Penny danced out of the kitchen to a telephone.
“It’s all set,” she gleefully told Louise. “We leave early tomorrow morning for Red Valley. And if I don’t earn that five hundred dollar reward then my name isn’t Penny Gumshoe Parker!”
CHAPTER
3
INTO THE VALLEY
The slow train crept around a bend and puffed to a standstill at the drowsing little station of Hobostein. Louise and Penny, their linen suits mussed from many weary hours of sitting, were the only passengers to alight.
“Yesterday it seemed like a good idea,” sighed Louise. “But now, I’m not so sure.”
Penny stepped aside to avoid a dolly-truck which was being pushed down the deserted platform by a station attendant. She too felt ill at ease in this strange town and the task she had set for herself suddenly seemed a silly one. But not for anything in the world would she make such an admission.
“First we’ll find the newspaper office,” she said briskly. “This town is so small it can’t be far away.”
They carried their over-night bags into the stuffy little station. The agent, in shirt sleeves and green eye shade, speared a train order on the spindle and then glanced curiously at the girls.
“Anything I can do for you?”
“Yes,” replied Penny. “Please tell us how to find the offices of the Hobostein Weekly.”