CHAPTER 11 A MAN OF MYSTERY

The following day when Penny told her father of Mr. Emory’s desire to meet him, Mr. Parker showed little interest.

“I’ve no time to waste getting acquainted with strangers,” he said. “Why is the man so eager to know me?”

“He thinks he may be able to help you locate that hidden radio station.”

Mr. Parker’s annoyance visibly increased. “Penny,” he said severely, “you’ve evidently been talking out of turn.”

“I didn’t mean to let him know why you’re at Sunset Beach, Dad. It sort of slipped out.”

Louise, who was washing the breakfast dishes, spoke quickly.

“It was my fault,” she insisted. “Penny tried to stop me, but I gave the information before I thought.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Mr. Parker assured her kindly. “I came here mostly for a vacation. If I should be lucky enough to dig up a few facts about the radio station, well and good. If not, no harm will have been done.”

“You sent for Jerry to help you?” Penny inquired curiously.

Mr. Parker shook his head. “No, I knew he was coming, but I didn’t send for him. If I had, I’m afraid the Army wouldn’t have been obliging enough to have filled my order.”

Penny helped Louise put away the camp dishes and pick up loose papers. It was only eight-thirty but already most of the work had been done. With Louise to help, camping no longer was a burden. Even Mr. Parker seemed to have moments of enjoying the outdoor life.

“Anyone riding to Sunset Beach with me?” he inquired cheerfully. “I have a date with Jerry this morning.”

Penny and Louise both wanted to go. They washed at the brook, changed into becoming “town” dresses, and soon were ready.

At the Crystal Inn, Jerry was not to be found. A clerk explained that the young man had left the hotel a half hour earlier but was expected to return soon.

“He probably went somewhere for breakfast or a walk,” Mr. Parker remarked, sinking into a comfortable chair. “I’ll wait for him.”

Penny and Louise loitered in the lobby. Presently Mrs. Deline came from the dining room and Mr. Parker politely arose to greet her. The widow took a chair beside him and they began to chat in an animated way.

“Let’s get away from here!” Penny muttered to Louise. “I don’t like the scenery.”

The girls went outside into the warm sunshine. Because the Parker automobile was at the curb they climbed into it and sat watching the sea.

“Why do you dislike Mrs. Deline so intensely?” Louise presently asked her chum.

“Because she’s aiming to be my stepmother, that’s why!”

“Oh, Penny!” Louise laughed outright. “I’m sure you have a mistaken idea about the entire situation. Your father isn’t serious in liking her.”

“Then he’s certainly developed remarkable talents for acting,” Penny retorted with a sniff. “I wish we’d never come to Sunset Beach.”

“You’d be willing to forego the mystery?”

“Who cares about a radio station?” Penny asked crossly. “Dad won’t tell me anything about the case, and probably Jerry won’t either. It seems to be one of those affairs for the experts only.”

“If I know you, Penny, you’ll manage to get in on the affair,” Louise said, her eyes twinkling.

Penny turned on the ignition and started the car. “I’m just not interested,” she announced flatly. “Mrs. Deline has taken all the fun out of me. Want to go for a ride?”

“Where?”

“Oh, just up the beach.”

“Isn’t it dangerous to drive on the sand?”

“Everyone does it at low tide. The sand is hard and firm along this stretch of beach.”

Louise offered no further objection, so Penny drove slowly away from the hotel. The car rode on silken tires, making only a soft swishing sound as it rolled smoothly over the sand.

“Oh, this is fun!” Louise cried in delight.

“We might drive to the lighthouse,” Penny proposed, steering to avoid two bathers who crossed in front of the car.

Following the curve of the beach, the girls kept on until the sand became so soft that they were afraid to drive farther. The lighthouse was close by. Penny, curious to learn what sort of reception the keeper would accord her on the second visit, proposed to Louise that they call there.

“If he let Mrs. Deline visit the tower why can’t we?” she argued. “Come along, let’s try to get in!”

Abandoning the car on the beach, they waded through the dunes, climbed a fence, and ultimately reached the base of the tower. No one seemed to be in evidence. Penny started boldly up the iron steps. However, before she had gone very far, the keeper, Jim McCoy, came out on the platform.

“Didn’t I tell you no visitors are allowed here?” he called down angrily.

“I saw a lady come here yesterday!” Penny returned.

“You must have dreamed it,” retorted the lighthouse keeper. “No visitors allowed. Don’t make me tell you again!”

Penny retreated, decidedly crushed.

“You asked for it, kitten,” Louise teased as they walked toward the car. “I don’t blame the keeper for not wanting visitors.”

“Mrs. Deline was there,” Penny insisted stubbornly. “Why should he deny it?”

Half way to the car, the girls paused to pick up a few large shells lying in the deep sand. The task became an absorbing one. Before they realized it, the sun was high overhead and their faces were being burned by the direct rays.

“Let’s go,” Louise urged. “The tide turned a long while ago. We should be returning to the hotel.”

“Okay,” Penny agreed. She stooped to pick up another shell. As she straightened, she observed an old man in ragged clothing coming down the beach.

“Lou,” she said in a low tone, “there’s that same man Mr. Emory was telling us about!”

“The beachcomber?” Louise turned to stare.

“Yes, and he’s coming this way. Perhaps it might be worth while to watch him.”

“He’s not seen us yet.”

Penny glanced about for a hiding place. The only one that offered was a huge sand dune. Pulling Louise along with her, she crouched down out of sight.

In a moment the old beachcomber came along. He was whistling and seemed to have not a care in the world. His face, viewed at close range, was weather-beaten, his hair uncombed, and his clothing had not been washed in many a day.

“What’s so mysterious about him?” Louise whispered. “Why did Mr. Emory say he’d bear watching?”

“Maybe he’s not really a beachcomber,” Penny returned, low. “He may be an Enemy Agent in disguise.”

“You have Enemy Agents on the brain!” Louise chuckled. “Likewise, man-snatching widows.”

The beachcomber passed within a few feet of the girls. He crossed the courtyard of the lighthouse and was seen to take a trail which led amid the rocks.

“Lou, perhaps he’s going to one of the caves!” Penny cried. “You know Mr. Emory said this locality is honeycombed with them.”

“Let him go,” Louise answered indifferently. “It’s lunch time and I’m hungry.”

“Your appetite will have to wait. I’m going to follow that man!”

“Oh, Penny.”

“But this may be important.”

“And it may be just another of your so-called bright ideas,” Louise retorted. “Well, lead on, and let’s get it over with.”

The beachcomber already had disappeared amid the mass of piled-up rock farther back from shore. Penny had marked the locality well with her eye. She was able to lead Louise to the place where he had vanished.

“See, there’s a well-worn trail,” she indicated triumphantly. “He must have taken it.”

They followed the path, and a moment later caught a fleeting glimpse of the beachcomber. At times the trail was so narrow that the girls barely could squeeze between the rocks. Wind whistled around the cliffs, whipping hair and blowing skirts.

Unexpectedly, Penny, who was in the lead, came to the low entranceway of a cave.

“He must have gone in there!” she declared excitedly. “Listen!”

From deep within the cave the girls could hear a strange sound.

“Rushing water!” Louise said in awe. “The Cave must have a waterfall or an underground river.”

“We’ll soon know.” Penny started into the cave only to have Louise clutch at her hand.

“Don’t be silly, Penny. We have no flashlight.”

“But we can’t let that beachcomber get away. We want to learn what he does.”

“I can bear up without knowing.”

“Well, I can’t,” Penny announced with equal firmness.

“But it may be dangerous. Let’s go back to the hotel and get Jerry or your father.”

Penny hesitated, then shook her head. “You stay here if you like, Lou,” she replied. “I’m going inside.”

Before her chum could detain her, she stooped low and crawled into the narrow, dark tunnel.