"The idea sounds all right to me," Penny declared quickly. "To tell you the truth, I don't know much about cooking on an old-fashioned stove."
"Let's drive down to the village now," suggested the detective. "We'll have breakfast and then find the cleaning woman."
Penny and her father rode down Knob Hill to the little town of Kendon. Fortified by an excellent meal at the Florence Cafe they set forth to find the home of Anna Masterbrook. They were told that she was a spinster who lived two miles from the village.
"Why, this is the same road we came over last night," Penny observed as they drove along.
"Yes, it is," agreed Mr. Nichols. "For half a cent I'd keep right on going until we reached Belton City."
"Oh, we'll both like it after we get the cottage in order," Penny said cheerfully. "Mrs. Masterbrook may easily turn out to be a diamond in the rough."
"I hope so," sighed Mr. Nichols. "But our luck isn't running very well."
The car rolled over a low hill and Penny observed a curve just ahead.
"Dad, didn't we pick up Walter Crocker at just about this point?" she asked.
"I think this was the place," he agreed.