The car reached the end of the lane and turned down the main road toward Kendon.
"Well, it looks as if I'll not get to meet the old gentleman after all," commented Susan.
"No, but this will be a good time to see the house at close range. With Mr. Crocker away, we can look around as much as we please."
As the girls walked on up the lane Penny told Susan about the automobile which she had seen parked in Mr. Crocker's barn.
"What do you think became of the owner?" asked Susan. "You're not intimating that Walter Crocker never went back to the city?"
"I've asked myself that question a great many times. I know that Mr. Crocker's nephew came here to claim an inheritance, yet the people of Kendon are under the impression that Old Herman has no living relatives except Perry."
"You're making a very serious accusation against Mr. Crocker."
"Oh, I'm not saying that he had anything to do with his nephew's disappearance," Penny said quickly. "I'm just speculating about it. For that matter, I'd not tell anyone else my thoughts."
"It wouldn't be wise——" Susan began.
Her words ended in a gasp of alarm for at that moment Mr. Crocker's hound came around the corner of the house. Both girls stopped short.