She shooed Sara back into the loft and returned the key to the woodshed. The Jasko girl watched from the window, playfully shaking her fist as her friend skied away.
“Sara is as stimulating as a mountain avalanche,” chuckled Penny, “but she’s almost too headstrong. Sooner or later her stunts will involve me in trouble with Peter Jasko.”
In the valley below, smoke curled lazily from the chimneys of the Fergus hotel. Making directly for it, Penny felt in her pocket to be certain she had not lost the green ticket which she had found the previous evening.
“This is going to be my lucky day,” she told herself cheerfully. “I feel it in my bones.”
Reaching the hotel, Penny stripped off her skis and entered the hotel lobby. Maxine Miller was not in evidence nor did she see any other person who likely would question her presence there. She did notice Harvey Maxwell sitting in the private office. His eyes were upon her as she crossed the room. However, Penny felt no uneasiness, realizing that if he noticed her at all he recognized her only as a guest at the Downey lodge.
“Second floor,” she said quietly to the elevator boy.
Penny was the sole passenger, but as she stepped from the cage, she was dismayed to run directly into Francine Sellberg.
The reporter greeted her with a suspicious stare.
“Why, hello, Penny Parker. What are you doing here?”
“Oh, just moseying around.”