Part 33 (1/2)
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 b.u.t.tered m.u.f.fins on her breakfast tray.
”Is there anything else you would like?” Mrs. Weems inquired, hovering near.