“Poor old fellow,” said Penny.
“I suppose you mean Noah,” chuckled Mr. Parker. “But I deserve sympathy too. Haven’t I just been knicked to the tune of an expensive truck?”
“You don’t really mind, do you, Dad?”
“No, it’s worth it to have the old fellow satisfied,” Mr. Parker responded. “And then, the ark brought me a big story for the Star.”
Penny walked silently beside her father. With the saboteurs in jail, Burt Ottman free, and Old Noah’s future settled, she had not a worry in the world. Rounding a bend of the stream, she glimpsed a shining blue bottle caught in the backwash of a fallen log. Eagerly she started to rescue it.
“Don’t tell me you expect to collect every one of those messages!” protested Mr. Parker.
“Every single one,” laughed Penny, raking in the bottle. “You see, last night I lost a very pretty cameo pin. Until I find it, I’ll never admit that the case of the saboteurs is closed!”