Penny nodded.
“Then suppose we start right after dinner. Can you meet me here at seven o’clock?”
“Let’s make it a little earlier,” Penny suggested. “I have a hunch that by getting there before the start of the demonstration we may learn more.”
“Okay,” agreed Salt. “Make it six-thirty.”
Having over-stayed her lunch hour, Penny quickly washed her grimy hands and returned to her desk. As she sat down at the typewriter, she noticed a sealed letter thrust behind the roller. Addressed to her, the writing was in a bold scrawl she did not recognize.
Curiously, she scanned the message. It was written on cheap tablet paper and had been signed with Ben Bartell’s name.
“See me if you can,” was all it said. “I have a little information about the Snark.”
Tucking the note into her pocketbook, Penny began to plan how she could visit Ben that day. She would not be off until five o’clock, and she had promised to meet Salt at six-thirty. If she were to get any dinner and see Ben at the waterfront, it would mean fast stepping.
Only by an effort of will could Penny keep her mind on the work before her. There were rewrites to do, and an interesting feature. At four-thirty with two stories yet to be done, she became panicky that she could not finish on time. But by really digging in, she completed the stories exactly on the dot of five, and with a tired sigh of relief, dropped them into Editor DeWitt’s wire copy basket.
“You’re just like a trained race horse, Penny,” he said jokingly. “But your work is okay. You’re improving.”