CHAPTER XIX
Fire!
Penny worked at her bonds, but the cords had been fastened securely andshe could not free herself. Exhausted, she lay quiet, trying to thinkof some way to attract attention. She thumped with her feet on thefloor of the closet, but minutes passed and no one came to herassistance.
It was useless, she thought miserably. There was scant chance thatanyone would discover her until it was too late. How maddening it wasto know that while she remained helpless, Cron and his confederateswere escaping from the city!
Now that the knowledge was valueless to her, she comprehended theentire plot. Cron and Hoges had worked together, and the latter hadsmuggled the genuine Rembrandt from the Gage Galleries just as she hadsuspected. Then instead of trying to sell the stolen picture they madecopies of it, disposing of the duplicate many times and at a handsomeprofit.
Penny was not certain as to Max Lynch's connection with the men, butmention of the pearls suggested to her that Cron and the gambler hadrelieved Mrs. Dillon of her necklace. She recalled that the art critichad made a point of learning the exact hour when the woman would carrythe pearls to the bank vault. Was it not likely that he had proposedthe meeting solely as a means of providing an opportunity for therobbery?
When Penny considered Amy Coulter's part in the affair, she was withouta theory. She wondered if she would ever know whether or not the girlwas involved with the gang.
Presently Penny became aware of a crackling noise in the building. Atfirst she paid it slight heed, but as the strange sound became louder,she listened intently. She could hear timbers snapping and crackingand the interior of the closet was growing uncomfortably warm. Eventhen the horrible truth did not dawn upon her.
She heard excited shouts and running footsteps. Suddenly Pennydistinguished a cry which struck terror to her heart.
"Fire! Fire!"
She was momentarily stunned. Then, realizing that she was trapped in aburning building, she struggled desperately to free herself. Shekicked with all her strength against the floor and walls of the closet.Finally, she succeeded in loosening her gag.
"Help! Help!" she screamed.
Her voice sounded muffled and weak. The top floor was without tenants,and Penny knew that the chance of anyone hearing her was very slight.She was doomed to a horrible fate.
Her courage failed her for the moment and she sobbed in terror. Butshe soon had herself in check again and was struggling to free herself.It seemed to her that the cords which held her wrists were a triflelooser--she worked at the knots with her teeth.
From below she heard a loud clanging, and the shrill whistle of a firesiren. New hope surged over her. Perhaps the firemen who had arrivedupon the scene would reach her in time!
"Even if they shoot a ladder up to the window they'll never thinkanyone could be tied up in the closet," she reasoned. "If I'm toescape, it will be from my own efforts."
Penny knew that the fire was rapidly spreading, for she could hear asteady roar which rapidly grew louder. The closet was so warm that shefound difficulty in breathing. She could plainly smell smoke.
Then suddenly, almost when she had given up hope, she was free. Herwrists were bruised and bleeding but that was of no consequence. Itrequired only an instant to untie the cords which bound her ankles.
A new fear assailed her. The closet door might be locked!
She turned the knob and laughed aloud in hysterical relief. It had notbeen locked. But as she darted out into the room she inhaledsmoke-laden air and began to cough and choke. Covering her face withher dress, she groped her way to the door.
It did not give as she tried it. Then she remembered that Cron and hisconfederates had locked it from the outside.
She threw herself against the wooden panels with all her strength, butquickly comprehended that she could not break them. She ran to thewindow and looked down.
Smoke was swirling upward in such large black clouds that she caughtonly an indistinct view of the street below. The big red fire enginehad pulled up beside the building and rubber-coated men were squirtingstreams of water on the roaring blaze.
Penny lifted the window sill and climbed out on the ledge. She clungthere, waving one hand to attract attention to her plight.
Below, when the smoke cleared a little, she could see a solid bank ofspectators, edged off neatly by a cordon of police. Others were tryingto push their way through the crowd. A great clanging of bellsannounced the arrival of another fire company. It pulled in alongsidethe one already on the job.
With the precision of a war machine, the newcomers drove into action.A hydrant was quickly tapped and a long reel of hose swiftly unwoundand connected. A water tower arose from the ground as if by magic, andsoon a great stream was pouring from its peak into the blazing building.
Penny shouted for help, although she knew her voice would not carryabove the roar of the flames. Then as she was beginning to despair,she was seen.
With quick discipline, the firemen placed a ladder directly beneath thewindow. Slowly it arose, section on section.
Now that rescue was in sight, Penny suddenly vanished through thewindow back into the room from which she had escaped. The crowd belowgroaned in unison, fearing that the girl had lost her courage and wasafraid to descend the ladder from such a height.
But Penny quickly reappeared at the window, bearing two bulky objectsin her arms. She had determined to save the stolen Rembrandt and oneof the copies which would serve as damaging evidence against Cron andhis confederates.
A fireman swiftly mounted the ladder to help the girl descend.
"You'll have to leave those pictures," he said tersely. "This wall isabout ready to fall and we have to work fast."
"I can't leave them behind," Penny wailed. "This one painting is worththousands of dollars!"
"Then give them to me," the fireman ordered tersely.
He helped Penny step from the ledge to the ladder.
"Don't look down," he commanded.
Penny gripped the sides of the ladder, descending very slowly, with thefireman just below to steady her should she grow dizzy. She was notafraid although the ladder weaved under her weight. Even when a cloudof dense smoke caused her to choke and cough, she did not falter.
As the ground loomed up, she glanced back at the window ledge where shehad clung only a moment before. Flames were shooting out, lickinggreedily at the top rungs of the ladder.
A great shout went up from the crowd as Penny stepped to the grounduninjured.
"Here you are, Miss, safe and sound," the fireman said grimly. "Andjust in time too!"
Scarcely had the ladders been removed from the building when the wallfell inward. Penny did not speak for a minute. Now that it was allover, she felt weak and shaken. Her escape had been such a narrow one.
"Are you all right?" the fireman asked, taking her arm.
"Quite," Penny smiled. "You needn't hold me. I'll not faint."
"You have pluck, Miss. And your wrists are cut too. I'll call thedoctor."
"No, don't bother. It's nothing," Penny protested. "Where are mypictures?"
"Here." The fireman handed them over to her. "It was foolish goingback after them. You might have lost your life."
"I realize that now," Penny responded soberly, "but I just had to getthose pictures. Thank you for helping me save them."
Before she could add that she felt deeply grateful for her own rescueas well, the fireman was called to another post.
With a policeman as a bodyguard, Penny pushed her way through thecrowd, the precious Rembrandt and the duplicate clutched under her arm.
"I'll send you to the hospital where you can have those wrists properlydressed," the policeman said. "How did you cut them?"
"Trying to get out of the closet," Penny answered. "I was bound andgagged and locked in."
Tersely, in response to the officer's questions, she related herterrifying experience in the studio, and display
ed the paintings asevidence of the plot in which Cron and his friends were involved.
"If the police go to Cron's studio right away they may be able tocapture the entire gang," she finished. "But there's not a second tolose!"
"Leave it to me," the policeman assured her grimly.
He communicated with headquarters and in an incredibly short time asquad car picked up Penny and the officer, driving with all speedtoward the studio of Hanley Cron.
CHAPTER XX
The Secret Revealed
When Hanley Cron and his three companions abandoned Penny to her fate,they hurriedly left the building. But in passing down the hallway,Hoges carelessly snubbed out a cigarette and dropped it on the floor.
The cigarette smoldered and did not go out. Soon a tiny flame leapedup, igniting the dirty old carpet which stretched the length of thehall. The fire spread rapidly, fed by wood that was very dry andbrittle.
Unaware that they had started a disastrous blaze, the four men fled toHanley Cron's studio apartment to make plans for a hasty departure.
"The game's up," Cron said to his companions. "It Christopher Nicholsever finds his daughter, he'll put the heat on us right. We can't getout of this town soon enough."
"Divide up the money, and we'll skip," Hoges answered gruffly.
Cron tore the cover from a day bed couch, and with a sharp knife slitopen the mattress. He removed a neat, thick roll of bills.
"How much?" Max demanded.
"Forty thousand. Not a bad haul for a little over a week's work."Cron laughed triumphantly. "We sold that picture seven times, and notone of the suckers dared to squawk. If that Nichols girl hadn't hornedin, the racket would have been good for another twenty thousand atleast."
"We ought to have kept the picture," Hoges complained. "Then we couldstart up in another city and try the same thing over again."
Cron shook his head. "Too dangerous. If that Nichols girl shouldescape----"
"That's where we made a big mistake," Lynch cut in. "We shouldn't haveleft anything to chance."
"It's certain enough," Cron laughed harshly. "She may be a smart girl,but she's not smart enough to get out of that closet."
"Let's divide up the money and get out of here," Lynch said nervously."Forty thousand dollars--that's ten grand apiece."
The men began to argue angrily over the proposed distribution, Hogesinsisting that Lynch was not entitled to any part of the money receivedfrom the sale of the pictures.
"It was our racket, and you just horned in," he protested. "You tooknone of the risk."
"If I pass the word around, you'll never get out of town with any ofthe money," Lynch retorted sneeringly.
"We're willing to divide up," Hoges said hastily, "but in return weexpect a split on the pearl necklace."
"That was a deal between Cron and me."
The argument waxed hotter, the men's voices rising until Hanley Cronfeared they could be heard outside.
"Pipe down," he ordered. "Do you want to bring the police? Theimportant thing now is to get away from here before we're caught. Whynot split everything four ways and no hard feelings?"
"Okay," Lynch growled. "We divide even. Where are the pearls?"
"They're safe here," Cron answered. "I'll get them."
He started across the room, but just then a loud knock sounded on thedoor.
The four froze into tense attitudes.
"Better answer," Lynch whispered. "Maybe it's only your landlord."
"Who's there?" Cron demanded.
"Open up!" a voice shouted. "Open in the name of the law!"
"The police!" Cron muttered in an undertone. "Quick! Down the fireescape!"
"Open the door or we'll break it down!" came the shouted warning.
Cron and his companions ran to the window, there to halt in dismay asthey faced three policemen who had crept up the iron stairway soquietly that they had not been heard. The four crooks were coveredbefore they could reach for their guns.
"Hands up!" An officer ordered tersely, stepping through the windowinto the studio.
Cron and his confederates sullenly obeyed.
"What is the meaning of this outrage?" Cron asked with a show ofindignation. "Do you realize who I am?"
"Maybe we'll be more sure of it after you've been finger-printed andmugged," the policeman retorted. "Keep your hands up."
"What's the charge against us?" Lynch questioned, with studiedindifference, seating himself on the bed. It was not the first time hehad ever been arrested. He frequently boasted that no jail would everclaim him.
"You're wanted on two counts," the policeman informed. "For theft of apearl necklace belonging to Mrs. Dillon, and for stealing a valuablepainting from the Gage Galleries."
"Anything else?" Cron inquired sarcastically.
"Yes, several other things, but I'll let the judge tell you about it."
"It takes evidence to make an arrest," Lynch said sneeringly. "Produceyour proof."
"I'll introduce you to our star witness," the policeman retorted.
He crossed to the door and unlocked it. Penny Nichols and sixpolicemen entered.
At sight of the girl the four crooks were taken aback. But theyquickly covered their confusion.
"Can you identify these men?" Penny was asked.
"Yes, I can," she answered. "They are the ones who locked me in thecloset and then set fire to the building."
"Set fire to the building?" Hoges echoed. "That's a lie."
"Shut up," Lynch growled.
"Here are the pictures which I saved as evidence," Penny continued,displaying the original Rembrandt and one of the copies.
"See here, this girl is stark crazy," Cron interposed. "I don't knowwhere she obtained these pictures, but no one could be more delightedto have the Rembrandt recovered than myself. I am well connected atthe museum and if you will only call the officials there they willassure you that this girl is making a most unjust accusation."
"You have pleasant companions," a policeman remarked, nodding inLynch's direction.
The four men were lined up and searched. Only Cron was found to have agun.
"You can't get me on that," he sneered. "I have a permit to carry aweapon."
The forty thousand dollars was brought to light.
"Quite a nice haul," a policeman commented, examining the roll of bills.
"You can't arrest a man for having money in his pocket," Lynch saidharshly. "You don't find it marked do you?"
"The truth is, you have no case against us," Cron snapped. "It's onlythis silly girl's word against ours. No doubt she's been readingdetective stories!"
"I can furnish an alibi for the entire day," Lynch added.
"Unless this ridiculous charge is dropped I warn you I'll sue for falsearrest," Cron went on furiously.
The officers paid no heed to the talk, yet they knew that their caseagainst the four was not water-tight. As Cron had said, it was amatter of Penny Nichols' testimony against the four. True, she had theRembrandt as evidence, but it might be difficult to prove that the fourmen had been involved in the theft. They had painful recollections ofother cases against Max Lynch which had dissolved like soap bubbles ina wind. The man had no equal at producing unexpected witnesses who fora sum of money would provide him with a complete alibi. His lawyer,employed at a yearly salary, was as clever as he was unscrupulous.
"Search the room," the police captain ordered. "The Dillon pearls mustbe here."
The men set about their task with system and thoroughness. Theyexamined every inch of the mattress, they went through all of theclothing, even ripping out the linings of coats and jackets. The floorboards were tested to learn if any had been recently loosened.
"You'll not find the necklace here," Cron said harshly.
Penny watched the search with growing uneasiness. She had felt certainthat the pearls would be found in the studio. The conversation she hadoverheard while tied in the closet had led her to believe
that thenecklace was in Cron's possession. It must be somewhere in the room.
She crossed over to a bookcase which the officers had not yet examined.Instantly, she noted that Hanley Cron was watching her intently. Shelifted out the lower row of volumes. Nothing had been hidden behindthem.
"Little Miss Detective!" Cron jeered.
Penny took out a few of the books on the second shelf. She uttered alittle cry of surprise.
"My Black Imp!" she exclaimed, wheeling toward Cron. "So you were theone who entered my room and stole it."
Triumphantly, she caught up the little clay figure from its hidingplace.
"Now I know you're crazy!" Cron snapped. "Someone sent that figure tome in the mail. And rightly it should have been returned to me too!You and that Coulter girl came here and robbed me of it."
Penny gazed thoughtfully down at the Black Imp. She recalled howstartled Max Lynch had been when he had viewed it on her father's desk.Then later, either Cron or an agent of his, had risked capture to enterthe Nichols house and recover the little statue. Why was it sovaluable? What secret did it guard?
Suddenly, Penny knew. With a triumphant laugh, she raised the BlackImp and hurled it against the wall. It shattered into a dozen pieces.
"Say, what's the idea?" a policeman demanded. Then he stared down atthe floor.
Among the broken fragments of day lay Mrs. Dillon's pearl necklace.
"There's your evidence," Penny said calmly. "I think even Max Lynchmay find it difficult to alibi this."
With a fatalistic shrug, the gambler turned to the policeman whoguarded him.
"You win," he said. "Buckle on the cuffs and let's go."
"There's something I'd like to learn before you take these men away,"Penny mentioned to the captain. "Mr. Hoges has a letter in hispossession which I wish I might examine."
"Is this the one you mean?" the officer asked. The envelope heindicated had been taken from Hoges when he was searched a few minutesbefore.
"I think it is."
The policeman handed Penny the letter and he quickly examined it.
"This is the right one," she said in relief. "And it exonerates AmyCoulter of any wrong doing."
The brief message read:
"Mr. Hoges: I shall be unable to accept the work which you offered me.I am returning the money paid me as an advance fee."
Penny was jubilant at the way matters had ended. She had manyquestions to ask Cron and Max Lynch but she decided to postpone them,realizing that the men were not likely to reveal anything which couldbe used as evidence against them.
As the four crooks were led away, the captain waited to complimentPenny for her valuable assistance.
"Tell me, young lady," he commanded admiringly, "how did you know Mrs.Dillon's pearls were hidden inside that clay figure?"
"I wasn't absolutely certain," Penny admitted. "But a number of thingsmade me suspicious. First, I recalled that the man who snatched thenecklace from Mrs. Dillon ran into this studio."
"Could you identify that man?"
"I think you already have him under arrest. I don't know his name, butI feel certain he is the same person now that I have viewed himclosely."
"He ran into this studio you say?"
"Yes, and when I entered I found Hanley Cron modeling the Black Imp.The possibility did not occur to me at the time, but now I know he musthave received the pearls from the actual thief, and molded them intothe wet clay."
"A very clever scheme."
"Yes, and it would have succeeded, save for one thing. Cron copied thestatue of Amy Coulter's Black Imp. We thought he intended to put it tosome commercial use, and took it from him."
"He permitted you to take it away?" the officer asked in surprise.
"It happened that a policeman came into the studio. I think he musthave been afraid to make a fuss."
"Undoubtedly. Then what happened?"
"I took the statue to my father's office. Max Lynch came to talk withDad and saw it. He hurried out of the office as if he had seen aghost."
"Of course he knew the pearls were hidden inside the statue," theofficer smiled. "He probably thought Mr. Nichols had discovered themand suspected the plot."
"That's the way I figured it out," Penny nodded.
"Our house was watched. Then one day the Black Imp mysteriouslydisappeared. I never saw it again until I entered this room."
"Either Cron or Lynch stole it."
"Cron I think, for the Black Imp was in his possession."
"Well, young lady, you've done a fine bit of work today," the captainsaid soberly. "It's evident that you're destined to follow in thefootsteps of your illustrious father."
"Thank you, sir," Penny flushed.
With the four crooks on their way to jail, and the Rembrandt and thepearl necklace in the possession of the police, she felt that herresponsibility was ended. Calling a taxicab, she drove to AmyCoulter's new rooming house.
"I have wonderful news for you!" she greeted the girl. "The paintinghas been recovered!"
"Then I'm exonerated?"
"Completely."
"Oh, Penny! It's your doing, I know. How can I thank you?" Tears ofjoy streamed down Amy's face.
She listened breathlessly to the story Penny related.
"So George Hoges turned out to be a thief!" she exclaimed. "When heasked me to copy a painting for him, I was suspicious that he hadinvolved himself in something dishonest."
Penny spoke of the meeting she had witnessed in the park.
"Yes, Mr. Hoges gave me money," Amy acknowledged ruefully. "I neededit so badly or I shouldn't have listened to him."
"Then you knew you were to copy the Rembrandt?" Penny questionedquickly.
"Oh, no! He didn't tell me what painting I was to reproduce. Iaccepted the money because I needed it so badly. Later, when I thoughtthe matter over more carefully, I realized that the scheme couldn't bean honest one. So I sent the money back."
"A fortunate thing that you did," Penny commented. "Had you kept themoney you might have been accused of being one of the gang."
"I'm glad the painting has been recovered," Amy said. "And to thinkthat my little Black Imp guarded the hiding place of Mrs. Dillon'sjewels!"
Penny remembered that she had a taxicab waiting outside and hastilysaid goodbye. When she reached her father's office, he was talking onthe telephone. He smiled broadly as he hung up the receiver.
"Well, I've heard all about it," he declared. "You'll be famous assoon as the evening papers are on the street. Reporters are on theirway here now."
It developed that Mr. Nichols had not been informed of all the detailsof Penny's remarkable adventure. He was quite shaken when he learnedof her narrow escape from death in the burning building. The warmth ofhis praise for her courage, brought the color rushing to the girl'scheeks.
"I only hope Cron and his friends receive the sentences they deserve,"she commented.
"Don't worry, they will, Penny. You fairly snowed them under withdamaging evidence."
Mr. Nichols was entirely correct in his opinion. Under policegrilling, Hoges and Cron confessed to the crimes for which they werecharged. Max Lynch refused to plead guilty but in the end a long legalbattle availed him nothing. With his three companions he was sentencedto the state penitentiary.
Hanley Cron in his confession admitted that he had accepted a fee as abribe for awarding the Huddleson prize to "Winged Night," a statue ofinferior merit. The entire contest therefore was declared void.Months later a new competition was held, and to the delight of everyoneAmy Coulter's Black Imp won the cherished prize.
Penny and her father were not to learn of these important developmentsfor some time. But they were both elated at the outcome of the case.
"Well, you seem to have relieved your old Dad of a job," the detectivesmiled. "Now that Mrs. Dillon's necklace has been recovered, my workfor the Insurance Company is over."
"I hope you haven't been cheated out of any f
at fees on my account."
"The company will be pleased because its financial responsibility toMrs. Dillon is over," the detective answered. "I may charge a doublefee on the strength of your work!"
"And do I get half of it?" Penny countered.
Her father smiled broadly. "Perhaps, if you promise to lock it up inyour bank account." He added with a chuckle: "I believe I couldincrease my profits by taking you into the firm. 'Nichols andNichols.' How does that strike you?"
"I think it would look grand in print," Penny laughed. "Let's paint iton the door right now!"
THE END
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