“You’re wasting time working on that dune,” Louise insisted. “I’ll get busy over here and turn up the package in nothing flat.”
Selecting a mound of sand several feet from Penny, she began to dig with a will. The mysterious package proved elusive. Scarcely had the girls started work than a few raindrops splattered down.
“Oh, it’s going to storm!” Louise exclaimed, turning startled eyes toward the dark sea.
The rain came down faster and faster. Faced with a choice of abandoning the search or being drenched, the girls decided to make a dash for the hotel.
As they darted up the steps at the Crystal Inn, they were surprised to see Mrs. Deline sitting on the veranda. A spyglass lay in her lap. Whether she had been watching the sea or their own antics they had no way of knowing.
“Have you seen my father, Mrs. Deline?” Penny asked, shaking the raindrops from her flying hair.
“Indeed, I don’t keep track of his whereabouts,” Mrs. Deline replied coldly. “By the way, did you find what you were searching for in the sand?”
The question caught Penny off guard. She stammered a few words which only caused the widow to smile in a knowing, amused way.
“I don’t mind telling you what I buried in the sand,” she resumed. “It may save you a little trouble. The package contained nothing but fish bones.”
“Fish bones!”