"Didn't I tell you to call on me if you needed help with the case?" laughed Penny.
"You certainly did," her father agreed good-naturedly. "As a detective I'm afraid you're showing me up in a bad light."
Before leaving the cottage Mr. Nichols was careful to lock the toy lantern in his room. Considering its value in the Kirmenbach case he did not wish to run any risk of having it stolen.
Mr. Nichols was absent from the cottage a little over an hour. When Penny saw him coming up the road she ran to meet him.
"Did you learn anything, Dad?" she asked eagerly.
The detective shook his head.
"I'm satisfied that the material is the same," he replied, "but the storekeeper couldn't remember anyone who had bought the goods from him. He seems to be a stupid fellow."
Penny walked along with her father for some distance without making any response. Then she said half apologetically:
"Dad, I have an idea, but I suppose it's a very silly one."
"What is it, Penny?" the detective asked soberly.