“Dad, you don’t think Mr. Kaleman will be foolish enough to pay money for that rock?” Penny asked in dismay.
“I am afraid he may. He seems convinced that the Gleason stone is a genuine specimen.”
“You still believe the writing to be faked?”
“I do,” Mr. Parker responded. “I’ll stake my reputation upon it! I said as much to Jay Franklin today and he rather pointedly hinted that he would appreciate having me keep my theories entirely to myself.”
“I guess he doesn’t understand you very well,” Penny smiled. “Now you’ll be more determined than ever to expose the hoax—if hoax it is.”
Mr. Franklin’s action thoroughly annoyed her for she felt that he had deliberately deceived Mrs. Marborough. Wishing to tell Louise Sidell what he had done, she immediately telephoned her chum.
“I’ve learned something you’ll want to hear,” she disclosed. “No, I can’t tell you over the ’phone. Meet me directly after dinner. We might go for a sail on the river.”
The previous summer Mr. Parker had purchased a small sailboat which he kept at a summer camp on the river. Occasionally he enjoyed an outing, but work occupied so much of his time that his daughter and her friends derived far more enjoyment from the craft than he did.
Louise accepted the invitation with alacrity, and later that evening, driving to the river with Penny, listened indignantly to a colored account of how Jay Franklin would profit at the widow’s expense. She agreed with her chum that he had acted dishonestly in trying to sell the stone.
“Perhaps Mrs. Marborough can claim ownership even now,” she suggested thoughtfully.