“It’s fantastic!” he exclaimed when she finished. “Utterly fantastic! Yet I’ve read of cases where natives have been taken ill and although doctors declared not a thing was the matter with them, they weakened and died. Is Mrs. Rhett an hysterical type of woman?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Then she may be in real danger! Obviously, something underhanded is going on at the mansion!”
Pulling himself out of a comfortable chair, Mr. Parker went to the hall closet for his hat, coat and cane.
“You’re not going to the police station, are you, Dad?”
“No, I want to talk this over first with a man of my acquaintance who is better versed in cult practices and superstitions than anyone I know. He’s Professor Kennedy of Riverview College. He spent many years in Africa, Egypt and along the Amazon river.”
“May I go with you, Dad?”
“Come along,” he invited. “You know all the facts, and I may get them mixed up.”
Twenty minutes later Penny and her father were in the cozy study of Professor James Kennedy on Braemer Drive. An elderly man with a very soft voice, he greeted the Parkers cordially and displayed keen interest as they revealed the purpose of their call.
“I once met Mr. Rhett at a dinner party,” Professor Kennedy remarked. “He is a highly intelligent gentleman and we had a very animated conversation.”