The man looked closely at her, and for an instant she dared hope that he would recall her with gratitude. But his face hardened again and he said unfeelingly:
“You know entirely too much, my little girl. This is one story you will never write for your father’s paper. Your curiosity has proven your undoing. You share the fate of your very good friend.”
With a sinking heart Penny realized by the man’s words that he knew her to be the daughter of a newspaper publisher, and that he had guessed her part in the trick played upon him.
“Down you go!” Dietz said harshly.
As he dragged her toward the pool, Penny screamed at the top of her lungs. A hand was clapped over her mouth. She bit it savagely, but her efforts to free herself were of no avail.
The men shoved her headlong down the stone stairway into the pit.
“Now scream as much as you like,” Aaron Dietz hurled after her. “No one will hear you.”
The heavy stone slab dropped into place.
Penny picked herself up from the steps. Terror gripped her, and with a sob she called frantically:
“Mr. Atherwald! Mr. Atherwald!”