The information interested Penny. “Which way was it going, Mose?” she asked quickly.
“It wasn’t goin’, Miss Penny. It was standin’ right at de gate. Den I sees two dark lookin’ white men git out and go into de big house.”
“You did?” Penny demanded eagerly. “Then what happened? Did the cab drive away?”
“It waited ’till de two men came back, ’cept when dey comes back dere is three of ’em!”
“Three men?” Penny cried, her excitement mounting. “What did the third man look like, Mose? Think hard! It’s very important.”
“Well,” said Mose, “he was tall and he had something in his hand. A funny lookin’ little satchel. I guess you calls it a quick-case.”
“You don’t mean a brief case?”
“Yes, dat’s it,” Mose grinned. “Anyways, dey all gits in de taxicab and off dey snorts. And dat’s all I sees. Dere wasn’t no ghost.”
The colored man’s rambling information served to confirm Penny’s own suspicions. Mrs. Botts had lied. A roomer known as Lester Jones had been held at the house and later hustled away. Perhaps the man was her father!
“Mose,” she cried, “the person you saw may have been Dad! Did it look like him?”