“Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!” Penny whispered, as if her words could speed the bridge on its journey.
The white cruiser drove onward at full speed. Lower came the bridge. Penny held her breath, knowing it would be a matter of inches whether or not the boat would clear. The man at the wheel, aware of the danger, did not swerve from his course.
The bridge settled into place. As the crash came, Penny closed her eyes.
“I did it! I’ve stopped them!” she thought, and sagged weakly against the gear house.
CHAPTER
25
VICTORY FOR PENNY
Minutes later Penny was still leaning limply against the building when a car drove up to the bridge. Her father, Salt, and a bevy of policemen and government representatives sprang out and ran to her side.
“Penny, what happened?” Mr. Parker clasped his daughter in his arms. “You’re soaking wet! Didn’t we hear gunfire as we turned in here?”
Penny waved her hand weakly toward the river below.
“There’s your story, Dad. Pictures galore. Boat smashes into dangerous drawbridge. Police pursue and shoot it out with desperadoes, taking what’s left of ’em into custody. I’m afraid to look.”
“And what were you doing while all this was going on?” demanded her father.