“Then you think this watch charm was left in the barn to throw suspicion upon Clem Davis!”
Penny shook her head. “No, this is my theory, Louise. Perhaps someone hid the black hood there, and rode Clem’s horse to make it appear he was the guilty person. Inadvertently, that same person lost this watch charm.”
“In that case, you would have a clue which might solve the case.”
“Exactly,” Penny grinned in triumph. “Get ready for a fast ride into town. I’m going to rush this evidence straight to the Star office and get Dad’s opinion.”
CHAPTER
7
MR. BLAKE’S DONATION
Not wishing to ride to the Star building, Louise asked her chum to drop her off at the Sidell home. Accordingly, Penny left her there, and then drove on alone to her father’s office. The news room hummed with activity as she sauntered through to the private office.
“Just a minute, please,” her father requested, waving her into a chair.
He completed a letter he was dictating, dismissed his secretary, and then was ready to listen. Without preliminary ado, Penny laid the watch charm on the desk, explaining where she had found it.
“Dad, this may belong to Clem Davis, but I don’t think so!” she announced in an excited voice. “It’s my theory that the person who planted the black hood in the stable must have lost it!”
Mr. Parker examined the charm carefully, gazing at the picture of the little boy contained within it.