Guilt of the Brass Thieves

  CHAPTER 13 _THE STOLEN TROPHY_

  Hand in hand the two girls tiptoed to the entranceway of the lounge.Distinctly they could hear someone moving about in the darkness, and thesound came from the direction of a small cabin which the Barkers used asan office room.

  "Pop!" Sally called sharply. "Is that you?"

  She was answered only by complete silence. Then a plank creaked. Theprowler was stealing stealthily toward the girls!

  "Pop!" shouted Sally at the top of her lungs, groping to find a lightswitch.

  Before she could illuminate the room, a man brushed past the two girls.Penny seized him by the coat. A sharp object pierced her finger. She wasthrust back against the wall so hard that it knocked the breath from her.The man twisted, and jerking his coat free, dashed up the stairs.

  "Pop!" Sally called again.

  Captain Barker, armed with revolver and flashlight, came out of hiscabin. By this time, Sally had found and turned on the light switch.

  "A prowler!" she cried. "He ran up on deck."

  "Stay below!" ordered the captain. "I'll get him!"

  Penny and Sally had no intention of missing any of the excitement. Closeat Captain Barker's heels, they darted up the companionway to the deck.To the starboard, the trio heard a slight splash, then the sound ofsteady dipping oars.

  "Someone's getting away in a rowboat!" Sally cried.

  Captain Barker ran to the railing. "Halt!" he shouted. "Halt or I'llfire!"

  The man, a mere shadow in the mist arising from the river, rowed faster.Captain Barker fired two shots, purposely high. The man ducked down intothe boat, and a moment later switched on an outboard motor, which rapidlycarried him beyond view.

  "Did you see who the fellow was, Sally?" the captain demanded wrathfully.

  "No, it was too dark. Do you think he got away with the money in thesafe?"

  Fearing the worst, the trio descended to an office room adjoining thepassenger lounge. A chair had been overturned there, but the door of thesafe remained locked.

  "You girls must have surprised him before he had time to steal themoney," Captain Barker declared in relief. "No harm done, but this is thefirst time in six years that anyone tried to sneak aboard the _Queen_.We'll have to keep a better watch from now on."

  As the girls turned to leave the cabin, Sally saw that Penny was lookingat the third finger of her right hand.

  "Why, you're hurt!" she cried.

  Penny's hand was smeared with blood which came from a tiny pin-prickwound on the finger.

  "It's nothing," she insisted.

  Sally ran to a cabinet for gauze, iodine and cotton. "How did it happen?"she asked.

  "I tried to stop the prowler. As I grabbed his coat, something stuck myfinger. It must have been a pin."

  The wound was superficial and did not pain Penny. Sally wrapped thefinger for her, and then after Captain Barker had said he would remain upfor awhile, they returned to bed.

  Throughout the night there were no further disturbances. At dawn thegirls arose, feeling only a little tired as the result of their night'sadventure. They had time for a quick swim in the river before breakfastand disgraced themselves by eating six pancakes each.

  "The crew will be coming aboard soon," Sally said, glancing at her watch."I usually sweep out the lounge and straighten up a bit before we makeour first passenger run."

  Penny, who had nothing to do until Jack could come to take her back tothe island, eagerly offered to help. Armed with brooms and dust rags, thegirls went below.

  In the doorway, Penny paused, staring at the overhead beam.

  "Why, Sally," she commented in astonishment. "What did you do with thelantern trophy? Take it down?"

  "No, it's still there."

  Alarmed by Penny's question, Sally moved past her, gazing at the beam.Where the brass lantern had hung, there now was only a neatly severedchain.

  "Why, it's gone!" she exclaimed in disbelief.

  "Wasn't it here last night when we went to bed?"

  "Of course."

  "Then it was stolen last night!"

  Dropping broom and dustpan, Sally brought a chair and inspected thechain. Obviously it had been cut by sharp metal scissors.

  "That prowler who came aboard last night must have done it!" sheexclaimed angrily. "Oh, what a mean, low trick!"

  As the full realization of what the loss would mean came to her, Sallysank down on the chair, a picture of dejection.

  "I'm responsible for the trophy, Penny! I'll be expected to produce itbefore the final race. Oh, what can we do?"

  "Why do you suppose the thief took the lantern and nothing else?"

  "Someone may have done it for pure spite. But I'm more inclined to thinkthe person came aboard to steal our money in the office safe. The lanternhung here in a conspicuous place and he may have taken it on impulse."

  Intending to notify Captain Barker of the loss, the girls started up thecompanionway. Abruptly, Penny paused, her attention drawn to an objectlying on one of the steps. It was a circular badge with a picture and anumber on it. No name. Such identifications, she knew, were used by manyindustrial plants.

  "Where did this come from?" she murmured, picking it up.

  The face on the badge was unfamiliar to her. The man had dark, bushyhair, sunken eyes and prominent cheekbones.

  Sally turned to examine the identification pin. "Why, this badge camefrom the Gandiss factory!" she exclaimed, and studied the pictureintently.

  "Did you ever see the man before?"

  "I can't place him, Penny. Yet I know I have seen him somewhere."

  "The man should be easy to trace from this picture and number. When Icaught hold of his clothing last night, I must have pulled off the pin.That was how my finger was pricked."

  As the girls examined the pin, they heard a commotion on deck and thesound of voices. Before they could go up the steps to investigate, JackGandiss 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 brass lantern had hung.

  "Say, what became of the trophy?" he demanded sharply. "You decided totake 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 nothingfor a moment.

  "You warned me," Sally hastened on. "Oh, it's all my fault. It wasconceited and selfish of me to display the trophy here. I deserveeverything 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'treplace the trophy for there's no other like it. An ordinary cup neverwould seem the same."

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

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

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

  "Maybe it won't be necessary to tell," Jack said slowly. "One of us isalmost 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 onewould need to know that you hadn't turned it over to me. You could makesome excuse at the time of the presentation."

  Sally gazed at Jack with a new light in her eyes. "I'm truly sorry forall the hateful things I've said to you in the past," she declaredearnestly. "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. Shehastened to correct any wrong impression Jack might have gained.

  "I'm glad you made the offer you did," she said, "but I never would dreamof 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 thattime 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 thebadge, 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 afriend 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 inour own minds that the man who took the lantern is the person who lostthe badge, we can't be certain."

  "The badge may have been dropped by a passenger 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," Sallysaid stiffly. "They're the scum of the waterfront. How you can gothere--"

  Penny, who saw that another storm was brewing, quickly intervened, sayingit 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, shewhispered to Penny:

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