Penny and Louise stole a quick look at the stranger. By no stretch of the imagination could they call him old. Judging from appearances, he was not yet forty years old.
“My wife died a few years ago,” Mr. Emory explained sadly. “Since then I’ve been like a ship without a rudder. I have plenty of money, but I don’t get much enjoyment out of life. I go wherever it suits my fancy, stay until I weary of it, then move on.”
“Oh, I see,” Penny murmured with a show of sympathy.
She felt ashamed of herself that the story did not move her more deeply. Mr. Emory evidently was a lonely fellow, deserving of companionship. Yet for some reason, he failed to interest her.
“Have you been at Sunset Beach long?” she inquired politely.
“Oh, about a month. I know every nook and cranny along the shore.”
“You do?” Penny asked, and her interest revived. “Are there many caves near Sunset Beach?”
“Plenty of them, though none very close. There are several near the lighthouse, back among the rocks. Crystal Cave probably is the most interesting. Then there are half a dozen scattered on up the shore. Interested in caves?”
“Oh, in a general way,” Penny replied carelessly.
“Penny is interested in anything that suggests mystery,” Louise volunteered with a grin.