Penny’s freckled little face twisted into a grimace of worry. For weeks she and her father, editor-owner of the Riverview Star, had planned a vacation camping trip to the nearby seashore resort, Sunset Beach. Twice the excursion had been postponed. Penny, who knew well her father’s habit of changing his mind, was fearful that even now something would cause another vexing delay.
“I’m going to call the Star office this minute!” she declared, starting for the house.
Mrs. Weems busied herself gathering up loose odds and ends that had blown about the yard. She was cramming waste paper into a box when Penny banged out the door, her eyes tragic.
“I couldn’t reach Dad!” she announced. “He left the office more than an hour ago.”
“Then he should have been home before this,” Mrs. Weems agreed.
“Something’s happened. Maybe he’s been run down by a car—”
“Now Penny, stop such wild talk,” the housekeeper interrupted sternly. “You know better.”
“But Dad was struck by an automobile last winter. What else could delay him?”
“A dozen things,” Mrs. Weems replied. “Probably a business engagement.”
“In that case, wouldn’t he have telephoned me?”