Guilt of the Brass Thieves Part 21

That was how my finger was p.r.i.c.ked."

As the girls examined the pin, they heard a commotion on deck and the sound of voices. Before they could go up the steps to investigate, Jack Gandiss came clattering down to the lounge.

"I came to take you back to the island, Penny," he informed. "Ready?"

Then his gaze fastened upon the beam where the bra.s.s lantern had hung.

"Say, what became of the trophy?" he demanded sharply. "You decided to take it down after all?"

"It's gone," Sally said, misery in her voice. "Stolen!"

The two girls waited for the explosion, but strangely, Jack said nothing for a moment.

"You warned me," Sally hastened on. "Oh, it's all my fault. It was conceited and selfish of me to display the trophy here. I deserve everything you're going to say."

Still Jack remained mute, staring at the beam.

"Go on--tell me what you're thinking," Sally challenged miserably.

"It's a tough break," Jack said without rancor.

"This will practically ruin the race," Sally accused herself. "I can't replace the trophy for there's no other like it. An ordinary cup never would seem the same."

"That's so," Jack gloomily agreed. "Well, if it's gone, it's gone, and there's nothing more to be done."

The boy's calm acceptance of the calamity he had predicted, astonished Penny and Sally. Was this the Jack they knew? With a perfect opportunity to say, "I told you so," he had withheld blame.

Sally sank down on the lower step. "How will I face the racing committee?" she murmured. "What will the other contestants say? They'll feel like running me out of town."

"Maybe it won't be necessary to tell," Jack said slowly. "One of us is almost certain to win the race next Friday."

"Yes, that's true, but--"

"If you win, the lantern would be yours for keeps. Should I win, no one would need to know that you hadn't turned it over to me. You could make some excuse at the time of the presentation."

Sally gazed at Jack with a new light in her eyes. "I'm truly sorry for all the hateful things I've said to you in the past," she declared earnestly. "You're a true blue friend."

"Maybe I'm sorry about some of the cracks I made too," he grinned, extending his hand. "Shake?"

Sally sprang up and grasped the hand firmly, but her eyes were misty. She hastened to correct any wrong impression Jack might have gained.

"I'm glad you made the offer you did," she said, "but I never would dream of keeping the truth from the committee. I'll notify them today."

"Why be in such a hurry?" Penny asked. "The race is a week away. In that time we may be able to find the trophy. After all, we have a good clue."

"What clue?" asked Jack.

Penny showed him the pin. As he gazed at the picture on the face of the badge, a strange expression came into his eyes.

"You know the man?" Penny asked instantly.

"He works at our factory. But that's not where I've seen him."

"At the Harpers?" Sally asked.

"Yes," Jack admitted unwillingly. "I don't know his name, but he is a friend of Ma Harper and her husband."

"And of that no-account Joe, the Sweeper?"

"I don't know about that." The questioning had made Jack uncomfortable.

"The man should be arrested!"

"We have no proof, Sally," Penny pointed out. "While we're satisfied in our own minds that the man who took the lantern is the person who lost the badge, we can't be certain."

"The badge may have been dropped by a pa.s.senger yesterday," Jack added.

"Let me find out this fellow's name first, and a few facts about him."

"I don't believe your friends, the Harpers, will tell you much," Sally said stiffly. "They're the sc.u.m of the waterfront. How you can go there--"

Penny, who saw that another storm was brewing, quickly intervened, saying it was time she and Jack started for the island. Sally, taking the hint, allowed the subject to drop.

But as she went on deck to see the pair off in Jack's motorboat, she whispered to Penny:

"See me this afternoon, if you can. I have an idea I don't want Jack to know about. If we work together, we may be able to trace the trophy."

CHAPTER 14 _TRAPPED_

Jack had little to say about the theft as he and Penny returned to the Gandiss home. However, after lunch he offered to go to his father's factory to learn the ident.i.ty of the employee who had lost the badge aboard the _River Queen_.

"Want to come along?" he invited.

Ordinarily, Penny would have welcomed the opportunity, but remembering that Sally had wished to see her, she regretfully turned down the invitation.

"I'll ride across the river if you don't mind," she said. "I have an errand in town."

By this time Penny was familiar with the daily route of the _River Queen_ and knew where it would dock to pick up and unload pa.s.sengers. Sally, she felt certain, would be aboard, expecting her.

They crossed the river in the motorboat, making an appointment to meet again at four o'clock. After Jack had gone, Penny set off for the _River Queen's_ dock where a sizable group of pa.s.sengers awaited the ferry.

Soon the _Queen_ steamed in, her bell signaling a landing. Pa.s.sengers crowded the railing, eager to be the first off. A crewman stood at the wheel, and Sally was nowhere to be seen.

As the boat brushed the dock, sailors leaped off to make fast to the dock posts. Captain Barker, annoyed because the pa.s.sengers were pushing, bellowed impatient orders to his men: "All right, start that gangplank forward! Lively! Are you going to sleep over it all day?"

Then, seeing Penny, he raised his hand in friendly greeting.