The Penny Parker Megapack: 15 Complete Novels (170 page)

“This child doesn’t know what she’s talking about!” the widow declared irritably. “Mr. Parker doesn’t mind if I use the car.”

“Then please ask him!” Penny challenged.

“Why not allow me to do it for you,” the hotel clerk offered. “Wait here and I’ll call Mr. Parker. He can settle the entire matter.”

“No, don’t bother him,” Mrs. Deline decided suddenly. “I’ve changed my mind anyhow. After such a commotion I wouldn’t enjoy a ride.”

“In any case, I’d prefer to call Mr. Parker,” said the hotel man.

“Do,” urged Penny in deep satisfaction. “We’ll wait here.”

“I’m going back to bed,” Mrs. Deline announced, getting out of the car.

She followed the hotel clerk into the building. Left in possession of the car, Penny reparked it and locked the doors. Then, feeling a trifle uneasy, she sauntered into the hotel.

The lobby was deserted. Penny climbed the stairs, and in the hallway leading to her room, met her father and the hotel clerk. Summoned from bed, Mr. Parker garbed in dressing gown and slippers, looked more annoyed than alarmed.

“Penny, what is this I hear?” he inquired. “I can’t get the straight of the story.”

Penny drew a deep breath. “Well, it was this way, Dad. I awakened and discovered that Mrs. Deline had disappeared with the car keys.”

“Mrs. Deline!”

“Yes, I think she meant to steal the car. But she explained that she only intended to borrow it for a night ride.”

“Anything wrong about that?”

Penny regarded her father in blank amazement.

“Why, Dad, would you borrow another person’s car without asking?”

“No, but Mrs. Deline probably didn’t stop to consider the matter. No doubt she was too thoughtful to awaken you.”

“Thoughtful, my left eye! Dad, I’m sure Mrs. Deline meant to steal the car. Either that or she had a very important appointment—a meeting with someone she wasn’t willing to tell us about.”

“Nonsense!” Mr. Parker exclaimed impatiently. “Penny, you made a serious mistake in refusing to allow Mrs. Deline to use the car. She is our guest and I’m afraid you were rude.”

“But Dad—”

“You must apologize to her at once.”

Penny did not answer for a moment. She bent to tie her flapping shoe strings and took her time at the task. When she straightened, she said quietly:

“All right, Dad. If you say so, I’ll apologize. But I don’t think I was wrong.”

“We’ll not discuss it now, Penny. Suppose you turn the car keys over to me and go to your room.”

Penny gave up the keys and without another word went down the hall. Tears stung her eyes, but she brushed them away. She knew she had been unpleasant to Mrs. Deline. Nevertheless, she felt that her father had not been entirely just in his attitude.

Entering the bedroom, she hesitated before turning on the light. Mrs. Deline had undressed and was in bed. She ignored the girl.

“I—I guess I made a bad mistake,” Penny began awkwardly. “I shouldn’t have been so rude.”

Mrs. Deline rolled over in bed. Her dark eyes flashed and she made no effort to hide her dislike.

“So you admit it?” she asked. “Well, we will forget the matter. Do not speak of it to me again.”

In silence Penny undressed and hung up her coat and dress. As she prepared to snap out the light, she noticed that Mrs. Deline still wore the jade elephant charm about her neck.

“Aren’t you afraid you’ll break the chain?” she asked before she thought. “You forgot to take it off.”

Mrs. Deline raised herself on an elbow, fairly glaring at Penny.

“Will you kindly worry about your own affairs?” she asked insolently. “I’ve had about all I can take from you in one night.”

“But I didn’t mean anything personal.”

“Good night!” said Mrs. Deline with emphasis.

Penny turned out the light and crept into her own bed. She felt beaten and hurt. It was easy to understand why Mrs. Deline disliked her, but her own attitude was bewildering.

“I distrusted the woman the instant I met her,” she reflected. “Perhaps I had no reason for it at first. Now I’m not so sure.”

Penny rolled over to face the window. Moonlight was flooding into the room. In the diffused light the girl could see Mrs. Deline plainly. The woman had propped herself up in bed and was fingering the jade green elephant charm which hung on its slender chain. Though Penny could not be certain, she thought the lid of the figure lay open and that Mrs. Deline quickly snapped it shut.

“Good night, Mrs. Deline,” she ventured, still trying to make amends.

The widow did not answer. Instead she turned her back and pretended to sleep.

CHAPTER 4

NO CAMPING ALLOWED

Breakfast the next morning was a trying ordeal for Penny. Over the coffee cups Mr. Parker apologized to Mrs. Deline for what he termed his daughter’s “inexcusable behavior.”

The widow responded graciously, quite in contrast to her attitude of the previous night. Without saying much, she conveyed the impression that Penny had been completely in the wrong, and was in fact, a spoiled child who must be humored.

The journey on to Sunset Beach was equally unpleasant. Mr. Parker and Mrs. Deline seemed so absorbed in animated conversation, that they scarcely spoke or noticed Penny. Wedged between the luggage and the camping equipment, she indulged in self pity.

“At least we’ll get rid of Mrs. Deline when we reach Sunset Beach,” she cheered herself.

Presently the car rounded a wide curve in the road, and Penny caught her first glimpse of the seashore. Big waves were rolling in, washing an endless stretch of white sand.

“Oh, isn’t it beautiful!” she exclaimed, brightening. “I wish we were camping right on the beach instead of in the State Forest.”

“I fear the authorities wouldn’t permit that,” Mr. Parker laughed. “By the way, Penny, is your heart really set on this camping trip?”

Penny gave him a quick look. “Yes, it is, Dad,” she said briefly. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was thinking that we’d be a lot more comfortable at one of the big hotels. We’d be right on the beach and—”

“Oh, I was just talking when I said I’d like to camp on the beach,” Penny cut in. “I’d like the State Forest much better.”

“Then we’ll go there just as we planned,” Mr. Parker said, sighing. “But you know I never was cut out for a rough and tumble life, Penny. I’m far from sure I’ll make a good camper.”

The car rolled on along the ocean road, presently entering the little village of Sunset Beach. Normally a tourist center, the town now was practically deserted, and the Parkers had chosen it because it was within easy driving distance of Riverview. Nearly all of the fine hotels along the water front were closed. However, the Crystal Inn remained in operation, and it was there that Mrs. Deline had engaged a suite.

The car swung into the driveway and halted in front of the hotel. An attendant did not come immediately so Mr. Parker himself unloaded the widow’s luggage. Mrs. Deline gave him a dazzling smile as she bade him goodbye.

“Oh, we’ll not say goodbye just yet,” Mr. Parker corrected. “Penny and I will camp only a short distance away. We’ll run down to the beach often.”

“Do,” urged Mrs. Deline. “I have no friends here and I’ll be happy to see you.”

Mr. Parker carried the widow’s luggage into the hotel. While he was absent, Penny moved up to the front seat. She tuned in a radio program, listening to it with growing impatience. Finally her father sauntered out of the hotel.

“I nearly gave you up,” Penny remarked pointedly.

Mr. Parker slid behind the steering wheel and started the car. When they were driving along the ocean front road he said quietly:

“Penny, I can’t imagine what has come over you lately. You’re not in the least like the little girl who was my pal and companion. Why have you been so unkind to Mrs. Deline?”

“I just don’t like her,” Penny said flatly. “Furthermore, I distrust her.”

“You’ve acted very stupid and silly.”

“I’m sorry if you’re ashamed of me,” Penny replied glaring at her own reflection in the car mirror. “At any rate, I saved the car for you.”

“That accusation was ridiculous, Penny. Mrs. Deline is a wealthy woman who could buy herself a dozen cars in ordinary times. She merely gave in to a sudden whim.”

“Just what do you know about Mrs. Deline, Dad?”

“Not a great deal,” Mr. Parker admitted. “I met her at the club. She served as a special War correspondent in China, I believe. She has traveled all over the world and speaks a half dozen languages.”

“I never heard of her until she came to Riverview,”Penny said with a sniff. “Nor did I ever see any of her writing in print. If you ask me, she’s a phony.”

“Let’s not discuss the subject further,” Mr. Parker replied, losing patience. “When you’re older, I hope you’ll learn to be more gracious and charitable.”

Penny subsided into hurt silence. In all her life she could recall only a few occasions when her father had spoken so sternly to her. Close to tears, she studied the tumbling surface of the ocean with concentrated interest.

In silence the Parkers drove through the village, stopping at a filling station to inquire the way to Rhett State Forest. Supplies were purchased at one of the stores, and by that time it was noon. At Mr. Parker’s suggestion they stopped at a roadside inn for lunch. After that they drove on a half mile beyond the outskirts of Sunset Beach, past a tall lighthouse to the end of the pavement.

“We follow a dirt road for a quarter of a mile to Bradley Knoll,” Mr. Parker said, consulting directions he had jotted down on an envelope.

“A mud road, you mean,” Penny corrected, peering ahead at the narrow, twisting highway. “It really rained here last night.”

The car had no chains. Not without misgiving, Mr. Parker drove off the pavement onto the slippery road. The car wallowed about and at times skidded dangerously.

“Once we reach the State park we’ll have gravel roads,” Penny said, studying a map.

“
If
we get there,” Mr. Parker corrected.

Barely had he spoken than the car went out of control. It took a long skid, turned crosswise in the road, and then the rear wheels slipped into a deep ditch. Opening the car door, Penny saw that the car was bogged down to the hub caps.

Mr. Parker tried without success to pull out of the ditch. Alighting, he inspected the rear wheels which had spun deeper and deeper into the mud.

“Not a chance to get out of here without help,” he said crossly. “I’ll have to find someone to give us a hand.”

Farther down the road stood a weatherbeaten farmhouse. Penny offered to go there to summon help, but her father insisted upon doing it himself. He presently returned with a farmer and a small tractor. After considerable difficulty the car was pulled out of the ditch.

“How much do I owe you?” Mr. Parker asked the man.

“Ten dollars.”

The amount seemed far too high for the service rendered, but Mr. Parker paid it without comment. His shoes were caked with mud, and so were the trouser legs of his suit. Only by an effort of will did he keep his temper under control.

“Figurin’ on camping in the Rhett Forest?” the farmer asked Mr. Parker.

“That’s right. Is it much farther?”

“Only a little piece down the road. You’ll strike gravel at the next corner. You can make it if you’re careful. I don’t calculate you’ll have much fun camping in the Park though.”

“Why not?” asked Penny.

“We’ve had a lot o’ rain lately. The mosquitoes are bitin’ something fierce. And the ground’s mighty damp.”

“We have a floor to our tent,” Penny said optimistically. “I think camping will be fun. I’ve always wanted to try it.”

The farmer started the tractor. “Then don’t let me discourage you,” he shrugged. “So long.”

Mr. Parker rejoined Penny in the car. “Why not call this whole thing off?” he suggested. “We could go to the hotel and—”

“No, Dad! You promised me!”

“All right, Penny, if that’s the way you feel, but I know we’re asking for punishment.”

By careful driving the Parkers reached the gravel road without mishap. At the entrance to the Rhett Park area they were stopped by a pleasant, middle-aged forest ranger who took down the license number of the car.

“Be careful about your camp fire,” he instructed. “Only last week several acres of timber were destroyed at Alton. We’re not certain whether it was started by a camper or was a case of sabotage. In any case, one can’t be too careful.”

“We will be,” promised Mr. Parker.

“Camp only in the designated sites,” the ranger added. “I’ll be around later on to see how you’re getting along.”

Once beyond the gateway arch, Penny’s sagging spirits began to revive. The road curled lazily between dense masses of timber fringed by artistic old-fashioned rail fences. Numerous signs pointed to trails that invited exploration.

“Oh, Dad, it’s really nice here!” she cried. “We’ll have a wonderful time!”