Part 38 (1/2)
”I think you ought to go to Mrs. Downey's lodge as soon as you can,” she urged. ”Sara is there, and she's dreadfully worried about you.”
”I'll go now,” the old man said, offering his gnarled hand. ”Much obliged for all you done tonight.”
”That's quite all right,” replied Penny. ”I was lucky or I never would have discovered where those men were keeping you.”
The old man hesitated, obviously wis.h.i.+ng to say something more, yet unable to find the words.
”I done some thinkin' tonight,” he muttered. ”I reckon I been too strict with Sara. From now on maybe I'll let her have a looser rein.”
”And ski all she likes,” urged Penny. ”I really can't see the harm in it.”
”I been thinkin' about that lease, too,” the old man added, not looking directly at the girl. ”When I see Mrs. Downey tonight I'll tell her I'm ready to sign.”
”Oh, I'm so glad!” Penny exclaimed. ”With the Fergus-Maxwell hotel out of the running, she ought to have a comfortable time of it here on Pine Top mountain.”
”Thanks to you,” grinned Peter Jasko. He offered his hand again and Penny gave it a firm pressure.
”I must hurry now,” she said. ”This is a tremendous story, and I want to telegraph it to Dad before Francine Sellberg beats me to the jump.”
”Sellberg?” repeated the old man. ”She ain't that girl reporter that's been stayin' here at the hotel?”
Penny nodded.
”Then you better step,” he advised. ”She's on her way to the village now.”
”But how could Francine have learned about it so soon?” Penny wailed in dismay.
”I saw her talking with one of the deputies. She was writing things down in a notebook.”
”She couldn't have learned everything, but probably enough to ruin my story. When did Francine leave, Mr. Jasko?”
”All of fifteen minutes ago.”
”Then I never can overtake her,” Penny murmured. ”This is absolutely the worst break yet! Francine will reach the telegraph office first and hold the wire so I can't use it. After all my work, her paper will get the big scoop!”
CHAPTER 25 _SCOOP!_
Penny knew that she had only one chance of getting her story through to Riverview, and that was by means of long distance telephone. At best, instead of achieving a scoop as she had hoped, she would have only an even break with her rival. And if connections could not be quickly made, she would lose out altogether.
Hastily saying goodbye to Peter Jasko, Penny raced for the stairway. She did not have a word of her story written down. While she could give the facts to a rewrite man it would take him some time to get the article into shape.
”Vic Henderson writes such colorless stories, too,” she moaned to herself. ”He'll be afraid some fact isn't accurate and he'll jerk it out.
This is the one yarn I want to write myself!”
Penny ran full tilt into Sheriff Clausson. She brought up shortly, observing that he had a prisoner in custody.
”Miss Parker, we caught this fellow down in the tunnel,” he said. ”Can you identify him?”