Sara Ottman’s dark eyes flashed. Getting to her feet, she regarded the girl with undisguised hostility.
“Very clever, aren’t you!” she said scathingly. “In fact, quite the little joker!”
“Why, I didn’t mean anything,” Penny apologized. “I had no idea you were working under that thing.”
“So clever, and such a marvelous detective,” Sara went on, paying no heed. “Why, it was Penny Parker who not so long ago astonished Riverview by solving the Mystery of the Witch Doll! And who but Penny aided the police in trailing The Vanishing Houseboat? It was our own Penny who learned why the tower Clock Struck Thirteen. And now we are favored with her most valuable opinion in connection with the bridge dynamiting case!”
Penny and Louise were dumbfounded by the sudden, unwarranted attack. By no stretch of the imagination could they think that Sara Ottman meant her words as a joke. But what had her so aroused? While it was true that Penny had solved many local mysteries, she never had been boastful of her accomplishments. In fact, she was one of the most popular girls in Riverview.
“Are you sure you haven’t a fever, Miss Ottman?” Penny demanded, her own eyes blazing. “I certainly fail to understand such an outburst.”
“Of course you do,” the other mocked. “You’re not used to talk coming straight from the shoulder. Why are you here anyhow?”
“To rent a boat.”
“Well, you can’t have one,” Sara Ottman said shortly. “And if you never come around here again, it will be soon enough.”
Glaring once more at Penny, she turned and strode into the boathouse.