The Penny Parker Megapack: 15 Complete Novels (128 page)

The door of the cabin swung open. Penny had leaped from the rear side of the building, and so was not immediately seen. The two men started after Louise who in panic had run toward the woods.

To divert attention from her hard pressed chum, Penny gave a wild Indian whoop. Startled, the men stopped, and turned around. Carl Oaks at once took after her, while the waiter resumed pursuit of Louise.

Penny did not find it hard to keep well ahead of the watchman. Darting into the woods, she circled, hoping to rejoin her chum. She knew that Louise was not very fleet of foot, and once confused, might never find her way out of the forest.

By frequently pausing to listen to the crackle of underbrush, Penny was able to follow the flight of her chum. Instead of running toward the river, Louise seemed to be circling back in the direction of the shack.

“She’ll get us both into trouble now,” thought Penny anxiously.

A moment later, Louise, puffing and gasping, came running past. Penny joined her, grasping her hand to help her over the rough places.

“That man’s right behind!” Louise panted. “Are we almost to the river?”

Penny did not discourage her by revealing that she had been running in the wrong direction. The chance of escape now was a slim one. Louise was nearly out of breath, while the man who pursued them, steadily gained.

“The ark!” Penny cried, guiding her chum. “We’ll be safe there!”

Unmindful of thorns which tore at their clothing, the girls raced on. Although Carl Oaks had been left far behind, the other man was not to be outdistanced. He kept so close that Louise and Penny had no opportunity to hide or attempt to throw him off the trail.

“Go on, Penny,” Louise gasped, slackening speed. “I can’t make it.”

“Yes, you can!” Penny fairly pulled her along. “We’re almost there. See!”

The ark loomed up ahead. Encouraged by the sight, Louise gathered her strength and kept doggedly on. They reached the bank of the stream and gave way to despair. The ark was dark and the gangplank which usually connected it with shore, was nowhere in evidence.

“Noah! Noah!” called Louise wildly.

Only the parrot answered, crackling saucily from a porthole: “Hello, Noah, you old soak! Where are you, Noah?”

Breathless and bewildered, the girls did not know what to do. Before they could turn and run on, the man who so ruthlessly pursued them, dashed out from among the trees.

“Oh, here you are,” he said, and moonlight gleamed on the revolver he held in his hand. “A very pretty race, my dears, but shall we call this the finish line?”

CHAPTER 22

A SEARCHING PARTY

“Now we’ll have no more nonsense,” said the man who held the revolver. “Stand over there against the tree.”

Penny and Louise were so frightened that they trembled violently.

“You’ll not be harmed if you do exactly as you’re told,” the waiter assured them.

“Why not let us go home?” Penny ventured, recovering her courage.

“Not tonight, my dear.” The man smiled grimly. “Unfortunately, you have learned too much regarding my affairs.”

“Then what are you going to do with us?” Penny demanded.

Apparently, the waiter did not himself know. While he guarded the girls, he cast a quick glance toward the ark. Just then running footsteps were heard in the woods, and someone whistled twice. The waiter answered the signal. A moment later, Carl Oaks, quite winded, came into view.

“So you got ’em, eh?” he demanded with pleasure.

“The question is what to do with them.”

“I don’t want ’em at the shack,” the old watchman complained. “When young Ottman comes around I may have my hands full with him.”

“This ark should serve my purpose,” the waiter muttered. “The old coot that lives here has gone off somewhere. Oaks, get aboard and look around.”

“There’s no way to cross to it,” the watchman said helplessly.

“Find the gangplank!” his companion ordered irritably. “It must be hidden somewhere in the bushes.”

Thus urged, Oaks searched along the river bank and soon came upon the missing plank. Fitting it into place, he quickly crossed to the ark. A dog started to bark, but the sound was choked off.

“Well?” called the waiter impatiently.

“No one here except the animals,” Oaks reported, reappearing on deck. “The only room that can be locked off is the cabin where the dope keeps his birds.”

“That ought to do,” decided the waiter. “We won’t have to keep ’em here long.”

Penny and Louise were compelled to march across the gangplank, up the steps to the bird room of the ark. The parrot, arousing from a doze, squawked a raucous welcome.

“Get in there and don’t make any noise!” the waiter ordered. “If you shout for help or make any disturbance, you’ll be bound and gagged. And that’s not pleasant. Get me?”

“You seem to have got us,” Penny retorted.

The door slammed and a bolt slid into place. Penny tiptoed at once to the porthole. It was much too small to permit an escape, but at least it provided fresh air and a view of the shore.

“Well, well, well,” cackled the parrot, tramping up and down on his wide perch. “Polly wants a slug o’ rum.”

“You’ll get a slug, period, if you don’t keep quiet,”Penny said crossly. “Give me a chance to think, will you?”

“Thinking won’t get us out of this mess,” murmured Louise, sitting down with her back to a wall. “It must be after nine o’clock now. If Bill had notified our folks, they would be looking for us long before this.”

In whispers the girls discussed their unfortunate situation. They were hopeful that eventually they would be released, but they could not expect freedom until long after midnight.

“The Seventh Street Bridge will be blasted at one o’clock,” Penny said anxiously. “If it goes up, Riverview traffic will be paralyzed. Work at the munition plant will stop cold.”

“The saboteurs intend to blame Burt Ottman for the job too! Well, at least we can tell police who the real plotters are.”

“We can if we ever get out of here,” Penny said, pacing the floor. “Oh, I’m as mad as a hornet!”

“Quiet down, and maybe we can hear something,”Louise suggested calmly. “I think those men are talking.”

A murmur of voices could be heard from the third floor of the ark. The partitions were thin. By standing on one of the pigeon boxes, the girls discovered they could understand nearly everything that was being said.

“Carl, you go back to the shack and keep an eye on Ottman,” the waiter ordered the watchman. “As soon as Breneham comes, send him here. We’ll pull the job at one o’clock just as we planned.”

“Okay, Jard,” the other answered.

Getting down from the pigeon box, Penny watched Carl Oaks leave the ark.

“How about taking a chance and shouting for help?” Louise suggested in a whisper.

Penny shook her head. “Not now at least. I doubt anyone is within a mile of this place—that is, anyone friendly to us.”

The girls were not to enjoy their porthole for long. Within a few minutes the waiter tacked a strip of canvas over the opening. He then sat down on deck directly beneath it, and the odor of his cigar drifted into the room.

“That man must be Jard Wessler,” Penny whispered to her chum. “You remember Bill said he was hired to work for a fellow by the name of Wessler.”

“I don’t care who he is,” muttered Louise. “All
I
think about is getting out of here.”

The girls sat side by side, their backs to the wall. About them in boxes and cages, Noah’s birds stirred restlessly. Polly, the parrot, kept up such a chatter that at length Penny covered the cage with a sack.

Time passed slowly. It seemed hours later that Penny and Louise heard the sound of a man’s voice. The cry, though low, came from shore.

“Ark ahoy! Are you there, Wessler?”

“Come aboard,” invited the one in command of the boat. “Oaks told you what happened?”

“Yeah, and I have more bad news.” The newcomer had reached the ark and his voice could be heard plainly by Louise and Penny. “A searching party is out looking for those two girls. Heading this way too.”

“In that case—”

The door of the bird room suddenly was thrust open and a flashbeam focused upon the girls. They found themselves confronted by Jard Wessler and a stranger. At least Penny’s first thought was that she had never seen him before. Then it came to her that he closely resembled the man with whom Burt Ottman had dined at The Green Parrot.

Before either of the girls realized what was in store, they were seized by the arms. Tape was plastered over their lips, and their limbs were bound.

“A precautionary measure,” Wessler assured them. “You’ll be released soon.”

Penny and Louise understood perfectly why they had been bound and gagged. Scarcely fifteen minutes elapsed before they heard the sound of men’s voices along shore. Soon thereafter someone hailed the ark. Penny’s heart leaped for she recognized her father’s voice.

“Hello, the ark!” he shouted.

Wessler responded, his voice casual and friendly.

“We’re looking for two girls lost in the woods. Have you seen them?”

“Why, yes,” Wessler answered. “A couple of girls went past here about an hour ago. They were on their way to the river.”

“Then they must have started home,” Mr. Parker replied, greatly relieved. “By the way, you’re not the one they call Noah, are you?”

“Just a friend of his.”

“I see,” responded Mr. Parker, apparently satisfied with the answer. “Well, thanks. We’ve been worried about my daughter and her friend. It’s a relief to know they’re on their way home.”

In the dark bird room of the ark, Penny and Louise squirmed and twisted. Though they thumped their feet on the floor, the sound conveyed no hint of their plight to those on shore.

Mr. Parker called a cheery good night to Wessler. For a few minutes the girls heard the sound of retreating footsteps in the underbrush. Then all was still save for the restless stirring of the birds.

CHAPTER 23

HELP FROM NOAH

A long while later, Jard Wessler and his companion reentered the cabin where Penny and Louise were imprisoned. After removing the tape from the girls’ lips, and freeing them of their uncomfortable bonds, they went outside again.

“At least they’re not trying to torture us,” Louise said, close to tears. “Oh, Penny, your father believes we’ve gone home! Now we’ll never be found.”

“Not in time to save the bridge, that’s certain,” her chum agreed gloomily.

Getting up from the floor, Penny groped her way to the covered porthole. She stumbled against a box and there was a loud tinkle of glass.

“Noah’s bottles!” she exclaimed, exasperated. “Where do you suppose the old fellow has taken himself?”

“Maybe the sheriff got him.”

“I doubt it,” returned Penny. “He probably just went off somewhere.”

After testing the cabin door, she sat down again beside Louise. The girls did not sleep but they fell into a drowsy, half-stupefied state. Then suddenly they were aroused by the sound of low voices just outside the porthole.

“It’s an old man coming,” they heard Wessler mutter. “Must be Noah.”

“What’ll we do with him?” the other demanded.

“Wait and see how he acts,” Wessler advised. “He’s such a simple old coot he may not suspect anything. If he makes trouble we’ll have to lock him up.”

A silence ensued and then the girls heard heavy footsteps on the gangplank.

“Ho, and who has visited my ark while I’ve been away?” muttered Old Noah.

Wessler and his companion, Breneham, stepped from the shadows.

“Good evening, Noah,” the waiter greeted him politely. “Looks like rain, doesn’t it?”

The remark concerning the weather was all that was needed to dull the old man’s perceptions. Forgetting that the ark had been invaded by strangers during his absence, he lowered an armload of groceries to the railing, and peered intently up at the sky.

“No man knoweth the hour, but when the thunder of the Lord strikes, the rain will descend. All creatures of the earth shall perish—yes, all except those who seek refuge here. Therefore, my sons, you do well to seek the shelter of my ark.”

“The old fellow’s sure raving,” Wessler remarked to his companion.

“A raven?” inquired Noah, misunderstanding. “Ah, yes! For one hundred and fifty days the waters will prevail upon the earth. Then will I send forth a raven or a dove to search for a sprig of green. And if the bird returns with such a token, then shall I know that the waters are receding, no more to destroy all flesh.”

“Toddle on, old man,” Wessler said, growing irritated. “Where’ve you been anyway?”

“My burdens are heavy,” Noah replied with a deep sigh. “All day I have labored, seeking food for my animals. Greens I cut for Bessie, my cow, and at the grocery store I bought seed for the birds, crackers—”

“Never mind,” Wessler interrupted. “Go into your quarters and stay there.”