“Didn’t you know the man who rented the boat?” questioned Penny.
“Never saw him before. He was tall and thin and dark. Wore a brown felt hat and overcoat. I noticed his hands in particular. They were soft and well manicured. I said to myself, ‘This fellow doesn’t know a thing about boats,’ but I was wrong. He handled that motor like a veteran.”
“The man didn’t look like a waiter, did he?” Penny asked quickly.
“You couldn’t prove it by me.”
Penny groped in her mind to recall a characteristic which definitely would describe the head waiter of The Green Parrot. To her chagrin, she could think of only one unusual facial characteristic, a tiny scar on his cheek. She did remember that the man had worn a large, old fashioned gold watch which might have been of foreign make.
“Why, the fellow who rented the boat did have such a watch!” Sara cried when Penny mentioned the timepiece. “I didn’t notice the scar. What is his name?”
“Louise and I never were able to learn,” Penny replied with regret. “The Green Parrot has closed its doors, so I don’t know how you can get in touch with him.”
Sara sighed. Placing an oar, a bailer, and a can of gasoline in the boat, she prepared to leave the dock.
“I’ll be lucky if I ever see the fellow again,” she commented. Hesitating a moment, she asked diffidently: “Don’t suppose you girls would like to go along?”
Penny and Louise wondered if their ears had betrayed them. It seemed beyond belief that Sara actually would invite them to accompany her.