Double doors opened out upon a balcony above the river. Wandering outside, Penny could see the River Queen plying its way far downstream. Closer by, a small boat with an outboard approached.
Due to the glare of a late afternoon sun on the water, she could not at first distinguish its two occupants. The boat, however, looked familiar.
“That’s the same boat Sally and I escaped in yesterday!” she thought. “And it’s coming here!”
Nearer and nearer the craft approached, until Penny could see the men’s faces plainly. One was Sweeper Joe and the other, Clark Clayton, gateman at the Gandiss factory.
“If they see me here, they’re certain to be suspicious!” Penny thought in panic. “They’ll remember having seen me with Mr. Gandiss at the factory. I’ll skip while the skipping is good!”
She turned to find Ma Harper standing in the doorway. “Anything wrong, deary?” the woman asked in a soft purr.
“Why, no,” Penny stammered. “I—I was just admiring the river view.”
“You were lookin’ at that boat so funny-like I thought maybe you knew the men. Sure there ain’t nothing wrong?”
“Of course not!” Penny was growing decidedly uncomfortable. She tried to slip through the doorway, but Ma Harper did not move aside.
“It’s getting late,” Penny said, glancing at her wrist watch. “Perhaps I should come some other time to look at the stockings. Shall we say tomorrow?”