“You did, Penny? What did they have to say? Nothing good, I’ll warrant.”
“I couldn’t understand what they meant at the time, but now I think I do. They said that nothing stood in their way except your place. Maxwell declared he would soon take care of you, and that he was on his way to Pine Top to show Fergus how such affairs were handled.”
Mrs. Downey kept on stirring with the big spoon. “So the screws are to be twisted a bit harder?” she asked grimly.
“Why do they want your place?” Penny inquired.
“Because I take a few of their guests away from them. If my lodge closed up they could raise prices sky high, and they would do it, too!”
“They offered me a special rate, whatever that means.”
“Fergus has been cutting his room rents lately for the sole purpose of getting my customers away from me. He makes up for it by charging three and even four dollars a meal. The guests don’t learn that until after they have moved in.”
“And there’s nothing you can do about it?”
Mrs. Downey shook her head. “I’ve been fighting with my back to the wall this past season. I don’t see how I possibly can make it another year. That is why I wanted you and your father to visit here before I gave up the place.”
“Dad might have helped you,” Penny said regretfully. “I’m sorry he wasn’t able to come.”