“Just fourteen pages of well-set type, I suppose. Isn’t there anything about that big stone Lou and I found at the Marborough place?”
“Not a line. I told you the Star would play that yarn down.”
“Why are you so convinced it’s all a hoax?” Penny demanded, reaching across the table for the coffee percolator.
“Must I give you a diagram?” the publisher asked wearily. “After you’ve been in the newspaper business as long as I have, you don’t need reasons. You sense things.”
“Just like a bloodhound!” Penny teased. “How about the other papers? Aren’t they carrying the story either?”
“They are,” Mr. Parker admitted a bit grimly. “The News used a half page of pictures today and went for the story in a big way.”
“I may subscribe to a rival paper just to keep posted on the latest developments,” Penny teased.
“Nothing really new has come out. Jay Franklin is trying to sell the Marborough stone to the museum at a fancy price, and the institution officials are seriously considering his proposition.”
“Then, in their opinion the stone is an authentic one?”
“Experts have been known to be wrong,” Mr. Parker insisted. “I claim no knowledge of ancient writing, but I do have common sense. For the time being, at least, I shall continue to play down the story.”