“Bet your life!” Jerry agreed with emphasis. “He’s gone young Ottman’s bail to the tune of ten thousand dollars.”
“Why, that must represent a good portion of his life time savings.”
“Sure, but DeWitt says the kid has been framed, and he’s going to stand by him.”
“I think myself that Burt Ottman was too far away to be properly identified. I mean to tell the police so, too.”
“Well, we all hope for DeWitt’s sake that it is a mistake,” Jerry said soberly. “But the evidence is stacking up fast. The motorboat came from Ottman’s. Carl Oaks said he recognized the saboteur as young Ottman. Then this morning police found a handkerchief with an initial ‘O’ lying along the shore not far from where the fellow crawled out of the water.”
“Circumstantial evidence.”
“Maybe so,” Jerry agreed with a shrug, “but unless young Ottman gets a good lawyer, he’s likely to find himself doing a long stretch.”
Deeply troubled by the information, Penny went on toward her father’s private office. As she passed the main copy desk where Editor DeWitt worked, she noticed that his face was white and tense. Although he usually had a smile for her, he barely glanced up and did not speak.
Penny tapped twice and entered her father’s office. Mr. Parker had just finished dictating a letter to his secretary who quietly gathered up her notebook and departed. The newspaper owner pretended to glance at the calendar on his desk.
“Unless I’m all muddled, this is Saturday, not Thursday,” he greeted his daughter teasingly. “Aren’t you a bit mixed up?”