"My pearls!" Mrs. Dillon moaned. "They were in my handbag! I've lost a fortune!"
Penny and Amy reached the entrance of the alley in time to see the thief stealthily climbing a fire escape.
"Quick! Maybe we can head him off!" Penny cried.
While Amy ran into the building to give the alarm, Penny daringly ascended the fire escape. She saw the man climb hastily through an open window on the upper floor and disappear.
"If Amy guards the lower exits we'll capture him yet!" Penny thought.
Without stopping to consider that she might be endangering her life, the girl stepped through the open window. The room in which she found herself was an artist's studio and apparently it was deserted.
Penny glanced quickly about. There was no sign of the thief. She darted across the room to the hall door. To her astonishment, it was locked from the inside.
"May I ask what you are doing in my apartment?" a cold, masculine voice demanded.
Penny whirled around to face Hanley Cron. He had entered the studio from an adjoining kitchenette.
"Oh, Mr. Cron, did you see him in here?" she gasped.