The Penny Parker Megapack: 15 Complete Novels (233 page)

“Did Rhett impress you as a man who might dabble in black magic practice to gain his ends?” Mr. Parker inquired.

Professor Kennedy dropped a log on the fire before he answered. Considering his words carefully, he said:

“Undoubtedly, Mr. Rhett would have the knowledge, but he struck me as a man of unusual character. Suppose you explain more fully what you have in mind.”

Professor Kennedy listened soberly as Penny recounted her many observations while at the Rhett mansion. He frowned slightly as she told how Mrs. Rhett had found the burnt match ends tied with scarlet string. When she disclosed how Lorinda and she destroyed the wooden doll, he no longer could remain silent.

“Indeed, you are correct in thinking someone may be trying to practice a little jungle magic!” he exclaimed. “Mrs. Rhett may be in grave danger unless we take counter-measures.”

“But why should anyone seek to harm her?” Penny inquired. “You don’t think she’ll actually be physically hurt?”

“Her mind will be influenced—poisoned,” the professor explained. “Oh, I don’t mean a drug will be used, but there are subtle and just as effective ways. Now those burned match ends and the doll are only symbols, harmless in themselves, yet they are a means by which Mrs. Rhett may be made seriously ill.”

“Merely by the use of suggestion?”

“Yes.”

“But it’s all such nonsense!” Penny protested.

“To you—yes. But not to Mrs. Rhett. Tell me, does she know that the doll existed?”

“Yes, she learned about it—probably from Antón or Celeste.”

The professor nodded. “The intended victim
always knows
,” he declared. “By one means or another he is informed through those who seek his ruin. To be effective, the person must fear the mumbo-jumbo hocus-pocus.”

“Mrs. Rhett does fear it,” Penny confirmed. “What’s worse, she already believes herself marked for long illness. She actually looked ill today.”

“She is mentally sick, and the symptoms will develop, unless counter-measures quickly are adopted.”

“What do you advise, Professor?” asked Mr. Parker. “Perhaps if Mrs. Rhett were sent away from Riverview for a short while—”

“It would be of no avail, for the basic belief that she is ill would remain in her mind. No, this thing, must be plucked out at the root. The doll has been burned. That is good! Now the one who seeks to will this sickness upon Mrs. Rhett must be found and confronted with his crime.”

“We don’t know who is behind it,” said Mr. Parker.

“I read in the papers Mr. Rhett has vanished. However, I wonder, is it not possible he actually is still in Riverview?”

“But you said yourself, Mr. Rhett doesn’t appear the type of man to do such a ghastly thing,” broke in Mr. Parker.

“So I did, but we dare not close our eyes to such a possibility. I believe you mentioned two servants, Antón and Celeste, who also are versed in cult practices, no doubt.”

“Celeste is the one I suspect!” cried Penny. “But she has no good reason for hating Mrs. Rhett who seemingly always has been kind to her.”

“Regardless, my advice is that the two servants be watched closely. And when the guilty person is found, as he must be, ordinary threats or punishments are likely to prove useless in dealing with him. He must be fought with his own superstitious weapons.”

Mr. Parker and Penny talked on and on with the professor whose discussion of the effects of auto-suggestion only served to heighten their anxiety regarding Mrs. Rhett. When they left the house at midnight, Penny was deeply depressed.

“It’s all very well for the professor to say ‘find the guilty party and fight him with his own weapons,’” she declared, “but how can we do it? In the first place, Lorinda is our only contact with the Rhett household.”

“Secondly, we’re not gifted in all this hocus-pocus. It’s a case for the police,” added her father.

“But we have no proof of anything,” Penny pointed out.

“True,” agreed her father. “I may talk to the police chief about it. Meanwhile, we’re interested in keeping abreast of developments for the
Star
. If you’re sent out there again, be watchfully alert, but say nothing to Lorinda or anyone else about your suspicions. The case could take an ugly turn. In that event, I don’t want you involved.”

“It’s fun working on the story, Dad. But I also want to help Lorinda and especially her mother.”

Penny realized her father had given excellent advice, and made up her mind to follow it. She became thoughtfully silent as they motored home.

“Wonder what the news is tonight?” Mr. Parker remarked, halting the car at a street corner to buy a newspaper.

Glaring headlines occupied the front page. Mr. Parker’s first thought was that the missing banker had been found. He snapped on the interior car light to read the banner.

His stunned silence as he stared at it, caused Penny to peer over his shoulder. The lead story was not about Mr. Rhett’s mysterious disappearance. Instead, the bold black type proclaimed:

“STORM WARNINGS POSTED. RIVERVIEW BELIEVED TO BE IN PATH OF APPROACHING HURRICANE!”

CHAPTER 15

MRS. RHETT’S ILLNESS

News that a violent storm was sweeping toward Riverview held the front pages throughout Monday, and became almost the only topic of conversation on the streets.

Skies remained sunny, however, and presently fears were somewhat quieted by national wire service reports that the hurricane was believed to be veering eastward. Government observers now were quoted as predicting only the edge of the hurricane would strike the coast, and inland states might escape unscathed.

Accordingly, business went on much the same as usual. Lulled by the knowledge that never in the history of Riverview had a hurricane struck, the citizens now and then glanced at the falling barometer, but otherwise gave the matter little thought.

Although the disappearance of Hamilton Rhett had been crowded completely from the front pages, Penny did not lose interest in the case. Twice she telephoned the mansion, only to receive no response. She did not visit the estate, for Editor DeWitt kept her busy with special assignments.

After school Tuesday, Penny was sent to the Hanover Steamship Co. offices to interview a tugboat captain. Enroute she ran into Louise Sidell. Her chum regarded her accusingly.

“A great pal you turned out to be, Penny Parker! Remember—you left me standing at the door of the First National.”

“I’m terribly sorry, Lou,” Penny apologized. “I was inside much longer than I expected to be and when I came out, you were gone.”

“You never even telephoned to tell me what happened, you egg! I read all about it in the papers.”

“You may have read part of the story, but not all,”Penny corrected. “I called for you on Sunday when you were out, and since then I’ve been busier than a hop toad. Right now I’m on my way to the steamship office. Want to come along?”

“I suppose it’s the only way I’ll get any information out of you,” Louise grumbled, falling into step.

As they walked toward the docks, she asked leading questions and, by the time they reached the steamship offices, had gleaned most of the story.

“So you believe Mr. Rhett may be somewhere in Riverview?” she mused.

“Jerry and I thought so at first, but we’ve nearly abandoned the idea. The only clue we uncovered led to a dead end.”

Pausing near the tugboat office, the girls stood for a moment watching waves pound against the docks. A chill, persistent wind had sprung up which penetrated their light clothing.

“B-r! It’s getting colder!” Louise shivered, huddling close to Penny. “Maybe that storm the newspapers predicted is heading in this direction after all!”

Entering the tugboat office, the girls sought Captain Dolphin. The genial old fellow had been interviewed so many times that he knew the story of his life almost by heart and recited it with great gusto. Penny took a few notes and arose to leave.

“What do you think of the weather, captain?” she inquired casually.

His answer surprised her. “We don’t like the look of ’er here,” he said, frowning. “Barometer’s been falling all day. I’m callin’ in all my tugs off the river.”

“Then you believe the storm actually may strike here?”

“We’re not takin’ any chances,” replied the captain. “Once when I was a young twirp shippin’ on a freighter, a hurricane struck us off the Florida Keys. We made port, but it was by the skin of a shark’s tooth! Never want to see another storm like that one!”

Penny pocketed her notebook, and the girls went outside into the rising wind. More conscious now of its icy bite, they huddled for a moment in the shelter of the office doorway.

Only a few doors away stood the Hartmann Steamship Company offices, whose large river boats plied up the Coast and on to distant world ports.

Through the plate glass window of the ticket office, Penny’s attention was attracted to a slightly stooped man in rumpled clothing who was talking to the man in charge. He turned slightly, and as she saw his profile, she was struck by his remarkable resemblance to the newspaper photograph of Hamilton Rhett.

“Lou, see that man in the ticket office!” she exclaimed. “Doesn’t he look like the missing banker?”

Louise studied the stranger a moment and replied:“How should I know? I’ve never seen him.”

“Surely you saw the picture the
Star
published!”

“Yes, but I didn’t pay much attention.”

The man now was leaving the ticket office. Impulsively, Penny stepped forward to intercept him. “I beg your pardon—” she began.

Alert, wary eyes bore into her own as the stranger gazed straight at her for an instant. He said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

“Aren’t you Hamilton Rhett?” Penny asked, deciding to make a direct approach.

“No, you are mistaken,” the man replied.

Pushing past Penny, he went hurriedly on down the street.

“You see!” commented Louise. “That’s what you get for jumping to such rash conclusions!”

Penny, however, was far from convinced that she had made a mistake.

“If that man wasn’t Mr. Rhett, it was his double! Lou, did you notice if he wore a serpent ring?”

“He kept both hands in his pockets.”

“That’s so, he did!” agreed Penny. “Wait here for me! I’ll ask the ticket agent a few questions!”

She was inside the office perhaps five minutes. When she returned, visibly excited, she glanced anxiously up the street. The stranger had vanished from view down the short street, apparently having turned at the first corner.

“We must overtake him!” Penny cried. “I have a hunch we let Mr. Rhett pull a fast one!”

Hurriedly, the girls walked to the corner. The stranger was nowhere to be seen. Whether he had disappeared into a building, down an alley or another street, they had no way of knowing. Penny stopped two pedestrians to inquire, but no one had noticed the man.

“We’ve lost him!” she exclaimed to Louise. “How disgusting!”

“What did the ticket man tell you, Penny?”

“That the man was inquiring about steamship accommodations to New Orleans, and on to South America. He didn’t give his name.”

“Then how can you be sure it was Mr. Rhett?”

“It’s only a hunch. But the agent said the man was wearing a ring—he didn’t notice the type.”

“Any number of men wear rings,” Louise scoffed. “Penny, aren’t you indulging in a little wishful thinking? You want to find Mr. Rhett so badly you’re letting your imagination run riot.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Penny admitted with a sigh. “Anyway, we’ve lost the fellow, so we may as well forget it.”

Saying goodbye to Louise, she hastened off to the
Star
office to write up the interview with the tugboat captain. However, she could not put her mind on her work, and after making three false starts, she decided to postpone the story until after dinner.

Fortified by a good meal, she wrote the story much easier, but Penny was far from satisfied when she turned her finished copy in at the desk.

“Guess I’m off the beam tonight,” she remarked to Jerry. “It took me an age to write that story.”

Penny glanced at the clock. Time had passed swiftly for it was now after nine.

“You look tired,” observed the night editor. “There’s nothing more for you to do. Why don’t you skip out?”

“Guess I will,” agreed Penny, reaching for her hat. “I have a geometry test coming up tomorrow.”

She was through the swinging barrier, and half way down the hall when Jerry called to her: “Telephone for you, Penny.”

With a sigh, she returned to take the call. Weariness vanished and she became wide-awake as she recognized Lorinda Rhett’s voice at the other end of the line.

“Miss Parker?” the girl inquired in an agitated voice.

“Speaking.”

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Lorinda went on, “but could you possibly come to our house right away?”