The Cry at Midnight

  CHAPTER 3 _STRANGER OF THE STORM_

  Penny swerved the steering wheel, missing the girl by inches. Somewhatshaken by the near-accident, she pulled up at the roadside.

  "My, that was close!" exclaimed Louise. Lowering the side window of thecoupe, she gazed curiously at the snowy figure, plodding through thedrifts.

  "Maybe we ought to offer her a lift to Riverview," said Penny. "Whoevershe is, she shouldn't be walking alone at this time of night--and with aheavy suitcase too."

  "But should we pick up a hitchhiker, Penny? It might not be safe."

  "I don't like to do it as a rule, but this is different. It's storminghard and she looks about our age."

  Debating no longer, Penny thrust her head through the window opening andcalled: "Want a ride?"

  The girl with the suitcase had moved into the glare of the headlights.She turned toward the car with a startled expression. Penny and Louisesaw that she was thinly clad in a light weight coat, and wore nogaloshes.

  To their astonishment, the girl shook her head and kept on walking.

  "Well, what do you know!" exclaimed Penny. "She's more afraid to ridewith us than we were to pick her up. She may not realize we're just acouple of school girls."

  "She shouldn't be out in this storm dressed as she is," declared Louise,now concerned for the stranger. "Ask her again."

  Penny shifted into low gear and pulled alongside. "Please, can't we giveyou a lift into the city?" she urged.

  The girl stopped then, resting her suitcase in the roadway. A breath ofwind swept a lock of dark hair across her thin face. Impatiently shebrushed it aside and murmured: "No, no, thank you."

  Penny would have driven on, but the voice held a hint of tears. Itoccurred to her that the girl might be running away from home--certainlyshe was bewildered and in trouble.

  "Don't be foolish!" she exclaimed. "This snow is coming down heavierevery minute. Of course, you want a ride." She flung the car door wideopen.

  A moment longer the girl hesitated. Then without a word, she swung thesuitcase into the automobile and squeezed in beside Louise. However, shescarcely glanced at the girls, but centered her sober gaze on thesnowflakes which danced across the windshield.

  The car moved ahead. "Going far?" inquired Penny.

  "I--I don't know."

  "You don't know!" Penny twisted her head sideways to stare at the girl.She started to ask a question, then thinking better of it, remainedsilent.

  Louise, however, could not allow the odd reply to pass unchallenged.

  "Why, you must know where you're going!" she exclaimed. "Do you mean youhave no home, or are running away?"

  "I have a home," the girl replied shortly. "I only meant I haven'tdecided where I'll go or what I'll do when I reach Riverview. That's thename of the closest place, isn't it?"

  Penny nodded. "Apparently, you come from some distance away," sheremarked.

  The girl made no reply.

  "May we introduce ourselves?" said Louise, determined to learn thestranger's name. "This is Penny Parker, and I'm Louise Sidell."

  Only by a brief nod did the girl acknowledge the introduction. She didnot volunteer her own name. Her failure to do so, obviously wasdeliberate.

  "Do you live near here?" Louise inquired.

  The stranger squirmed uncomfortably. "I'm sorry," she said. "I don't feellike answering questions. That's why I didn't want to accept a ride."

  Louise took the reply for a rebuke. "I certainly didn't mean to bepersonal," she returned stiffly. "Excuse it, please. Dreadful weather!"

  The topic fell flat. No further attempt at conversation was made.

  Penny kept close watch of the road, for the heavy, wet snow madevisibility very poor. She was greatly relieved when they reached theoutskirts of the city and a wide boulevard which followed the curve ofthe frozen river.

  Seeing the lights of Riverview, the strange girl began to watch thestreets intently.

  "Just let me out anywhere," she said presently.

  "Anywhere?" Penny repeated.

  "Will we pass the river docks on this road?"

  "Yes, at the next turn."

  "Then let me off there, please."

  "The river docks!" exclaimed Louise. "At this time of night? No boats arerunning and there are no houses or business places close by. Onlydeserted fish houses and the like."

  "Please, that's where I want to get off."

  Penny and Louise gave up trying to figure out their strange passenger. Atthe next turn in the road, they pulled up near a dimly lighted streetcorner.

  The girl opened the car door and reached for her suitcase.

  "Thanks for the ride," she said in a low voice. "I'm sorry if I seemedrude and unfriendly. There are things I can't explain."

  Before Penny or Louise could answer, the car door closed firmly in theirfaces.

  "Well, how do you like that?" the latter demanded furiously. "If sheisn't a cool cucumber!"

  "She may be running away from home," Penny said, frowning. "Whyotherwise, would she refuse to tell her name?"

  "And why did she insist in getting out on this corner, of all places?"

  "It's a bad section of town, Louise. No one seems to be about, but evenso, a girl shouldn't be wandering around here alone."

  "We tried to warn her. She seemed to know what she wanted to do."

  "All the same, I feel sort of responsible," Penny returned uneasily. "Ihope nothing happens to her."

  After leaving the car, the girl walked toward the river. Now at thecorner, she paused beneath a street light, and glanced back.

  "She's waiting for us to go on!" Penny guessed shrewdly. "For somereason, she doesn't want anyone to know where she's going!"

  "Then let's wait and watch!"

  "We'll learn nothing that way. She can tell we're keeping our eye onher." Penny threw in the clutch and the car rolled away from the curb."Tell you what, Lou! We'll drive around the block."

  "Good idea!" approved her chum. "That way she'll think we've gone and wecan see where she really goes."

  Penny turned at the first corner and made a quick trip around the block.As they again came within view of the ice-locked river, the girls lookedquickly up and down the street for a glimpse of their former passenger.

  "There she is!" Louise cried. "Why, she's walking straight to the docks!"

  The two girls now were completely mystified and not a little worried. Atthis late hour, the waterfront was deserted.

  Penny watched the retreating figure for a moment, and then swung the cardoor open.

  "That girl can't know what she's doing!" she decided. "I'm going afterher!"

  "For our pains, we may be told to mind our own affairs."

  "That's beside the point, Lou. Something's wrong."

  Without taking time to lock the car, the two girls hurried down the darkstreet toward the docks. Far ahead they could see the one they pursuedwalking swiftly. Then in the blinding, whirling snow, they lost sight ofher.

  Reaching the waterfront, Penny and Louise gazed about in disbelief andbewilderment. The girl had vanished.

  "Now where could she have gone--" Penny murmured, only to break off asher gaze fell upon a trail of footsteps.

  The prints led along the dock for a short distance, only to end at theriver's edge.