Before Penny could utter a sound, the man sprang toward her. A grimy hand was clapped roughly against her mouth and the telephone receiver jerked from her hand.
"Well, if it isn't the little Nichols girl!" the man leered, shoving her away from the 'phone. "Trying to bring the police down on us, were you?"
Penny could make no retort. Instead she savagely bit his hand.
With a cry of rage and pain, Molberg jerked it away. Penny sprang for the door.
The man leaped after her, catching her by the shoulder. He pressed her back against the wall. "No more of your little tricks," he warned. From his pocket he drew forth a stout cord. Although Penny struggled, she could not prevent him from tying her hands behind her back. He took out a large handkerchief.
"Not a gag!" Penny pleaded.
"I suppose you'd like to make another telephone call," the man said sarcastically. "I'm going to fix you so you won't make any more trouble tonight!"
The handkerchief was tied tightly across her mouth and her feet were securely trussed. Then Molberg placed her with her back against the wall and left her alone.
Almost immediately he returned with Brunner. The two had brought a light.
"This is luck!" the garage manager declared, his eyes sparkling. "With Christopher Nichols' daughter in our hands I guess that snooper won't make us any more trouble. Did she get through to the police, do you think?"
"I doubt it. She had just begun to talk on the 'phone when I caught her," Rap informed.
"We'll take no chance anyway. We're getting out of here as quickly as we can."
The two men went away, taking the light with them. Penny was left alone in the dark. She twisted and turned but could not succeed in loosening her bonds. The gag became uncomfortable.
"What a mess I've made of things now," she told herself in disgust. "Here I am a prisoner, and there isn't a chance Dad or the police will get to me in time. If only I could have explained where I was before Rap Molberg caught me!"
Penny tried not to think of the possible fate which awaited her. Brunner would never permit her to go free. She had gleaned too much valuable information and would prove a damaging witness against him. She knew now that he alone directed the activities of the so-called Molberg gang. Brunner was the arch criminal, the "master mind" which had baffled police and private investigators. Rap Molberg, although a dangerous crook, merely carried out his chief's orders.
"Brunner fooled everyone with his posing as a substantial citizen," Penny mused. "All the time he was using his business as a front to hide his unlawful activities."
Outside, in the main part of the sawmill, she could hear men working feverishly. In a few minutes the big truck would depart with all the evidence which could not be destroyed. Penny wondered if she would be left tied up in the little room or taken along.
Again she struggled to free herself but only succeeded in drawing the knots tighter. The gag was so tight across her mouth that she could utter no sound. Spent from her effort to escape, she leaned back against the wall.
Presently her eyes riveted upon the closed door. Was it imagination or had it opened a tiny crack? Distinctly, she could notice a widening streak of light.
She waited expectantly. Noiselessly, the door swung back on its hinges. At first Penny could not see who it was that had come in. But as he moved toward her, she recognized Jerry Barrows.
"Don't be afraid," he told her in a whisper. "I've come to help you."
Penny was relieved to know that the boy had not been seriously injured by the blow he had received from Brunner. She tried to speak but could not.
Quickly, he bent and untied the cloth about her mouth.
"Why are you doing this?" Penny whispered.
"Because you helped me once when I was in trouble," the boy told her instantly. "Besides, I hate Brunner."
"He has forced you to continue in crime against your will?"
"Yes."
"Your real name is not Jerry Barrows," Penny stated.
The boy paused in untying the cords about her wrists.
"No, that isn't my own name," he admitted.
"You are Jimmie Davis," Penny accused.
The boy stared. "How did you know?"
"From a photograph."
"You haven't told my father?" he demanded nervously.
"No, I've said nothing of it to anyone. But I think the only way out for you is to make a clean breast of everything."
"I mean to tell the truth if I ever get away from here alive."
"You'll testify against Brunner and Molberg?" Penny questioned eagerly.
"Yes, if we can manage to escape. The main door is guarded."
"I came in through a window," Penny told him. "Perhaps we can get out the same way."
The instant her bonds had been cut, she sprang to her feet. They moved noiselessly to the door. Jimmie opened it a crack, then closed it hastily. Penny could hear footsteps.
"It's Brunner!" the boy whispered. "I think he suspects."
They braced themselves against the door. The knob turned slowly. Then a man's weight was hurled against the panel.
"Open that door!" Brunner shouted furiously, "Open or I'll break it down."
There was no escape from the room for it was without windows. Penny and her companion held the door as long as they could, but when Rap Molberg had come in response to his chief's call, the result was inevitable. A panel splintered and then the door gave way.
Penny and her companion retreated against the wall.
"So you thought you'd help her escape!" Brunner sneered, confronting the boy. "I thought I'd find you here. But you'll pay for your treachery, Jimmie Davis!"
He turned to Molberg, tersely ordering him to tie the arms of the prisoners.
As the man caught her by the wrist, Penny struggled furiously. Jimmie was too battered from his recent encounter to put up a fight. He recognized the futility of struggling against impossible odds.
"What shall we do with 'em now?" Molberg asked gruffly when he had succeeded in overpowering Penny. "This girl is a little wildcat if there ever was one!"
"We'll take them along with us," Brunner ordered tersely. "The important thing is to get away from here while the getting is good. We can decide the fate of these two later on."
Penny and her companion were forced to walk into the main room of the sawmill. They saw that everything was in readiness for a hurried departure. The truck had been reloaded and stood waiting by the door.
"Get in!" Molberg commanded sharply, pushing Penny toward the rear of the van.
"How can I with my hands tied?" she demanded indignantly. "Unfasten the cords."
Instead, Molberg lifted her off her feet, dropping her unceremoniously among the neat stacks of car wheels with which the truck was filled. Even less gently, Jimmie Davis was tossed in beside her.
Then the back end of the van was dropped down and the canvas cover thrown over it. Penny and her companion were enveloped in darkness.
"Where are they taking us?" she asked in a whisper.
"Probably to a hideout in another state," Jimmie informed. "Our jig is up unless we can escape."
"We may have a chance after the truck starts."
"I doubt it," the boy returned gloomily. "We'll be watched every second. If we make a move, they'll shoot."
Penny relapsed into a moody silence. It was hot and unpleasant in the covered truck. Her arms hurt where the cords cut deeply into the flesh. Her head had begun to ache and she could think of no way to escape.
Presently the truck began to move. From the manner in which it bumped about, Penny knew they were traveling down the rough side road to the main highway. Once there the van would be absorbed in the general stream of traffic.
"I guess Brunner was right when he called me yellow," Jimmie presently said in a low tone. "I've betrayed my father, my sister and my friends. I wanted to go straight, but Brunner had me in a strangle hold."
"How do you mean?" Penny asked.
"He threatened to tell my father the truth. I'd have quit working for him long ago if I hadn't been such a coward."
"Just what did you do for Brunner, Jimmie?"
"I drove the truck. At first I thought it was a legitimate job. When I discovered that I was hauling stolen tires I wanted to quit.
"Brunner wouldn't let you?"
"No, he made me keep on. You see I was heavily in debt—Father didn't know that either. I needed the money the job brought in. I kept getting in deeper and deeper. I hated to disgrace my father and my sister."
"I can understand that, Jimmie."
"I didn't treat you right either, Miss Nichols. I lied to you about why the police were after me."
"I suspected that," Penny acknowledged.
"I was driving a truck of stolen wheels to Chicago when I had a blow-out," the boy went on. "A policeman came over to investigate. I ducked out and hid in your garage."
"Why didn't you come to talk with my father as you promised, Jimmie?"
"I knew he had been assigned to catch the auto accessory thieves. I couldn't afford to take any chance."
Before Penny could reply there came a screech of brakes as the truck abruptly stopped. She was flung hard against the end-gate.
"Halt!" a voice rang out. "Halt or we'll fire!"
With a thrill of joy, Penny recognized her father's voice. In some manner he had traced her telephone call and had brought help!
Two shots rang out, to be followed in quick succession by others from the driver's seat of the truck.
Then silence.
Penny, huddling against the wall of the dark van, decided to take a chance. She screamed loudly for help.
A moment later the canvas cover was jerked from the rear of the truck. Mr. Nichols' face loomed up behind the electric lantern which he carried.
"Penny! Are you hurt?"
"Not a bit, Dad. But I'm tied up."
"I'll have you out in a jiffy. Courage!"
Mr. Nichols leaped nimbly upon the truck, and with his pocket knife severed the cords which held her arms.
"What happened?" Penny questioned eagerly. "I heard the shots."
"The battle didn't amount to much. We outnumbered them two to one. Molberg was wounded in the leg when he leaped off the truck and took to the fields."
"And Brunner?"
"He's handcuffed to one of the officers now."
"How did you know where to come?" Penny questioned. "I was overpowered before I could give you directions."
"I suspected that. In fact, I was worried sick for fear I wouldn't get to you in time. Your note gave me a faint clue. Then I traced the telephone call to the Somm Center exchange so I knew you were somewhere in this vicinity. Yesterday we received an anonymous tip that an abandoned sawmill near here would bear investigation. Putting two and two together I thought perhaps the gangsters might be captured there."
"But you came so quickly."
"By plane to Somm Center," Mr. Nichols smiled. "The police were waiting for me at the field with automobiles. We lost no time in bottling up all the roads approaching the old sawmill."
During the hurried conversation, Jimmie Davis had remained quiet. Now Mr. Nichols bent over him.
"Who is this boy, Penny?"
"It's all right, Dad. Set him free. I'll explain everything."
The detective cut the bonds and Jimmie stepped down from the truck.
"Hold on there," a policeman intervened, taking the boy by the arm. "You're wanted at headquarters."
Jimmie offered no resistance. Handcuffs were slipped over his wrists.
"Oh, Dad, don't let them do that!" Penny pleaded. "He isn't really a criminal."
"Who is this boy, Penny?" the detective asked again.
"Jimmie Davis alias Jerry Barrows."
"Davis! Not Jerome Davis' son!"
"Yes, he is."
"Now I begin to understand a few things which weren't clear to me before. Why our raid failed, for instance."
"I don't believe Jerome Davis is implicated with the gang," Penny insisted. "Can't you let this boy go free? If it becomes generally known that he is the son of a policeman it will do so much harm."
"We can't favor him on that account, Penny."
"I realize that, but he's innocent. At least his worst crime was to drive the truck which contained the stolen tires. He only did that because Brunner threatened him."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes, I am. I overheard Brunner quarreling with him."
Penny then began a rapid account of all that she had witnessed at the old sawmill. Several of the policemen gathered near to hear the story. Brunner, handcuffed to an officer, listened intently to her words.
"It's all a lie," he interrupted. "This Davis boy is the son of an old friend of mine. Because I thought so much of his father I came here tonight to try to save the boy from his own folly. I pleaded with him to give up his career of crime—"
"And why were you found in the company of Rap Molberg?" Mr. Nichols questioned severely.
"I was trying to think of some way——"
"Never mind," the detective cut him short. "You can explain it to the judge."
While Brunner, Molberg and the men who had been captured with them were being loaded into police cars, an automobile was observed coming toward the lane which led to the sawmill.
"Block the road," Mr. Nichols ordered. "It may be more of the gang."
A police car was turned crosswise in the highway. The oncoming automobile stopped just in time to avoid a crash. Officers instantly surrounded the car.
Penny, crowding near recognized the driver as Jerome Davis. Beside him crouched his daughter, Betty.
"What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Davis demanded.
His eyes swept the group and came to rest upon his own son who was in the custody of an officer.
"Jimmie!" he exclaimed. His shoulders sagged; his hands fell from the steering wheel. "I see I am too late," he murmured.
Betty sprang from the car and ran to her brother.
"Oh, Jimmie, how could you do it?" she cried brokenly. "How could you?"
Penny slipped her arm about the weeping girl and led her away.
"Why did you come here tonight, Betty?" she asked gently.
"We came because we knew Jimmie was in danger. We thought we might get here ahead of the police and save him from arrest."
"Then your father knows the truth?"
"Yes, he's suspected for some weeks that Jimmie was implicated with the dreadful Molberg gang. Tonight he forced me to acknowledge it."
"But how did you know, Betty?"
"Once I saw Jimmie with Rap Molberg at the Blind Pig. I realized too that my brother was deeply in debt. I made him tell me everything."
"No wonder you were worried," Penny said sympathetically.
"I didn't know what to do," Betty went on nervously. "I was afraid to tell Father the truth because I thought it would just about kill him. He had pledged himself to the task of tracing down the Molberg gang."
"And of course, if Jimmie's name were linked in any way with the automobile thefts, it would have cost your father his position."
"Yes, I was afraid too that Father would insist upon turning Jimmie over to the police. He is so upright and honest. He detests a criminal."
"How did your father learn the truth, Betty?"
"He guessed it but at first said nothing to me."
"How long has he known?"
"Since the night of the raid. At least that was when he first became suspicious. He thought Jimmie had tipped off the Molberg gang that their hideouts were to be raided."
"But how did Jimmie learn that?"
"Father unintentionally mentioned it at the breakfast table."
"It was immediately after the raid that Mr. Davis seemed to lose interest in the case," Penny said musingly.
"Yes, he was bewildered by the turn of events. I didn't know it until tonight, but he quietly set about watching Jimmie. In a short while he had learned the truth."
"And how did you know that Jimmie would be here tonight?" Penny questioned.
"He told me," Betty admitted. "For weeks I have pleaded with him to give up this dreadful life he has been leading. He promised me he would. But he said there was a special reason why he must drive the truck one more time."
"That was because the leader of the gang had threatened to tell Mr. Davis," Penny commented.
"Anyway, tonight Father forced me to admit everything. When he learned that Jimmie would be at the old sawmill, he determined to come here and try to save him from his own folly. Oh, Miss Nichols, do you think they'll keep Jimmie in jail?"
"Not if I can prevent it," Penny returned firmly. "Come on, I want you to repeat to Father what you've just told me."
The girls found Mr. Nichols and a group of policemen talking with Jerome Davis. The latter looked completely discouraged.
"I'm not asking you to believe my story or to let Jimmie go free," he said quietly. "My son has broken the law and he must be punished the same as any other offender. Of course I shall resign my position on the force immediately."
"That may not be necessary," Mr. Nichols told him kindly. "In my opinion you've already proven that you had no hand in the affair."
"It was my fault that the raid failed," the policeman accused himself. He turned to his son. "Jimmie, you were the one who tipped off the gang that it was to be staged?"
"Yes, Father," the boy admitted. "I dropped it out before I thought. I didn't mean to do it."
"I take all the blame," Jerome Davis said quietly. "I should never have mentioned the affair at home."
He moved over to his son, placing his hand upon his shoulder for an instant. Then he turned sternly back to the group of officers.
"Do your duty, men," he directed.
No one moved.
"It isn't right to arrest this boy," Penny declared. "He was trying to go straight and he ought to have a chance."
"He'll get it too!" Mr. Nichols added. "With you as a witness in his favor, Penny, I'm confident he'll be released."
Brunner, Molberg and other members of the captured gang were loaded into police cars and taken back to Belton City. Although technically under custody, Jimmie Davis rode with Mr. Nichols and was not handcuffed.
Betty and her father took Penny home since Mr. Nichols found it necessary to go to the police station.
"I can't thank you enough for all you've done," Betty said gratefully as Penny alighted at her own doorstep. "If Jimmie does go free, it will be entirely through your efforts and your father's."
"I think everything will come out right," Penny told her encouragingly. "If there's any news I'll let you know the first thing in the morning."
As the car drove away, Mrs. Gallup rushed out of the house to embrace the girl.
"Penny, what has happened?" she cried. "Your clothes are dirty and mussed. You're a sight!"
"I don't doubt it," Penny laughed. "I've had a wild night."
"I didn't get home until an hour ago," Mrs. Gallup explained. "When I found you weren't here I was frantic. I was afraid you might have been kidnapped again."
"Rap Molberg won't trouble me after this, Mrs. Gallup. He's spending the night in jail."
She then gave a glowing account of the capture at the Somm Center sawmill. The details left the housekeeper dumbfounded.
"Penny Nichols, it's plain to see you're going to take after your father," she sighed. "One detective in the family is bad enough."
"It was the most exciting experience of my life!" Penny declared, her eyes gleaming. "I suppose I shall never have another like it."
In such a prediction, she was entirely mistaken. Without the power to look into the future she could not know that an adventure of far different character, though even more thrilling, awaited her.The Mystery of the Lost Key, the second volume in the Penny Nichols series, relates her escapades at Raven Ridge.
Events had moved with such rapidity that until Mrs. Gallup brought a tray of steaming food from the kitchen and set it before her, Penny had not realized how very hungry she was. She had just finished the supper when Mr. Nichols came home.
"What news?" Penny asked eagerly.
"Brunner and Molberg are both behind bars where they belong," her father reported. "Brunner is trying to raise bail and may get out by morning."
"Oh, then he may escape the law after all."
"No danger of that, Penny. He'll be watched from the instant he leaves the jail and kept in sight until he appears for trial."
"Do you think he will be convicted?"
"I feel sure of it. If you testify against him he hasn't a chance. Will you mind going to court?"
"I'd love it!" Penny returned instantly. "Nothing would give me greater satisfaction than to serve as a witness against both of those men."
"Brunner was the real brains behind the gang," Mr. Nichols went on. "He had everyone fooled, including myself. You did a fine piece of work to-night, my dear."
Penny flushed at the praise.
"If it hadn't been for your arrival at the critical moment, all my information would have been worthless. I guess I was very foolhardy."
"Perhaps you were, a trifle," the detective smiled. "But an investigator must take certain chances. Not that I'd want you to do the same thing again," he added hastily.
"You didn't tell me what the police did about Jimmie Davis," Penny reminded him. "I hope he wasn't sent to jail too."
"No, he's been placed in the custody of his father for a year. If he straightens up and doesn't violate his parole, nothing more will ever be said regarding his part in the affair."
"Oh, I'm so glad! I knew you'd arrange it that way."
"It wasn't entirely due to my efforts," the detective insisted. "The boy really isn't bad at heart. The way he came to your rescue proved that."
"This will mean so much to Betty and her father," Penny declared happily. Her face clouded. "I suppose nothing can save Mr. Davis' position on the force?"
"Quite the contrary," Mr. Nichols smiled. "It is already arranged that he shall keep his job."
"But the newspaper publicity?"
"There will be none. At least, not regarding Mr. Davis and his son."
It was long after midnight when Penny went to bed. She was so tired and worn that she did not awaken until Mrs. Gallup rapped several times upon her door.
"What time is it?" Penny inquired drowsily.
"Nearly noon," the housekeeper reported. "I shouldn't have awakened you, only the telephone has been ringing all morning and the yard is cluttered with newspaper men."
"I'll be right down," Penny laughed, springing out of bed.
It was a new experience for her to find herself occupying the limelight. She enjoyed talking with the reporters but took care to reveal nothing which involved either Mr. Davis or his son. The morning papers played up the story of the capture, and Penny's photograph, dug up from the morgue, appeared upon the front page.
She was studying it with mingled feelings of pleasure and disappointment when Susan Altman burst in upon her.
"Congratulations!" she beamed. "I see by the morning paper that you are famous!"
"Did you ever see such a horrible picture?" Penny complained. "It's three years old at least. Why, I look positively juvenile. Where the editor found it I don't know."
"You should worry about such a trifle as that!" Susan scoffed. "Tell me the entire story."
"There's nothing to report except what's in the paper," Penny replied.
Although she longed to relate the part which Jimmie had played, she wisely refrained from mentioning his name. If he were to have his opportunity to begin life anew, the past must be forgotten.
For days Penny found herself besieged by friends and acquaintances who were eager to learn all the details of her adventure. When she walked downtown she was gazed upon with awe and admiration.
At the trial of Rap Molberg and George Brunner, she appeared as the state's star witness. The garage owner, well fortified with dishonestly acquired money, had employed one of the best criminal lawyers in the state to defend him. Penny was put through a severe test when she took the stand, but although nervous, she answered all questions calmly and clearly. Her testimony was largely responsible for the conviction of both Rap Molberg and Brunner. The two were ordered confined to the state penitentiary for a long term of years.
Mr. Nichols was jubilant at the result of the trial.
"This definitely clears up the case," he declared. "And I think it calls for a big celebration."
The victory event took the form of a gala dinner at Belton City's leading hotel. Penny invited Susan and many of her high school friends. In addition, policemen, detectives and all persons who had aided in the capture of the thieves, were present.
"We will have no speeches," Mr. Nichols had promised. "Only good food and plenty of fun."
Penny therefore was surprised when her father, who occupied the chair at the head of the table, arose and faced the expectant group.
"I don't mean to break my promise about speech making," he smiled. "For that reason, without any formality, I shall present to my daughter, Penny, this token of merit from the officials of the Reliance Insurance Company for her splendid work in connection with the Molberg case."
Penny gasped as her father held up a tiny bejeweled wrist watch and placed it in her hand. It was the daintiest and most exquisite timepiece she had ever seen.
"Oh, isn't it wonderful," chorused a bevy of friends as they gathered about.
"It's the nicest thing that ever happened to me," Penny declared. "I can't begin to say how grateful I am."
"Aren't you going to look at the inscription?" her father inquired, his eyes twinkling.
In surprise she glanced down at the case. Her face flushed.
"Read it aloud!" commanded her friends.
Penny was too confused to obey. For engraved on the watch case, in the tiniest of letters, were the words:
"TO PENNY NICHOLSFOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICESAS AN AGENT OF JUSTICE."
THE END