There was no answer. Penny glanced up from the advertisement and stared in astonishment. The elderly man no longer stood beside her. Not a soul was in the long empty hall. The old man of the hills had vanished as quietly as if spirited away by an unseen hand.
CHAPTER
2
PLANS
“Now what became of that old man?” Penny asked herself in perplexity. “I didn’t hear him steal away. He couldn’t have vanished into thin air! Or did he?”
Thinking that Mr. Malcom might have gone back to the want-ad department, she hastily returned there. To her anxious inquiry, the clerk responded with a grin:
“No, Old Whiskers hasn’t been here. If you find him, ask for his address. He forgot to leave it.”
Decidedly disturbed, Penny ran down the hall which gave exit to the street. Breathlessly she asked the elevator attendant if he had seen an old man leave the building.
“A fellow with a long white beard?”
“Yes, and a cane. Which way did he go?”
“Can’t tell you that.”
“But you did see him?” Penny demanded impatiently.