“I don’t believe your friends, the Harpers, will tell you much,” Sally said stiffly. “They’re the scum of the waterfront. How you can go there—”
Penny, who saw that another storm was brewing, quickly intervened, saying it was time she and Jack started for the island. Sally, taking the hint, allowed the subject to drop.
But as she went on deck to see the pair off in Jack’s motorboat, she whispered to Penny:
“See me this afternoon, if you can. I have an idea I don’t want Jack to know about. If we work together, we may be able to trace the trophy.”
CHAPTER
14
TRAPPED
Jack had little to say about the theft as he and Penny returned to the Gandiss home. However, after lunch he offered to go to his father’s factory to learn the identity of the employee who had lost the badge aboard the River Queen.
“Want to come along?” he invited.
Ordinarily, Penny would have welcomed the opportunity, but remembering that Sally had wished to see her, she regretfully turned down the invitation.
“I’ll ride across the river if you don’t mind,” she said. “I have an errand in town.”
By this time Penny was familiar with the daily route of the River Queen and knew where it would dock to pick up and unload passengers. Sally, she felt certain, would be aboard, expecting her.