“I assure you number 29 is very much occupied,” replied Penny. “Unlock it, please.”
The woman hesitated, and finally inserted the key in the lock.
“Thank you,” said Penny as she heard the latch click. “No, keep the two dollars. You are welcome to it.”
She waited until the maid had gone on down the hall before letting herself into the dark room. Groping for the electric switch, she turned it on.
“Mr. Jasko, you know me,” she whispered as the old man blinked and stared at her almost stupidly. “I’m going to get you out of here.”
She jerked the gag from his mouth, and unfastened the cords which bound his wrists.
“We don’t dare go through the hotel lest we be seen,” she told him. “I think we may be able to get out by means of the fire escape. If luck is only with us—”
Making certain that the coast was clear, Penny led the old man down the hall to a room which she knew would be opposite the fire escape. She was afraid it would be locked, but to her intense relief it had not been secured.
Only a minute was required to cross the room, raise the window and help Peter Jasko through it.
“I can’t come with you,” she said. “I have something else to do. Now listen closely. I want you to go to Pine Top as fast as you can and bring the sheriff or the police or whoever it is that would have authority to arrest Fergus and Maxwell.”