“Why don’t you open it?”
“What’s the use?” Penny asked gloomily. “It’s always the same. Anyway, I borrowed two dollars last week so this doesn’t really belong to me.”
“You might be pleasantly surprised.”
Penny stared at her father with disbelief. “Dad! You don’t mean you’ve given me a raise!”
Eagerly, she ripped open the envelope. Three crisp dollar bills fluttered into her hand. With a shriek of delight, Penny flung her arms about her father’s neck.
“I always try to reward a good reporter,” he chuckled. “Now take yourself off because my work is stacked a mile high.”
Penny tripped gaily toward the door but it opened before she could cross the room. An office boy came in with a message for Mr. Parker.
“Man to see you named Atherwald,” he announced.
The name produced an electrifying effect upon both Penny and her father.
“Atherwald!” Mr. Parker exclaimed. “Then he hasn’t disappeared after all! Show him in.”