry said. "We'll have to find the package."

"Then you believe Mrs. Deline is an Enemy Agent?" Penny asked eagerly.

"I've thought so for quite a while now," Jerry admitted. "I didn't say it for fear of building up your hopes. Anyhow, we've got to work quietly in this business."

"Poor Dad," Penny murmured, "I'm afraid it will break him up to learn the truth. Do you say I should tell him right away, Jerry?"

"Why not?" Jerry demanded, his eyes amused. "Your father may have a few things to break to you too, Penny."

"Meaning what?"

"I'll let your father do his own talking," Jerry said, getting up from the hotel bench. "Have to go now."

"Wait!" Penny pleaded. "You've not told us anything. Do you think Mrs. Deline has been aiding that flier who escaped from a Canadian prison camp?"

Jerry deliberately let the question pass. "Listen!" he said urgently. "I may not see you girls again until after dinner. Want to help me tonight?"

"Doing what?" Penny asked.

"I want you to lead me to the place where Mrs. Deline buried that package."

"We'll do our best."

"Then if I don't see you earlier, meet me here at nine o'clock. It should be dark by that time."

"We'll be here," Penny promised, her eyes glowing.

At dinner that night the girls told Mr. Parker of their appointment to meet Jerry. Penny would have explained about the package, but before she could do so, Mrs. Deline joined the group. Mr. Parker immediately invited her to dine with them. To the annoyance of Penny and Louise she accepted with alacrity.

The girls fully expected that Mrs. Deline would make some reference to the incident of the afternoon. Instead she avoided the subject, talking of her experiences in China and the Orient. Despite their prejudice, Penny and Louise were compelled in all honesty to acknowledge to themselves that the widow was a brilliant, entertaining conversationalist.

Over the coffee cups Mrs. Deline spoke casually of a play which was showing at the local theatre. Before Penny could say a word, Mr. Parker had suggested that he buy tickets for the night's performance.

"I'd love to go," Mrs. Deline accepted instantly.

"Good!" Mr. Parker, approved. "I'll get four tickets."

"Two," Penny corrected grimly. "Louise and I already have an appointment."

"That's so," Mr. Parker recalled belatedly.

Mrs. Deline looked so pleased that Penny was sorely tempted to abandon the meeting with Jerry. Only the realization that the task ahead was vitally important, kept her silent.

At eight o'clock Mr. Parker and Mrs. Deline left the hotel for the theatre. With an hour to kill, Penny and Louise were very restless. They read the evening paper and watched the clock.

"Here's an interesting news item," Penny remarked, indicating a brief story on an inner page of the paper. "It says an enemy submarine was sighted not many miles from here--just off the coast."

"Did they get it?" Louise inquired absently.

"I guess not. The story doesn't say, except that the air patrol dropped bombs."

"Wonder what a single sub was doing so close here?" Louise speculated. "Oh, well, we've nothing to fear."

A clock chimed the hour of nine. On the first stroke, the girls arose and hastened to keep their appointment with Jerry. The night was closing in dark. Along the shore no lights were showing for the dim-out was rigidly enforced at Sunset Beach.

"Where's Jerry?" Penny asked as they reached the bench where they had promised to meet him. "Hope he didn't forget."

Ten minutes elapsed. Penny was examining the luminous dial of her wrist watch when someone came striding down the gravel path.

"Hello," Jerry greeted the girls. "Sorry to have kept you waiting. All set for adventure?"

"Lead on!" Penny laughed.

Taking each of them by an elbow, Jerry guided the girls down the deserted beach. Twice they passed guards who merely stared and allowed them to pass unchallenged.

"Any news about that code?" Penny questioned as they walked along.

"It's a tough one to break," Jerry replied briefly. "Experts have been trying to take it apart ever since I left you girls this afternoon."

"Then it really is something?" Penny asked, scarcely daring to hope.

"It certainly is," Jerry replied heartily. "We're pretty sure now that Mrs. Deline is mixed up in a bad business. But we can't act until we know absolutely."

"This will be a horrible shock to Dad," Penny remarked. "He's at the theatre with Mrs. Deline now."

"At least she's out of the way, so there's no chance she'll see us at work," Jerry commented. "Think you can find the place to dig?"

Penny had marked it well in her mind, but at night everything looked different. After some uncertainty, the girls agreed upon the dune where the package had been buried.

"With the tide low we'll have plenty of time," Jerry said. "Well, let's go! Was the package buried deep?"

"Not more than a foot," Penny supplied.

"Then if it's here, we'll find it. Let's block this area off and cover it systematically."

For an hour the trio toiled. Twice one of the beach guards passed by and Penny was surprised that he paid no heed to what they were doing.

"Orders!" Jerry chuckled. "You didn't think we could come out here and prowl around without questions being asked? The guard was tipped off. He'll help us by whistling if anyone comes this way."

Louise, who had been industriously digging, gave a low cry.

"Find something?" Jerry demanded.

"I'm not sure. I think so."

The next instant Louise lifted a small package from its sand tomb. Before Jerry could warn her, she had torn apart the pasteboard cover.

"Why, it contains pencils!" she exclaimed in disgust. "Pencils!"

Jerry leaped to her side. One glance and he took the box from her.

"Those objects may look like pencils," he drawled. "But take it from me, they're a bit more deadly."

Penny had moved close. She and Louise stared in awe at the collection.

"Bombs," Jerry explained briefly. "One of these little pencils contains enough explosive to blow us all to Kingdom Come!"

CHAPTER 22 _UNFINISHED BUSINESS_

The cardboard box contained in addition to the pencil bombs a shiny knife and several grooved, pear-shaped objects.

"What are those?" Louise asked curiously. "They look like hand grenades."

"That's what they are," said Jerry, lifting one from the box. "It's a mighty useful weapon for close fighting. A strong man can throw a grenade twenty-five to thirty-five yards and it does damage over a large area."

Penny gingerly inspected one of the grenades.

"It won't bite you," Jerry laughed. "Nor will it explode in your hand. When you're ready to throw a grenade you hold it with the lever under your fingers. Just before you toss it, pull the pin."

"Isn't it apt to explode while you're holding it?" Penny asked dubiously.

"Not while the lever is held. When the grenade leaves the hand, the lever flies off. Then the fuse ignites and in about seven seconds you have your explosion."

"Nice little gadgets," Penny said. She replaced the grenade in its box and ran a finger over the sharp edge of the steel-bladed knife.

"Mrs. Deline evidently planted these weapons here for someone else to use," Jerry remarked. "We'll put them back just as they were."

"Put them back!" Penny echoed. "Why, Jerry, wouldn't that be playing right into their hands? Shouldn't we destroy these things?"

"No, it's much wiser to have the place watched."

Light dawned upon Penny. "Oh, I see!" she exclaimed. "In that way you hope to learn Mrs. Deline's accomplices!"

"Exactly."

Jerry replaced everything in the box which he carefully buried in the sand. Then he obliterated all freshly made footmarks.

"It may be necessary to watch this place for days," he said thoughtfully.

"And what of Mrs. Deline?" Penny asked. "Will she be allowed complete freedom?"

"That's for my superiors to decide. It seems to me, though, that more is to be gained by allowing her to remain at liberty than by arresting her."

"I'm all for jail myself," said Penny.

"Just be patient," Jerry smiled. "And whatever you do, don't drop a hint to Mrs. Deline of what we suspect."

"She knows I dislike her."

"That's all right, but don't let her guess that you consider her guilty of anything more serious than making a play for your father."

"What about Dad? Shouldn't I warn him?"

"Let me take care of that part," Jerry smiled.

"All right," Penny agreed reluctantly. "Just be sure that you don't muff it. Remember, you're playing with my future!"

Jerry finished smoothing out the footprints in the sand and then escorted the girls to the hotel.

"I must report to Headquarters without delay," he said, pausing at the hotel entrance. "Don't worry about the package. We'll have the place watched every minute."

After Jerry had gone, Penny and Louise entered the hotel.

"Is my father here yet?" Penny asked the desk clerk.

"No, Miss. And there's a message for him. As soon as he comes in he's to call Major Gregg."

Penny repeated the name thoughtfully. "That's a new one on me," she remarked. "Dad seems to have friends I know nothing about."

"Oh, the Major comes to the hotel frequently," the clerk returned, smiling. "He and your father are well acquainted."

As the girls crossed the lobby to a drinking fountain, Louise said teasingly:

"I'm afraid you've lost track of your father lately, Penny. You've been so upset about Mrs. Deline that you've scarcely noticed anything or anyone else."

"Dad's been holding out on me, that's evident. Wonder what he's to call Major Gregg about?"

"Why not wait up and see?"

"Not a bad idea," Penny approved instantly. "He and Mrs. Deline should be getting in anytime now."

"I'm not waiting up," announced Louise with a sleepy yawn. "In fact, I'm on my way to bed this minute."

To prove her words she started for the elevator. Penny debated whether or not to follow and finally decided to remain in the lobby.

An hour elapsed. Penny was half asleep by the time Mrs. Deline and Mr. Parker entered the hotel together. They were chatting animatedly and would not have seen her had she not scrambled from the wing chair.

Seeing Penny, Mrs. Deline quickly bade Mr. Parker good night and vanished into an elevator.

"You shouldn't have waited up," Mr. Parker chided his daughter. "Why, it's nearly midnight."

"There's an important message for you, Dad. You're to call Major Gregg."

Mr. Parker looked disconcerted. "How long ago did that call come, Penny?"

"About an hour ago. Or that's when I learned of it."

Mr. Parker went quickly to a telephone booth and was gone for some time. When he returned his face was animated.

"Good news?" Penny asked eagerly.

"Not exactly," Mr. Parker replied, sliding into a chair beside her and dropping his voice. "A message from Interceptor Headquarters. Monitoring machines have traced the outlaw radio station again. The broadcast finished about an hour ago."

"And where was the station located this time, Dad?"

"Seemingly at or near the lighthouse."

"The lighthouse!" Penny exclaimed. She was so startled that her voice rose to a high pitch, attracting the attention of a passing bellboy.

"Not so loud, Penny," her father warned. "The strange thing was that the broadcast seemed to come from a cave, the same as before, although the monitoring machines charted it as being close to the lighthouse."

"The only one I know about near the Point is Crystal Cave," Penny said thoughtfully. "Dad, maybe the broadcast did come from the lighthouse!"

"That's government property. Penny, and the man in charge is beyond suspicion. Furthermore, the deep, echo effect couldn't come from anywhere except a cave."

"Unless it were a sound effect, Dad."

"What's that?" Mr. Parker asked, startled. "I don't get you, Penny."

"I mean, maybe the cave set-up is just a sound effect and nothing more. Only the other night I heard one in a radio play and it sounded as if the actors really were in a cave. Isn't it done by an echo chamber or something of the sort?"

"That would be possible," Mr. Parker agreed. "At Interceptor Headquarters it was assumed that a mistake had been made in charting the location of the station."

"Then the lighthouse hasn't been investigated?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Well, it should be!" Penny exclaimed. "Louise and I were there today and we saw--"

"Yes?" Mr. Parker questioned as she suddenly broke off.

"We saw a lot that didn't look right," Penny finished, deciding not to bring Mrs. Deline's name into the discussion. "Mr. McCoy had visitors and while they were there he kept us locked up."

"My word! Why didn't you report to the police?"

"Well, we weren't entirely sure," Penny said lamely. "The door just closed and locked, and Mr. McCoy let on that it had a trick latch. Then he released us, but not until after the visitors had gone."

"Did you see the persons?"

"No, we only heard their voices. We weren't able to overhear any of the conversation."

Without explaining what he intended to do, Mr. Parker again closed himself into a telephone booth. Not until he returned did he tell Penny that he had called Interceptor Headquarters and that Army men had been sent to the lighthouse to make a thorough check-up.

"Now it's late," he said briskly, "and you're overdue for bed, Penny. Better fly up."

"Aren't you coming?"

"Not just now. I have a little unfinished business."