“How do you know what sort of animals are around here?” Louise countered. “Maybe one escaped from Old Noah’s zoo.”
As the sound grew louder, the girls crouched low amid the brush. Through the trees they saw the gleam of a flashlight and distinguished the figure of an approaching man.
“It’s probably my father!” Louise whispered, and started forward.
Penny jerked her back. “Bill hasn’t had time to get to Riverview yet! This may be the big pay off!”
“A saboteur?”
Penny nodded, her gaze on the approaching figure. The man was tall and muscular and walked with a cat-like tread. He came directly to the motorboat, muttering under his breath as he examined the half empty fuel tank.
Straightening, he turned so that he faced the girls. For a fleeting instant Penny thought that he was Burt Ottman, and then she recognized her mistake. The man was the one who had rented Sara Ottman’s boat—the head waiter of The Green Parrot.
CHAPTER
20
A SHACK IN THE WOODS
Fearing detection, Louise and Penny remained motionless as the man stared in their direction. He did not see them, and after puttering about the boat for a few minutes, started off through the woods.
“Now what shall we do?” Louise whispered anxiously.