CHAPTER 2 _A RIVAL REPORTER_
Penny presently edged the sedan into a parking space across the streetfrom the Riverview Hotel. As she switched off the ignition her fathersaid:
"Better come along with me and wait in the lobby. It's cold out here."
Penny followed her father into the building. The hotel was an elegant onewith many services available for guests. She noticed a florist shop, acandy store, a dry cleaning establishment, and even a small brokerageoffice opening off the lobby.
"Oh, yes," said Mr. Parker as Penny called his attention to thebrokerage. "Maxwell hasn't overlooked anything. The hotel has a specialleased wire which I've been told gives him a direct connection with hisother places."
Walking over to the desk, Mr. Parker mentioned his name and asked theclerk if he might see Harvey Maxwell.
"Mr. Maxwell is not here," replied the man with an insolent air.
"When will he be at the hotel?"
"Mr. Maxwell has left the city on business. He does not expect to returnuntil the end of next month."
Mr. Parker could not hide his annoyance.
"Let me have his address then," he said in a resigned voice. "I'll writehim."
The clerk shook his head. "I have been instructed not to give you Mr.Maxwell's address. If you wish to deal with him you will have to see hislawyer, Gorman S. Railey."
"So Maxwell was expecting me to come here to make a deal with him?"demanded Mr. Parker. "Well, I've changed my mind. I'll make a deal allright, but it will be in court. Good day!"
Angrily, the newspaper man strode from the lobby. Penny hurried to keeppace with him.
"That settles it," he said tersely as they climbed into the sedan again."This libel suit will be a fight to the finish. And maybe my finish atthat!"
"Oh, Dad, I'm sure you'll win. But it's a pity all this had to come upjust when you had planned a fine vacation. Mrs. Downey will bedisappointed, too."
"Yes, she will, Penny. And there's Mrs. Weems to be thought about. Ipromised her a two weeks' trip while we were gone."
They drove in silence for a few blocks. As the car passed the Sidellresidence, Penny's father said thoughtfully:
"I suppose I could send you out to Pine Top alone, Penny. Or perhaps youmight be able to induce your chum, Louise, to go along. Would you likethat?"
"It would be more fun if you went also."
"That's out of the picture now. If everything goes well I might be ableto join you for Christmas weekend."
"I'm not sure Louise could go," said Penny doubtfully. "But I can findout right away."
After dinner that night, she lost no time in running over to the Sidellhome. At first Louise was thrown into a state of ecstasy at the thoughtof making a trip to Pine Top and then her face became gloomy.
"I would love it, Penny! But it's practically a waste of words to askMother. We're going to my grandmother's farm in Vermont for the holidays,and I'll have to tag along."
Since grade school days the two girls had been inseparable friends.Between them there was perfect understanding and they made an excellentpair, for Louise exerted a subduing effect upon the more impulsive,excitable Penny.
Inactivity bored Penny, and wherever she went she usually managed tostart things moving. When nothing better offered, she tried her hand atwriting newspaper stories for her father's paper. Several of thesereportorial experiences had satisfied even Penny's deep craving forexcitement.
Three truly "big" stories had rolled from her typewriter through thethundering presses of the _Riverview Star_: Tale of the Witch Doll, TheVanishing Houseboat, and Danger at the Drawbridge. Even now, months afterher last astonishing adventure, friends liked to tease her about ahumorous encounter with a certain Mr. Kippenberg's alligator.
"Pine Top won't be any fun without you, Lou," Penny complained.
"Oh, yes it will," contradicted her chum. "I know you'll manage to stirup plenty of excitement. You'll probably pull a mysterious Eskimo out ofa snow bank or save Santa Claus from being kidnaped! That's the way youoperate."
"Pine Top is an out of the way place, close to the Canadian border. Allone can do there is eat, sleep, and ski."
"You mean, that's all one is supposed to do," corrected Louise with alaugh. "But you'll run into some big story or else you're slipping!"
"There isn't a newspaper within fifty miles. No railroad either. The onlyway in and out of the valley is by airplane, and bob-sled, of course."
"That may cramp your style a little, but I doubt it," declared Louise. "Ido wish I could go along."
The girls talked with Mrs. Sidell, but as they both had expected, it wasnot practical for Louise to make the trip.
"I'll come to the airport to see you off on your plane," Louise promisedas Penny left the house. "You're starting Thursday, aren't you?"
"Yes, at ten-thirty unless there's bad weather. But I'll see you againbefore that."
All the next day Penny packed furiously. Mr. Parker was unusually busy atthe office, but he bought his daughter's ticket and made all arrangementsfor the trip to Pine Top. Since Mrs. Weems also planned to leaveRiverview the following day, the house was in a constant state ofturmoil.
"I feel sorry for Dad being left here alone," remarked Penny. "He'llnever make his bed, and he'll probably exist on strong coffee and thosewretched raw beef sandwiches they serve at the beanery across from the_Star_ office."
"I ought to give up my vacation," declared Mrs. Weems. "It seems selfishof me not to stay here."
Mr. Parker would not hear of such an arrangement, and so plans movedforward just as if his own trip had not been postponed.
"Dad, you'll honestly try to come to Pine Top for Christmas?" Pennypleaded.
"I'll do my best," he promised soberly. "I have a hunch that HarveyMaxwell may still be in town, despite what we were told at the hotel. Iintend to busy myself making a complete investigation of the man."
"If I could help, I'd be tickled to stay, Dad."
"There's nothing you can do, Penny. Just go out there and have a nicevacation."
Mr. Parker had not intended to go to the office Thursday morning untilafter Penny's plane had departed, but at breakfast time a call came fromDeWitt, the city editor, urging his presence at once. Before leaving, hegave his daughter her ticket and travelers checks.
"Now I expect to be at the airport to see you off," he promised. "Untilthen, good-bye."
Mr. Parker kissed Penny and hastened away. Later, Louise Sidell came tothe house. Soon after ten o'clock the girls took leave of Mrs. Weems,taxiing to the airport.
"I don't see Dad anywhere," Penny remarked as the cabman unloaded herluggage. "He'll probably come dashing up just as the plane takes off."
The girls entered the waiting room and learned that the plane was "ontime." Curiously, they glanced at the other passengers. Two travelersPenny immediately tagged as business men. But she was rather interestedin a plump, over-painted woman whose nervous manner suggested that shemight be making her first airplane trip.
While Penny's luggage was being weighed, two men entered the waitingroom. One was a lean, sharp-faced individual suffering from a bad cold.The other, struck Penny as being vaguely familiar. He was a stout man,expensively dressed, and had a surly, condescending way of speaking tohis companion.
"Who are those men?" Penny whispered to Louise. "Do you know them?"
Louise shook her head.
"That one fellow looks like someone I've seen," Penny went onthoughtfully. "Maybe I saw his picture in a newspaper, but I can't placehim."
The two men went up to the desk and the portly one addressed the clerkcurtly:
"You have our reservations for Pine Top?"
"Yes, sir. Just sign your name here." The clerk pushed forward paper anda pen.
Paying for the tickets from a large roll of greenbacks, the two men wentover to the opposite side of the waiting room and sat down. Penny glancedanxiously at the
clock. It was twenty minutes past ten.
A uniformed messenger boy entered the room, letting in a blast of coldair as he opened the door. He went over to the desk and the clerk pointedout the two girls.
"Now what?" said Penny in a low voice. "Maybe my trip is called off!"
The message was for her, from her father. But it was less serious thanshe had expected. Because an important story had "broken" it would beimpossible for him to leave the office. He wished her a pleasant tripwest and again promised he would bend every effort toward visiting PineTop for Christmas.
Penny folded the message and slipped it into her purse.
"Dad won't be able to see me off," she explained to her chum. "I wasafraid when DeWitt called him this morning he would be held up."
Before Louise could reply the outside door opened once more, and a girlof perhaps twenty-two who walked with a long, masculine gait, came in outof the cold. Penny sat up a bit straighter in her chair.
"Do you see what I see?" she whispered.
"Who is she?" inquired Louise curiously.
"The one and only Francine Sellberg."
"Which means nothing to me."
"Don't tell me you haven't seen her by-line in the _Riverview Record_!Francine would die of mortification."
"Is she a reporter?"
"She covers special assignments. And she is pretty good," Penny addedhonestly. "But not quite as good as she believes."
"Wonder what she's doing here?"
"I was asking myself that same question."
As the two girls watched, they saw Francine's cool gaze sweep the waitingroom. She did not immediately notice Penny and Louise whose backs werepartly turned to her. Her eyes rested for an instant upon the two men whopreviously had bought tickets to Pine Top, and a flicker of satisfactionshowed upon her face.
Moving directly to the desk she spoke to the ticket agent in a low voice,yet loudly enough for Penny and Louise to hear.
"Is it still possible to make a reservation for Pine Top?"
"Yes, we have one seat left on the plane."
"I'll take it," said Francine.
Penny nudged Louise and whispered in her ear: "Did you hear that?"
"I certainly did. Why do you suppose she's going to Pine Top? For theskiing?"
"Unless I'm all tangled in a knot, she's after a big story for the_Record_. And I just wonder if those two mysterious-looking gentlemenaren't the reason for her trip!"