Penny gazed quickly at the assistant editor, wondering how much he knew of her father’s plan.
“Dad usually prints all the news,” she said. “Why should he soft-pedal the tire stories?”
“For his health’s sake.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Mr. Schirr.”
The assistant editor had closed the door behind him. Warming to his subject, he replied: “The men who have muscled into the tire theft racket are ugly lads without scruples. If your father stupidly insists upon trying to smash the outfit, he may not wake up some morning.”
The suggestion that her father might ruthlessly be done away with shocked Penny. And a canny corner of her mind demanded to know how Mr. Schirr could be so well informed. She was quite certain her father had not taken him into his confidence.
“Dad is no coward,” she said proudly.
“Oh, no one ever questioned his bravery, Miss Parker. Your father is courageous to the point of rashness. But if he prints an exposé story about the tire theft gang, it’s apt to prove the most foolish act of his life.”
“How do you know he intends to do such a thing?”
The question, sharply put, surprised Mr. Schirr.