CHAPTER 12 THE PROFESSOR’S HELPER
Climbing the hill, Penny and Louise sought their parked car. The day had been an interesting one, replete with surprises, and yet another surprise was in store.
As they were ready to drive away, a man came slowly down the road, cut across the Leonard yard and vanished down a path which led toward Blue Hole Lake.
“See that fellow!” Penny exclaimed.
“Why, yes,” agreed Louise, surprised by her chum’s tense manner. “What about him?”
“I’m sure he’s Webb!”
“Webb?”
“The man who was pushed off the Snark and who stole Ben’s watch!”
“What would he be doing here?”
“That’s exactly what I want to learn! I’d like to get Ben’s watch back for him!” Quickly Penny pushed open the car door and jumped out.
“What are you going to do, Penny?” Louise asked anxiously.
“Follow that man and learn for certain who he is!”
“But it’s late,” Louise protested. “Besides, he looks like an unpleasant sort of individual.”
Penny paid no heed, but started off in pursuit of the stranger. He had already disappeared among the trees and was well on his way toward the lake. Not wishing to be deserted, Louise quickly followed her chum.
“He’s going to the professor’s shack!” Penny observed a moment later.
“Perhaps he is another prospective buyer of the secret ray machine,” Louise speculated. “Business seems to be rushing today.”
Penny was not convinced. “I’m sure it is Webb,” she declared. “If we can force him to admit his identity, we may get Ben’s watch back.”
Not wishing to attract attention, the girls paused behind a large rock on the hillside. From there they could watch the man without being seen.
He walked directly to the shack and tapped on the door. In a moment it was opened by the professor, who looked anything but pleased to see the new arrival. Closing the door behind him as if fearful that Mr. Johnson would hear, he stepped out of doors.
The girls were too far away to overhear the conversation, but they saw the two men talk earnestly together for a moment. Then the man they believed to be Webb, walked on down the hill toward the lake’s edge. Professor Bettenridge reentered the shack.
“Now what?” inquired Louise, straightening up from a cramped position behind the rock.
“Let’s follow Webb. I have a hunch he may be the assistant Professor Bettenridge told Mr. Johnson about.”
“But the man wasn’t expected here until tomorrow.”
“Which may or may not have been true, Lou. There’s more to this deal than meets the eye. Let’s see what we can learn.”
Already the man had disappeared from view, so the girls walked swiftly after him. Reaching the lake’s edge, they saw him striding along the sandy beach. Apparently he had no suspicion that he was being trailed, for he did not glance backward.
Presently the girls noticed another shack which had been erected in a clump of trees a few yards back from the beach. It was much smaller than the other little house, a mere box-like structure with a flat, low roof.
Walking directly toward it, the man unfastened a padlock and went inside. He closed the door behind him.
“Now what is he doing in there?” Penny fretted, as minutes elapsed and the man remained inside the building. “Listen!”
Both girls could hear a peculiar grinding sound as if from machinery turning inside the shack. The building was windowless, so it was impossible to see what was going on.
“This is maddening!” Penny muttered with increasing impatience. “I wonder—?” She broke off, and gazed thoughtfully at the flat roof of the shack.
“Lou, how is that building lighted?” she demanded.
“From here it looks as if there might be double panels of glass in the roof—a make-shift skylight.”
“Lou, if we could get up there, we might be able to see what is going on!”
“And get caught too!”
“Not if we’re careful. We can climb that tree which brushes against it, and perhaps see from there.”
“What if we should be caught?”
“We’ll decide that part when the time comes,” Penny chuckled. “This should be fun.”
Circling the shack, they climbed into the low-hanging boughs of a giant, scraggly maple tree. Inch by inch lest they make a sound which would betray them, they climbed out on the heavy branches.
“Penny, we’re taking an awful chance,” her chum murmured nervously. “If that man should look up—”
“He won’t,” Penny whispered confidently. “He’s too busy with whatever he’s doing.”
Lying flat on the branch, she could look directly through the glass. In the room below she saw at least four large, oval-shaped mines without detonators, made of steel.
Evidently the man had finished whatever work had brought him to the shack, for he laid aside a tool, and then went out the door, carefully locking it behind him again.
“We were too late,” Penny whispered in disgust after the man was a safe distance down the beach. “I wish I knew why he came here! One thing is certain, he’s mixed up with Professor Bettenridge on this secret ray invention.”
“Do you still believe the man is the one who was pushed off the Snark?”
“Yes, I do, and that part we can learn!” Realizing that much valuable time was being wasted, Penny slid down from the tree, snagging a stocking in the process. She helped Louise to reach the ground.
“What’s the plan now?” her chum asked.
“Webb evidently is returning either to Professor Bettenridge’s shack or to town. Let’s overtake him and I’ll ask a few questions. After helping fish him out of the river, I certainly have the right.”
The man walked directly toward the shack which contained the secret ray apparatus, but when he drew close, paused and whistled twice as if in signal. No response came from within the cabin. Seemingly the man expected none, for he turned and selected a trail which led toward the road.
At that moment, the shack door opened. Professor Bettenridge, his wife, and Mr. Johnson came out together, chatting pleasantly. Without paying the slightest heed to Webb, they walked toward the farmhouse.
“What do you make of all that?” Louise asked in perplexity.
“I’m not sure,” Penny admitted. “But I have a suspicion the professor doesn’t want Mr. Johnson to know Webb is here today. He might insist on a test of the secret ray machine.”
“Why all the mystery? Professor Bettenridge certainly can’t expect to sell the invention unless he can give a successful demonstration.”
“I suspect that may be the point, Lou. Things aren’t properly set for a successful test today. Tomorrow night may be a different story.”
“But if the machine is as good as the professor claims, it should explode mines as well one time as another.”
“It should,” Penny agreed, “but whether or not it does, is a horse of a different color. My guess is that the professor is a fraud, and that Webb helps him in his scheme.”
The man believed to be Webb walked so rapidly that the girls realized they would lose sight of him unless they hastened on. Cutting across a field, they were able to get ahead of him.
“Yes, it’s Webb,” Penny whispered as they waited for the man to approach. “I’m certain.”
Not until he was quite close did the man see the girls. Momentarily startled at recognizing Penny, he ignored her, and would have passed without a word.
“Webb!” she exclaimed. “Don’t you remember me?”
The man halted, gazing at her with ice-cold, unfriendly eyes.
“Webb ain’t my name,” he said gruffly. “I never saw you before.”
“You may not remember. I helped pull you out of the river after you had fallen from the deck of the Snark.”
“Are you coo-coo?” the man demanded. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do,” Penny said, losing patience. “You stayed with Ben Bartell at his shack by the river. For saving your life, you repaid him by stealing his watch!”
“Say, young lady, better be careful what you’re sayin’!” the man snapped. “No one can accuse me of being a thief!”
“I want Ben’s watch.”
The man started on down the road, but Louise and Penny stood their ground, blocking his way.
“I want the watch!” Penny repeated firmly. “If you won’t give it up, I’ll report you to the police.”
“Oh, you will, eh?” The man whirled toward her, his face convulsed with anger. “You’ll get no watch from me, but here’s something to teach you to mind your own business!”
With a cruel laugh, he pushed her so hard that she sprawled backwards into the ditch.
