The thief reeled, but instead of falling he recovered his balance and gave Penny a tremendous shove which sent her sprawling backwards. Before she could regain her feet, he ran to the window. Swinging himself over the ledge, he vanished from view.
By the time Penny reached the window there was no sign of the intruder. He had disappeared as if into thin air. However, she knew that the man must have descended by means of a ladder which he had hastily removed.
She ran her hand over the window ledge. The iron hooks no longer were there, only the scars which had been cut in the wood.
“This undoubtedly was the same fellow who broke into the Kohl apartment!” she thought. “But how did he escape so quickly?”
Penny started for a telephone, intending to notify the police. However, when it occurred to her that her father might not wish the matter made public, she changed her mind and ran downstairs.
Unlocking the rear door, she glanced carefully about the yard. There was no one in sight, no movement behind any of the shrubbery.
“He’s gone, of course,” she thought.
Penny wore no shoes. Finding a pair of old galoshes on the porch, she protected her feet with them, and hobbled into the yard.
The grass beneath Mrs. Weems’ window had been trampled, but at first glance there was no clue to indicate how the burglar had gained entrance to the house.
“Obviously he used a ladder,” she reasoned. “But how did he descend so quickly? And what became of the ladder? I know he never had time to carry away one of the ordinary type.”