The Penny Parker Megapack: 15 Complete Novels (273 page)

“Here in my hand. Hold your lantern closer and see for yourself.”

A long pause followed. Penny guessed that the two men were inspecting the gem beneath a light. She was unprepared for the next explosive comment of Father Benedict.

“I’ve been tricked!” he muttered. “This isn’t the sapphire Mrs. Hawthorne showed me in Florida! It’s only a cheap imitation!”

“Maybe that girl sneaked in and took it herself!”

“If she did it will be the worse for her! I know Mrs. Hawthorne brought a genuine sapphire into this house. Either her granddaughter has it, or this Parker pest!”

“What’ll we do, boss?”

“We’re leaving here as quickly as we can get away,”Father Benedict said decisively. “We’ve over-played our hand and our luck has run out.”

“You mean we’re going without the sapphire?” grumbled Winkey. “After all our work?”

“We’ll get the sapphire. First, we must make certain that Parker girl doesn’t slip out of the building.”

“I let the dogs loose in the yard. And the windows and doors are all locked. If she tries to get out, they’ll set up a yip.”

“Good! She must be somewhere in the house and we’ll soon find her.”

“How much did she learn, boss?”

“I don’t know, but enough to jail us both! Go to my study and destroy all the papers you find there. Then bring the car to the rear exit.”

“How soon we leaving?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“Can you get the sapphire in that time?” Winkey asked doubtfully. “What if the old lady holds out?”

“I’ve locked her in her room. Also the other women. I’ll not bother with Mrs. Hawthorne. There are quicker methods.”

“Her granddaughter?”

“Exactly. We’ll carry out my original plan. Miss Rhoda will be glad to talk when I have finished with her!”

“It’s kinda harsh treatment—”

“Do as you are told!” Father Benedict cut in sharply.

“Okay, boss,” agreed Winkey. “I’ll sure be glad to shake the dust of this place off my feet. This cult racket never was in our line. We got in deeper than we figured.”

“Do less talking and more thinking!” snapped the monk. “I’ll take care of Rhoda and have the sapphire within fifteen minutes. She’s asleep by this time, I hope.”

“I looked in through the peephole a minute ago,” the hunchback informed. “Sleeping like a babe!”

“Good!” Father Benedict approved. His final order sent an icy chill down Penny’s spine. “Give me your lantern, Winkey. I’ll go below now and turn on the machinery.”

CHAPTER 21

SNATCHED FROM THE FLAMES

From beneath the dusty tarpaulin, Penny had listened tensely as Father Benedict and Winkey planned their escape.

She knew that by morning they would be in another state, beyond reach of Riverview police.

Fifteen minutes! The time was so short—too short for her to summon authorities even if she could reach a telephone.

And what of Rhoda in the chapel bedroom? Father Benedict had spoken of turning on machinery in the cellar! What machinery did he mean?

A great fear arose within Penny. Rhoda was in great danger! She must make every effort to save her—but how?

Father Benedict and his servant now were leaving the cloister, walking directly toward the canvas under which the girl huddled.

Suddenly, to Penny’s horror, the dust of the tarpaulin began to irritate her nose.

She fought against an impulse to sneeze but could not control it. Though she pressed both hands against her nose, a muffled ker-chew came from beneath the canvas.

Father Benedict halted, looking sharply about the darkened cloister.

“What was that?” he demanded.

“I didn’t hear nothin’,” replied Winkey, flashing his lantern on the pillars.

“I thought someone sneezed.”

“You’re getting jumpy, boss,” insisted the hunchback. “I sure didn’t hear nothing.”

“What’s that over there by the fountain?” Father Benedict demanded, noticing the tarpaulin.

“Only an old piece of canvas. I brought it up from the basement this afternoon.”

“For a second, I thought I saw it moving!”

“You’ve sure got the jumps,” said Winkey. “If you want me to look for that girl again, I’ll give the place a good going over.”

“No, there’s no time!” the monk decided. “As long as the dogs are loose in the yard, she never can get out of here without them sounding an alarm. Then we’ll nab her.”

“I’ll go after the car and have it at the rear exit before you’re ready to leave,” the hunchback promised. “Just be sure you get the sapphire!”

“Leave it to me,” said Father Benedict grimly. His voice faded away and Penny knew that the two conspirators were at last leaving the cloister.

Waiting a moment longer to be certain they would not change their minds and return, she extricated herself from the folds of the grimy canvas.

“Wow! That was a close call!” she told herself. “If what Father Benedict said is true, then I’m trapped in this building along with the others! What a predicament!”

Penny groped for her flashlight and was reassured to find it still in her pocket. She tested it briefly, then switched it off again.

Tiptoeing down a long, damp-smelling corridor, she passed a window. Hopeful that it might be unlocked, she paused to test it.

Not only was the catch fastened, but the window also had been nailed. Peering out, she gazed hopefully toward the distant road. No cars were in sight. Nor was there a light gleaming in the windows of the Eckenrod cabin, over the hill.

Instead, Penny saw an ugly hound circling the monastery grounds, his nose to the earth.

“Winkey already has turned the dogs loose!” she thought in dismay. “I haven’t a chance to get out of here quickly!”

Switching on her flashlight for an instant, Penny looked at her wristwatch. In astonishment, she saw that it was only twenty minutes after nine. She had assumed the hour to be much later, so many events had transpired since her arrival at the monastery.

“If only I could let the
Star
office know of my predicament!” she thought. “Mr. DeWitt won’t even wonder what’s become of me before ten o’clock. By that time Father Benedict and Winkey will be miles from here!”

The main gate of the monastery had been closed and locked. Penny reasoned that even if she were able to get out of the building, the dogs would be upon her before she could scale the high boundary fence, and make her escape.

As she hesitated at the window, debating whether or not to smash the glass and take a chance, she heard the roar of an automobile motor.

For a moment she was hopeful a car was coming down the road. Then, with a sinking heart she realized that it was Winkey bringing the big black automobile from the front of the house to the rear exit.

“The minute he and Father Benedict get their thieving hands on the sapphire, they’ll leave here!” she reasoned. “Oh, why can’t I think of some way to stop them?”

Penny had left her own car parked on the road not far from the monastery. She was hopeful that should her father or anyone from the newspaper office seek her, they would see the car and deduct that she was somewhere inside the ancient building.

“But no one will come until it’s too late,” she thought. “Mrs. Weems probably went to bed early and didn’t tell Dad I came here. Mr. DeWitt won’t think about it until nearly deadline time at the
Star
.”

Outside, the hounds kept roaming the grounds. Penny had never seen such vicious looking animals.

Abandoning all hope of getting away without risking being torn to pieces, she decided her wisest course would be to keep hidden until Father Benedict had driven away.

“Maybe by staying, I can help Rhoda,” she reflected. “Father Benedict intends to force her to tell where the sapphire is hidden!”

With noiseless tread she started toward the chapel bedroom which adjoined the church ruins. In passing the monk’s study she noticed that the door stood slightly ajar.

Peering cautiously in, she saw that the room was in disarray. All of Father Benedict’s clothing, art treasures, and personal belongings had been removed. Drawers of the desk had been emptied of their contents.

In the fireplace, flames leaped merrily. Plainly, the monk had disposed of many papers by consigning them to the fire.

At the edge of the hearth lay several sheets torn from a notebook. One of the pages had caught fire and was burning slowly.

Recognizing it as a sheet listing society contributions, Penny darted forward and stamped out the flames.

Only half of the paper had been charred. Many of the names still could be read. Folding the good section, she placed it in her coat pocket.

Two other pages which had not caught fire proved to be blank.

Unable to rescue anything else from the flames, Penny quitted the study and moved hurriedly toward the chapel bedroom.

From the dormitories she now could hear muffled cries and poundings which told her cult members had discovered themselves locked in their rooms.

“I can’t get them out without keys,” Penny thought. “But if they make enough noise, someone may hear and come here to investigate.”

The closing of a nearby door brought the girl up short. As she froze against the passageway wall, Father Benedict stepped from the closet adjoining the bedroom where Rhoda was imprisoned.

Instantly Penny guessed that he had been watching the girl through the peephole.

Father Benedict’s satisfaction as he started toward the ruined church was frightening to behold. Thin lips were twisted into an ugly smile, and as he passed within a few feet of where Penny stood he muttered:

“Ah rest!—no rest but change of place and posture;

Ah sleep—no sleep but worn-out posture; Nature’s swooning;

Ah bed!—no bed but cushion fill’d with stones.”

CHAPTER 22

THE CANOPIED BED

In the chapel bedroom Rhoda Hawthorne had been greatly cheered to realize that soon she might be freed from imprisonment.

The brief conversation with Penny through the closet peephole encouraged her to believe that almost at once help would come.

Penny is proving to be one of the best friends I ever had and I hardly know her
, she thought.
I wish now I had told her everything, especially about the sapphire.

With regret the girl recalled how she had rebuffed Penny and Louise on the occasion when they had offered her a ride into Riverview.

But at that time she had considered them strangers who only meant to pry into her affairs.
If I had told everything then, Grandmother and I might have been spared much suffering
, she reflected.
I should have asked them to take me to the police.
The worst mistake of my life was coming back to this horrible place.

Restlessly, Rhoda tramped about the chapel room. The air was very stuffy and the absence of windows distressed her. She felt oppressed, as if the four walls were pressing in upon her.

The room was scantily furnished with only the huge canopied bed, an old fashioned dresser, and a table. There were no chairs.

Groping on the dresser, the girl found a stub of a candle in a holder. At first she could discover no matches. However, after examining all the dresser drawers, she came upon one.

Shielding it carefully from draughts, she managed to light it and ignite the wick of the candle.

“It won’t burn longer than twenty minutes,” she estimated. “But by that time, perhaps Penny will be back here with help.”

The dim light depressed rather than cheered the girl. Cold currents of air coming from the chinks of the walls caused the flame to flicker weirdly, and almost go out.

A grotesque figure weaved like a huge shadow-boxer on the expanse of smoky plaster. At first, watching it in fascination, Rhoda could not determine its cause. Then, with no little relief, she decided it was a shadow of the bed draperies, moving slightly with the draughts of cold air.

The room had no heat. Soon, against her will, Rhoda was driven by the chill to seek the warmth of the canopied bed.

With repugnance she eyed the strange, old-fashioned piece of furniture which dominated the room. The bed was wide enough to accommodate three or four persons comfortably. Tall posters of twisted wood supported a carved framework to which were attached dusty, scarlet draperies.

A moth-eaten carpet covered a section of floor directly beneath the bedstead. Rhoda gave it only a passing glance and did not think to look under its curling, frayed edges.

With a shiver of distaste, she pulled aside the draperies and crawled into the bed. No cover had been provided, but there were clean sheets. The damp-smelling spread offered a little relief from the cold.

For some time Rhoda lay staring at the beamed ceiling and trying in her mind to reconstruct the old chapel as it might have been in the days when the monastery was a religious center.