“Laponi does bear a slight resemblance to the shoplifter,” Rosanna admitted thoughtfully. “Only the store thief was a much older man.”
“Disguised perhaps. Oh, I may be wrong, but at least it will do no harm to have Father look into the matter.”
“When he gets your wire, Penny, he’ll probably be so alarmed that he’ll send word for you to start back to Mt. Ashland at once.”
“Not Dad. He’d rather catch a crook than eat. I’m sure he’ll help me.”
“When will you send the wire?”
“Right away. I’d like to leave the house before Laponi sees me.”
However, as the girls stepped out into the hall a few minutes later they heard loud voices coming up from the living room. Penny instantly recognized Laponi’s sharp tones and paused at the top of the stairs to peer down.
“It’s Max and Caleb Eckert,” she reported in a whisper. “My, what a quarrel they’re having!”
The girls listened for a minute but the voices of the two men died to a low murmur and they could distinguish only an occasional word.
“Unless you want Laponi to see you we’d better slip down the back way,” Rosanna suggested.