Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery Page 10

  CHAPTER X

  Searching the Loft

  While Penny stood listening to the sounds in the attic she saw Mrs.Masterbrook coming up the path to the cottage. The housekeeper pausedby the gate to stare at Mr. Crocker's car and then glanced quicklyabout.

  "What is Herman doing here?" she asked abruptly as Penny met her on theporch.

  "I'm sure I don't know," replied the girl. "He said he wanted to getsomething from the attic."

  "The attic!" repeated Mrs. Masterbrook. "Oh!" And for no apparentreason she began to laugh.

  "What do you find so funny?"

  "Oh, nothing," replied the housekeeper, passing quickly into thecottage.

  Penny stared after the woman, thoroughly bewildered by her actions.She felt certain that Mrs. Masterbrook knew why old Herman Crocker hadcome to the cottage.

  Penny sat down on the porch steps to wait. Fifteen minutes elapsedbefore she heard Mr. Crocker coming down the attic stairway. As hestepped out on the porch she noticed that he had nothing in his handsand he seemed somewhat disturbed.

  "Did you find what you were after?" asked Penny.

  "Oh, yes--yes," replied the old man absently.

  Mrs. Masterbrook had emerged from the kitchen in time to hear theremark.

  "Did you really?" she inquired with a slight smirk.

  The words were spoken casually enough but Penny thought she detected anote of triumph in the woman's voice. Mr. Crocker noticed it too forhe glanced sharply at the housekeeper. Her face was expressionless.

  "Well, I'll have to be getting back," the old man said. He walkedslowly to the car.

  Mrs. Masterbrook waited on the porch until he had driven down the road.The housekeeper was highly pleased about something. Penny thought thatshe looked exactly like a cat which had drunk its fill of rich cream.

  "Mrs. Masterbrook knows what Herman came here for," the girl reflected."I'd question her only it wouldn't do a bit of good."

  Penny hoped that if she showed no interest the housekeeper might offera little information. She was disappointed. Without a word Mrs.Masterbrook walked back into the cottage.

  "I'd like to find out what is in the attic," Penny thought. "When thecoast is clear I'm going up there and look around."

  Throughout the morning she lingered near the cottage, but it seemedthat always either the housekeeper or Michael Haymond was at hand toobserve her actions. When Mr. Nichols returned from his walk Penny didnot tell him about Herman Crocker's mysterious visit to the attic forshe felt certain that he would not consider it mysterious at all. Hewas deeply absorbed in his own case and would sit for an hour at a timelost in thought.

  "Are you worrying about toy lanterns, Dad?" Penny asked mischievously.

  "That's right," he agreed with a smile. "I talked with InspectorHarris this morning from the village store. He's not progressing verywell in tracing down the lantern clue. It seems there are dozens ofcompanies which manufacture toys exactly like the one you found atKirmenbach's place."

  "Then you've reached a dead end?" asked Penny.

  "For the time being, yes. But I've not given up. I still believe thatit may be possible to trace the thief by means of the clue. After all,the toy lantern had one distinguishing feature--the cloth wick."

  "It's too bad all this had to come up on your vacation," Penny saidsympathetically. She could see that the lines of worry had returned toher father's face.

  "I wish I had kept out of the case," he returned. "But now that I'm init, I'll have no peace of mind until it's solved. There's somethingabout that toy lantern clue which challenges me!"

  "I feel the same way regarding Herman Crocker," Penny nodded.

  "What was that?" Mr. Nichols looked up quickly.

  "I meant that our landlord's queer personality fascinates me. He'salways doing such strange things."

  "Let me see," Mr. Nichols said jokingly. "How many queer charactershave you discovered since we came here?"

  "Only three, Dad. Mrs. Masterbrook, Michael and old Herman. Unlessyou count Walter Crocker and Mr. Madden."

  "How about the postman? I noticed you were talking with him yesterday."

  "Purely upon a matter of business," Penny laughed. "His name isn'tdown on my list of suspects yet."

  She said no more for just then Michael Haymond came up the path with anarmful of wood.

  After carrying it to the kitchen he returned to the porch. Mr. Nicholsmotioned him into a rocker.

  "I'm afraid I'm not doing very much to earn my wages," the young mansaid apologetically. "My chief occupation around here seems to beeating and sitting."

  "I'm well satisfied," replied the detective.

  Although Penny had thought that her father was unwise to hire Michaelshe liked the young man a great deal. He was quiet, unassuming, anddid his tasks willingly. Whenever he had a spare moment he usuallyspent it with a book. Penny had read the titles with surprise.Michael devoted himself to volumes of philosophy and history and hestudied textbooks of mathematics and French.

  "Rather deep stuff," Mr. Nichols had commented, looking at one of thephilosophy volumes.

  "I never had a chance to attend college, sir," Michael had replied,flushing. "I'm trying to educate myself a little."

  During the afternoon both Mr. Nichols and Michael absented themselvesfrom the cottage. Mrs. Masterbrook decided that she would walk down tothe village. Penny was delighted to be left alone in the house.

  The moment that everyone was gone she hastened to the attic. It was alow-ceiling room, dimly lighted by two gable windows. Dust and cobwebswere everywhere.

  The attic contained an old chest of drawers, the footboards of a bed,two trunks, a chair with a broken leg, and several boxes of dishes.

  As Penny's gaze roved over the objects she observed that a faintscratch on the floor showed where the trunks had been recently moved.Some of the dust had been brushed off from the lids.

  "Herman must have been looking at the trunks," the girl thought. "Iwonder what he expected to find?"

  She lifted the lid of the nearest one and was pleased that it wasunlocked. There was nothing in the top tray but beneath it she foundold fashioned clothing which had belonged to a woman. The garments hadbeen very carefully packed in moth balls.

  Penny opened the second trunk. It too was filled with clothing in astyle worn some fifteen years before. In the bottom she came upon anold picture album and a packet of letters. All were addressed toHerman Crocker and appeared to be of a business nature.

  Penny was tempted to read the letters, but she put aside the thought.After all it was not very honorable of her to pry into Mr. Crocker'spersonal affairs without a stronger motive than curiosity.

  "If there is any occasion for learning more about the man, I can readthe letters later," Penny reflected. "Dad would be ashamed of me if heknew what I was doing."

  She replaced the packet in the trunk and closed down the lid. Thenafter making certain that the chest of drawers contained nothing ofinterest, she hastened down stairs again and washed the grime from herhands.

  Later in the afternoon Mrs. Masterbrook came back from Kendon and itseemed to Penny that she was more subdued than usual. Even Mr. Nicholsnoticed a change in the woman.

  "I wonder what is the matter with her?" he remarked. "She seems to belosing her fire!"

  "I guess she's just tired from the long walk to town," Penny replied.However, she watched Mrs. Masterbrook closely, and was inclined toagree that something had gone amiss. The housekeeper looked worried.

  "Aren't you feeling well, Mrs. Masterbrook?" she inquired kindly.

  "Of course I'm feeling well," the woman snapped.

  After supper that night Michael Haymond left the house, but Penny didnot know whether or not he went to call upon Herman Crocker. She wentto bed about ten, and heard the young man return to the cottage shortlyafter that hour. By eleven o'clock everyone had gone to bed.

  Penny went off to sleep soon after her head touched the pil
low. It washours later that she awoke to hear the kitchen clock chiming threeo'clock.

  In the hallway a board creaked.

  Penny sat up and listened. She was certain that someone was tiptoeingdown the hall. For a moment she was frightened. Then she crept out ofbed and flung open the door.

  At the end of the hall she saw the figure of a man. He fled before shecould speak or make an outcry. Penny heard the outside door slam shut.She hurried to a window and was in time to see someone running swiftlytoward the woods.

  "Dad!" she screamed excitedly. "Wake up! Wake up!" And to emphasizeher words, Penny ran to her father's bedroom and pounded on the doorwith her clenched fist.