Part 7

Entering the tugboat office, the girls sought Captain Dolphin. The genial old fellow had been interviewed so many times that he knew the story of his life almost by heart and recited it with great gusto. Penny took a few notes and arose to leave.

"What do you think of the weather, captain?" she inquired casually.

His answer surprised her. "We don't like the look of 'er here," he said, frowning. "Barometer's been falling all day. I'm callin' in all my tugs off the river."

"Then you believe the storm actually may strike here?"

"We're not takin' any chances," replied the captain. "Once when I was a young twirp shippin' on a freighter, a hurricane struck us off the Florida Keys. We made port, but it was by the skin of a shark's tooth! Never want to see another storm like that one!"

Penny pocketed her notebook, and the girls went outside into the rising wind. More conscious now of its icy bite, they huddled for a moment in the shelter of the office doorway.

Only a few doors away stood the Hartmann Steamship Company offices, whose large river boats plied up the Coast and on to distant world ports.

Through the plate glass window of the ticket office, Penny's attention was attracted to a slightly stooped man in rumpled clothing who was talking to the man in charge. He turned slightly, and as she saw his profile, she was struck by his remarkable resemblance to the newspaper photograph of Hamilton Rhett.

"Lou, see that man in the ticket office!" she exclaimed. "Doesn't he look like the missing banker?"

Louise studied the stranger a moment and replied: "How should I know? I've never seen him."

"Surely you saw the picture the _Star_ published!"

"Yes, but I didn't pay much attention."

The man now was leaving the ticket office. Impulsively, Penny stepped forward to intercept him. "I beg your pardon--" she began.

Alert, wary eyes bore into her own as the stranger gazed straight at her for an instant. He said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

"Aren't you Hamilton Rhett?" Penny asked, deciding to make a direct approach.

"No, you are mistaken," the man replied.

Pushing past Penny, he went hurriedly on down the street.

"You see!" commented Louise. "That's what you get for jumping to such rash conclusions!"

Penny, however, was far from convinced that she had made a mistake.

"If that man wasn't Mr. Rhett, it was his double! Lou, did you notice if he wore a serpent ring?"

"He kept both hands in his pockets."

"That's so, he did!" agreed Penny. "Wait here for me! I'll ask the ticket agent a few questions!"

She was inside the office perhaps five minutes. When she returned, visibly excited, she glanced anxiously up the street. The stranger had vanished from view down the short street, apparently having turned at the first corner.

"We must overtake him!" Penny cried. "I have a hunch we let Mr. Rhett pull a fast one!"

Hurriedly, the girls walked to the corner. The stranger was nowhere to be seen. Whether he had disappeared into a building, down an alley or another street, they had no way of knowing. Penny stopped two pedestrians to inquire, but no one had noticed the man.

"We've lost him!" she exclaimed to Louise. "How disgusting!"

"What did the ticket man tell you, Penny?"

"That the man was inquiring about steamship accommodations to New Orleans, and on to South America. He didn't give his name."

"Then how can you be sure it was Mr. Rhett?"

"It's only a hunch. But the agent said the man was wearing a ring--he didn't notice the type."

"Any number of men wear rings," Louise scoffed. "Penny, aren't you indulging in a little wishful thinking? You want to find Mr. Rhett so badly you're letting your imagination run riot."

"Maybe you're right," Penny admitted with a sigh. "Anyway, we've lost the fellow, so we may as well forget it."

Saying goodbye to Louise, she hastened off to the _Star_ office to write up the interview with the tugboat captain. However, she could not put her mind on her work, and after making three false starts, she decided to postpone the story until after dinner.

Fortified by a good meal, she wrote the story much easier, but Penny was far from satisfied when she turned her finished copy in at the desk.

"Guess I'm off the beam tonight," she remarked to Jerry. "It took me an age to write that story."

Penny glanced at the clock. Time had passed swiftly for it was now after nine.

"You look tired," observed the night editor. "There's nothing more for you to do. Why don't you skip out?"

"Guess I will," agreed Penny, reaching for her hat. "I have a geometry test coming up tomorrow."

She was through the swinging barrier, and half way down the hall when Jerry called to her: "Telephone for you, Penny."

With a sigh, she returned to take the call. Weariness vanished and she became wide-awake as she recognized Lorinda Rhett's voice at the other end of the line.

"Miss Parker?" the girl inquired in an agitated voice.

"Speaking."

"I'm sorry to bother you," Lorinda went on, "but could you possibly come to our house right away?"

"Why, I think so," Penny said, instantly divining that something was amiss at the mansion. "Is anything wrong?"

"Oh, yes! Everything! I can't tell you over the phone. Just come as quickly as you can. I need your help."

After hanging up the receiver, Penny related the conversation to the night editor. "I don't know exactly what the call means," she added. "Possibly, Lorinda has learned something about her missing stepfather. If so, it should make a good story!"

"Give us a ring from the mansion if any thing develops," the night editor instructed. "Better take Jerry along with you. No telling what may turn up."

Jerry already was on his feet, reaching for his hat. His car was parked on the street. Traffic flow had dwindled, enabling them to reach the mansion in record time.

The lower floor of the Rhett home was dark, but on the second floor, nearly all the rooms were ablaze with light.

"Wonder what's up!" mused Jerry, parking the car across the street.

"Lorinda is expecting me alone," Penny said. "Maybe it would be better for you to wait here until I have a chance to talk to her."

"Sure. Just signal if you need me."

Jerry switched off the car lights and settled himself for a lengthy vigil.

Penny ran up the walk and pounded on the door. In a moment, she heard footsteps; the living room light flashed on; then the door was opened by Lorinda.

"Is anything the matter?" Penny inquired anxiously.

"It's Mother," Lorinda explained. "She's very ill. We have the doctor now. I'm dreadfully worried."

Penny, at a loss to understand how she could be of help, nodded sympathetically.

"Come with me upstairs," Lorinda requested. "I want you to see and talk to Mother, and then tell me what you think."

"What seems to be the trouble?"

"She refuses food and she has rapidly failed since you last saw her. I've tried to reason with her, but it is useless. She is convinced she has a fatal illness and will die!"

Deeply troubled, Penny followed Lorinda upstairs to the luxuriously furnished bed chamber. Celeste, in white starched uniform, was hovering anxiously over the bed where Mrs. Rhett lay. Lorinda's mother looked ten years older than when Penny had last seen her. Her face was pale and shriveled, her eyes listless.

"I don't want the food!" she said peevishly to Celeste, pushing aside a spoonful of custard which was held to her lips. "It is useless to eat."

On the other side of the bed stood a stout, middle-aged man whom Lorinda introduced as Doctor Everett, a specialist.

"Mrs. Rhett," he said sternly, "you are acting very foolish in refusing food. I have made a careful examination and can find nothing whatsoever the matter."

"I didn't call you to this house," the woman retorted. "Please go away and leave me alone. One has a right to die in peace."

"You will not die," said the doctor patiently. "Your illness is only a fancy of the mind."

Mrs. Rhett tossed her head on the pillow. "Go away!" she ordered. "It was my daughter who called you here--not I. No doctor can be of the slightest aid to me."

"Not unless you are willing to cooperate. Now I suggest that a trained nurse be called in to--"

"A trained nurse!" cried Celeste, straightening from the bedside. "Only I will tend my mistress! We will have no stranger in the household!"

"I want Celeste," agreed Mrs. Rhett, clinging to the servant's hand. "She is the only one who understands my ailment. Celeste will take care of me--no one else."

The doctor shrugged. "Very well, it was only a suggestion. I should like to help you, but under the circumstance, there is nothing I can do. Good evening."

As the doctor reached for his black bag, Lorinda moved quickly across the room. Her eyes pleaded with him to understand.

"Doctor Everett, you'll come again tomorrow?" she requested.

He smiled, but shook his head. "You might call Doctor Fellows, a psychiatrist," he advised. "There is nothing I can do."

While Lorinda accompanied the doctor to the front door, Penny remained in the bedroom. No sooner had the physician left than Celeste moved close to the bed, muttering:

"Good! He is gone! Only a fool would believe a doctor could help you. Until the _ouange_ is broken, food will only turn to poison in your body! You will weaken and die. But Celeste will save you--Celeste will find a way to break the evil spell."

CHAPTER 16 _AN OPEN WINDOW_

Unmindful of Penny, Celeste bent lower over her bed-ridden mistress, whispering words into her ear.

"Celeste! What are you saying?" Penny demanded. "Why, you're putting dangerous ideas into Mrs. Rhett's mind!"

The servant whirled toward her angrily. "Go away!" she ordered. "My mistress does not want you here!"

"Celeste!" reproved Mrs. Rhett, but in a mild voice.

Penny stood her ground, stubbornly determined that a servant should not order her away. For a moment she and Celeste measured each other with steady gaze. Nothing more was said. Mrs. Rhett sighed, closed her eyes, and seemed to drowse.

Lorinda came bounding up the stairs two at a time. Unaware that anything unpleasant had transpired during her absence, she said with forced cheerfulness:

"Now, Mother, let's have no more nonsense. You're to eat your food without fuss. Here, let's try the custard again."

Mrs. Rhett pushed away the spoon. "No, Lorinda, it is useless. But there is something you may do for me."

"Anything you wish, Mother."

"Bring pen and ink."

"Are you really strong enough to write a letter?"

"I intend to change my will. Lorinda, we spoke of this the other day. While I still have the strength I must revoke my former will and leave all my property to you."

"Oh, Mother, don't talk of such things! Why, the doctor says you're in perfect physical condition. You'll be up and around in another day or two. It's only worry about Father that has put you under the weather."

"I have made up my mind, Lorinda. The will must be changed--now--tonight, while I have the strength."

"Very well, if it will make you rest easier," Lorinda said reluctantly. "Celeste, bring ink, a pen and paper."

Celeste made no move to obey. "My mistress is not strong enough to write," she mumbled.

"Mother wishes to change the will. Please bring the materials."

"To change the will while one lies on a sick bed is to invite great trouble."

"Celeste! No more of such talk! Do as you are told!"

Penny thought the servant would refuse to obey, but she shuffled off. Many minutes passed before she returned with the requested materials.

Lorinda sat down at the bedside, and wrote at her Mother's dictation. It was a simple will in which Mrs. Rhett left all of her property to her daughter.

"If I thought my husband ever would return, I would want him to receive all my holdings," she said. "As it is, I think the money should go to you, Lorinda."

Penny was tempted to speak of her own belief that Mr. Rhett might be alive and in the city. However, realizing she had not a scrap of proof, she wisely remained silent.

Mrs. Rhett signed the will. Lorinda and Penny then added their names as witnesses to the document.

"Lock the will in the safe," Mrs. Rhett instructed her daughter. "Do it now, before you forget."

"Yes, Mother."

Seemingly relieved that the matter had been accomplished, Mrs. Rhett turned over in bed and tried to sleep. Leaving Celeste to look after her, Penny and Lorinda went downstairs to the study.

"Celeste seemed to be displeased because your mother changed the will," Penny remarked.

"Yes, Celeste has become a problem. I feel the doctor was right in suggesting a nurse for Mother. Celeste _may_ mean well, but she is a distinct influence for the worse."

"Then why not get rid of her?"

"How?"

"Tell her to go."

Lorinda laughed shortly. "You don't know Celeste if you think she would take such an order from me!"

"Then have your mother dismiss her."

"I'm not sure she would do it. Furthermore, Celeste might defy her too. She has the idea she'll take orders only from my stepfather."

"I believe you're actually afraid of the woman," Penny commented.

"In a way I am," Lorinda admitted. "Mother used to dislike her intensely. Strangely, since she has become ill, she seems to depend more upon Celeste than she does upon me."

"Did it ever occur to you that Celeste might deliberately be planting ideas in your mother's mind?"

"Yes, I've thought of it. I don't believe Celeste would be evil enough to do it on purpose, but she is highly superstitious. I wish she were out of the house."

"You could get rid of her if you really wanted to. Just call in the police, and have them take over."

"I couldn't do that. Mother would never forgive me."

The girls entered the study, and Lorinda switched on a light. After pulling the blinds, she removed the wall picture, and prepared to open the safe.

Before she could spin the dials, footsteps padded on the stairway. Celeste appeared suddenly in the study doorway.

"Come quick!" she pleaded. "Mistress much worse!"

Lorinda dropped the will on the table, and with Penny close at her heels, followed Celeste up the stairway. Expecting the worst, they peered anxiously at Mrs. Rhett. She was tossing restlessly, but otherwise appeared the same as when they had seen her a few minutes ago.

"How do you feel, Mother?" Lorinda asked.

"Just the same," Mrs. Rhett replied listlessly.

Lorinda gazed questioningly at Celeste.

"Mistress much better now," the servant said. "She had sinking spell while you were downstairs."

"I'm afraid you imagined it, Celeste," Lorinda replied severely. "This really proves that we should have a trained nurse. Otherwise, you'll frighten us all out of our wits."

Celeste started to make a retort, but just then Mrs. Rhett spoke: "Lorinda, did you put the will in the safe?" she asked.

"I was doing it when Celeste called. I'll attend to it right away."

Lorinda stooped to kiss her mother and offer a glass of water which was declined. She then went downstairs once more with Penny.

"What do you suppose possessed Celeste to frighten me so?" she remarked thoughtfully. "Did Mother seem changed to you?"

"Not a particle."

Reaching the study, Lorinda went directly to the table where she had left the signed will. The paper was not there.

"Why, Penny, what did I do with it?" she demanded in bewilderment. "I was certain I left it here."

"I distinctly recall that you did," Penny replied, her gaze wandering to an open window where a curtain fluttered in the breeze. "Lorinda, I think while we were away, someone came in from outside and took the will!"

CHAPTER 17 _THE STOLEN WILL_

Penny darted to the open window, peering out onto the dark street. No one was in sight, although Jerry's car with dimmed headlights still stood at the curb.

"Who could have taken the will?" Lorinda wailed. "I'm sure it didn't blow out the window and it didn't sprout legs and walk off either!"

"Perhaps Celeste--"

"She was upstairs all the time we were out of this room," Lorinda interrupted.

"It seemed odd she called us just at the moment she did--particularly when your mother had not suffered a relapse."

Lorinda did not appear to hear Penny's remark. Half doubting that the paper could be missing, she searched on the floor near the safe, under the window and in every corner of the room.

"I suspect someone deliberately stole that will!" Penny said with conviction. "Wait here! I may be able to learn more about it!"

Hastening outdoors, she gazed about the grounds. No one was in sight. She went directly to the press car. The automobile was deserted.

"Now what became of Jerry?" she asked herself impatiently. "Just when I need him!"

Disappointed, she turned toward the house again. Then she saw the reporter coming up a dark path from the direction of the beach.

"Jerry!" she called softly.

"Hi, Penny!" he returned. "Ready to go?"

"Oh, no! Everything is in a dreadful mess here. Lorinda's mother is very sick. She made a will, and Lorinda started to put it in the safe. Then we were called out of the room by the housekeeper, and when we returned, the paper was gone!"

"When did that happen, Penny?"

"Just now."

"Then that fellow I chased must have been the thief!"

"You saw someone take the will, Jerry?"

"I was sitting in the car," the reporter related. "A light was on in one of the downstairs rooms, but I was too sleepy to pay much attention. Suddenly though, I saw a man who apparently had been hiding in the shrubbery, rise up and climb through an open window."

"A man! Could you see who it was?"

"No, it was too dark. I jumped out of the car, but before I could cross the yard, the fellow climbed out through the window again, and started off. I called to him. He covered his face and ran. I chased him, but the fellow ducked down a path and I lost him."

"He must have stolen the will, Jerry! But how did he know about it, and why would it be of any value to him? Everything is so mixed up!"

"Maybe we ought to give the police a buzz."

Penny nodded. "I'll see what Lorinda wants to do," she replied. "Until now, the Rhetts have studiously avoided telling their troubles to the police--in fact, I am afraid Mrs. Rhett hasn't told everything she knows about her husband's disappearance."

"I'll wait in the car," Jerry said.

Penny let herself into the house again and made her way through the dark living room to the library where a light burned.

"Lorinda--" she began, only to stop short.

For it was not Lorinda who stood with her back toward the door, awkwardly turning the dials of the wall safe. Instead, Celeste whirled around, plainly dismayed by the girl's unexpected appearance in the doorway.

"Celeste!" Penny said sharply. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," the woman muttered, her mouth sullen.

"You were trying to get into that safe! Is it the will you want, or are you after the Zudi drum?"

Penny's words, shot blindly, struck the target. Celeste's eyes flashed and she advanced a step toward the girl.

"You go away from here! Never come back!" she ordered harshly.

"Sorry, I'm not taking orders from you, Celeste. Why do you hate Lorinda and Mrs. Rhett? What is your little game?"

Celeste glared at Penny. She drew in her breath and expelled it with a hissing sound through her yellow, crooked teeth. Her hand clutched at an object hidden beneath her uniform and worn around her neck on a dirty cord.

With no warning, she broke into a jargon which Penny could not understand. But the meaning was clear enough even if the words were unintelligible. Celeste was calling down all manner of evil upon her head!

"Go!" Celeste cried in English. "You come here again--harm befall you!"

"Celeste, all your jungle hocus-pocus doesn't impress me in the least. I'll leave when I feel in the mood--not before. What were you after in the safe?"

The woman's eyes met Penny's defiantly. She reached out as if to strike her, but at that moment footsteps padded on the stairway. Pushing past Penny, Celeste retreated to the kitchen.

Lorinda came into the library, gazing about curiously. "Thought I heard voices," she commented.

"You did. Celeste was here. Guess what? I found her tampering with the wall safe."

"She may have been trying to learn if the Zudi drum was stolen," Lorinda said absently. "I'm far more worried about the will. What became of it?"

Penny repeated what Jerry had witnessed, adding: "Obviously the will was taken by the man who climbed through the window. Could it have been Anton?"

"Anton? Why, I doubt that he even knew about the will, because Mother decided to change it at a moment's notice. What reason would he have for taking it? Neither he nor Celeste figured in the terms of either document."

"It seemed to me Celeste was tremendously interested," Penny said. "Oh, well, the loss shouldn't be of serious consequence. Your mother can draw up another will."

"That's exactly what she won't do. I told her about the will being taken, Penny. She immediately decided it was another omen--a sign that she should leave everything the way it is."

"How foolish! Celeste must have put those notions in her head!"

"I'm sure I don't know. As for the will, I never did encourage her to change it, because not for a moment do I believe she is sick enough to die. I don't want Mother's money. I only want her to get well and strong and be happy again. Penny, you don't think she is seriously ill?"

"The doctor said nothing is the matter with her."

"Yet we both know something dreadful is wrong." Lorinda's finger tips nervously tapped the table edge. "Oh, Penny, I'm scared--terribly scared. I don't explain it, but I just _feel_ a sinister something in the air!"

"You shouldn't be here alone with Celeste and Anton. Why not override them and hire a nurse or companion for your mother?"

"Maybe I will," Lorinda agreed. "I'll think it over until tomorrow."

"You'll report the theft of the will to the police, of course?"

"No," Lorinda decided instantly. "They would only ask embarrassing questions."

"Why are you so reluctant to take anyone into your confidence?"

"We're in enough trouble now, Penny. Please, let's not talk about it any more until tomorrow."

Decidedly puzzled by Lorinda's attitude, Penny said goodbye and rejoined Jerry in the car. He had seen no more of the mysterious prowler and was convinced the man had fled the estate.

"Let's go," he said, starting the car.

As the automobile swung down the driveway, Penny peered intently at the roadside shrubbery. The bushes were crashing back and forth in the rising wind, but no one was visible anywhere near the estate. Chilled, she closed the car window.

"Do you think that hurricane really is heading our way?" she asked her companion.

"Didn't see the government report tonight," Jerry replied. "Probably at the last minute, the storm will veer off and we'll escape. Riverview never was struck by a hurricane. Too far inland."

The car purred smoothly on, following the road which curled toward the beach. Penny became silent. As they turned a corner, Jerry reached out to give her hand a friendly squeeze.

"Why so quiet, kitten?" he teased.

"Just thinking, Jerry. There are so many things about the Rhett case I can't understand."

"Why trouble your little brain?"

"Because this isn't just an ordinary story to me, Jerry. I like Lorinda, and I feel that unless something is done, her mother may die."

"Don't tell me you're becoming a superstitious little heathen!"

"Certainly not! But from what the professor told us, it's a mistake to underrate the power of suggestion. Mrs. Rhett is in real danger--"

Penny broke off, listening intently.

"What was that, Jerry?" she demanded.

"Didn't hear anything. Only the wind."

"No, I distinctly heard a sound like the throb of a drum!" Penny lowered the car window. "There it is again!"