“You certainly did, and the doc will say the same thing. Another ten minutes and I’d have been too far gone to have pulled out of it. Now I’ll be okay—at least unless I have another attack of bends.”
“I’m very glad you’re feeling better,” Penny said, edging away. She was painfully conscious that all of the reporters were listening to the conversation. All noise in the office had ceased.
“If there’s anything I can do for you, just let me know!” the diver offered heartily.
“Sometime when I need a good waterfront story, I may call on you,” Penny said jokingly.
“If I can give you a tip on anything, I sure will,” he promised. “I know every inch of the river, and most of the folks that live along ’er.”
“Have you heard of a boat called the Snark?” Penny asked impulsively.
McClusky’s expression changed. He lowered his voice. “Sure, I know the Snark,” he nodded soberly. “And here’s a little tip. If you want a story—a good hot one with plenty o’ trouble hooked up to it, then just go hunting around her berth. Maybe sometime I can help you.”
With a friendly nod, he was gone.
CHAPTER
10
COUNTRY SKIES
No more was said to Penny about her unfortunate experience at the Conway Steel Plant explosion, but she considered herself responsible for Salt’s lost camera. Although the plates no longer would have picture value from the newspaper standpoint, she thought that they might provide a clue to the identity of the man who had escaped by automobile.