“The submarine?” she asked after a moment.
“Sunk,” Jerry replied. “One of our patrol planes scored a direct hit.”
“I guess that brings me up to date,” Penny sighed, “There’s only one thing that bothers me.”
“What’s that?” inquired her father.
“Did you know who Mrs. Deline was when you invited her to come with us to Sunset Beach?”
“No, but I had a healthy suspicion that she might be working against our country, Penny. I first met Mrs. Deline at the Club. However, she was rather transparent in making a play for my attention. In checking up I discovered that she never had been in China and never had written a newspaper story in her life. When she practically invited herself to ride with us to Sunset Beach, I thought I’d try to find out more about her little game.”
“I acted so silly about everything,” Penny acknowledged, deeply ashamed. “I’m sorry, Dad.”
“You needn’t be, Penny. At times you were rude to Mrs. Deline which was wrong. But your actions served a good purpose by keeping the woman so diverted that she never was on her guard.”
Shore was very close. As the powerful engines of the motor boat became muted, Penny said wistfully:
“Now that your work is done here, Jerry, I suppose you’ll be winging off to some far corner of the country.”