“Okay, I’ll do it,” Bill gave in. “But see to it you’re back here in an hour. Better bring the police too.”
Learning that the young man had crossed the river in his own motorboat, the girls obtained permission to borrow it for the return trip. They found the craft at the mouth of Bug Run, and made a quick trip to the Ottman Dock.
“No one here,” Penny observed as they alighted at the platform.
The boat shed was closed and locked. A small boy, loitering nearby, told the girls that he had not seen Sara Ottman for several hours.
“Now this is a nice dish of stew!” Penny exclaimed. “Where could she have gone? And why?”
“I know where I am going,” announced Louise grimly. “Home! Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like it when you’re tired and hungry.”
“But what about poor Bill? We can’t expect him to stay in the woods all night.”
“Well, there’s a hamburger stand at the amusement park,” Louise suggested after a moment. “We could go there for a sandwich. Then we might telephone home and request advice.”
“Not a bad idea,” Penny praised.
At the hamburger stand they ate three sandwiches each and topped off the meal with ice cream and pie. Seeking a public telephone, Penny then used a precious nickel to call her home. No one answered. Deciding that her father might be at the Star office, she phoned there. Informed that Mr. Parker was not in the building, she asked for Mr. DeWitt.