Making a quick trip down the mountainside, Penny swung into the village. Mrs. Downey had told her that she would be able to get the newspapers at the Pine Top Cafe where a boy named Benny Smith had an agency.
Entering the restaurant, she glanced about but saw no one who was selling papers. Finally, she ventured to ask the proprietor if she had come to the right place.
“This is the right place,” he agreed cheerfully. “Benny went home a little while ago.”
“Then how do I get the papers for Mrs. Downey’s lodge?”
“Guess you’re out of luck,” he replied. “They didn’t come in today.”
“But I saw the plane.”
“The plane got through all right. I don’t know what was wrong. Somehow the papers weren’t put aboard.”
Penny turned away in disappointment. She had made the long trip to the village for no purpose. While she did not mind for herself, she knew that Mr. Glasser and the other guests were likely to be annoyed. After a day of confinement indoors they looked forward to news from the outside world.
“It’s strange the papers didn’t come,” she mused as she started back to the Downey lodge. “This isn’t the first time they’ve failed to arrive either.”
Penny climbed steadily for a time and then sat down on a log to rest a moment. She was not far from the Jasko cabin. By making her own trail through the woods she could reach it in a very few minutes.