"No guest of mine could be guilty of the theft," Mrs. Dillon replied in a shocked voice. "The man who snatched the bag was a stranger."
"He may have been employed by another," Penny suggested.
Amy was decidedly uneasy in the presence of Hanley Cron and the policeman, fearing that at any moment some reference might be made to the stolen painting. She could not understand why the art critic remained silent since he had threatened to expose her.
Hearing the whining whistle of a squad car arriving from police headquarters, the girls quietly slipped away. Cron made no move to detain them, even though Amy retained possession of the Black Imp.
"Why do you suppose Hanley Cron didn't try to make trouble?" Penny asked as they walked swiftly along the street toward Amy's rooming house. "I felt certain he would."
"So did I. I guess he knew he had no right to copy the Black Imp."
"He was probably afraid he might get himself into trouble," Penny chuckled. "Either that, or he didn't want to make a scene in front of Mrs. Dillon."
"It's queer about the statue," Amy said musingly. "I can't understand what he intended to do with it."
She took the Black Imp from her pocket and examined it critically. The damp clay was slightly misshapen from rough handling. They sat down on a park bench while Amy deftly moulded it back into its original form.
"It should make a fairly nice figure when it dries," she remarked.