"Rheumatism!" Penny scoffed.
She had spoken the word in an ordinary tone but it sounded as if she had shouted it for the music ended unexpectedly in the middle of a strain, trailing off into discordant tones. The amazed dancers halted, looking toward the orchestra to see what was wrong.
Penny felt the arm which her father held about her waist stiffen. A scream of terror rippled over the room.
Two men with white handkerchiefs pulled over their faces, had entered the ballroom through the double French doors opening into the garden. They trained their revolvers upon the dancers.
"This is a stick-up!" one announced grimly. "Put up your hands and stand against the north wall!"
CHAPTER VII
An Invitation to Lunch
Penny and her father were forced to line up with the other guests. They stood against the north wall, their hands held above their head. Members of the orchestra and servants were compelled to obey the order. While one of the holdup men covered the crowd with his revolver, the other moved swiftly from person to person collecting jewelry, watches and money.
Penny saw Mrs. Dillon, pale and frightened, trying to drop her pearl necklace into a flower pot, but she was not quick enough. The holdup man jerked the string from her hand.