Signal in the Dark Page 9

  CHAPTER 8 _A SWINGING CHAIN_

  Approaching the _Snark_, Penny saw several men moving about on theunlighted decks. But as she drew nearer, their forms melted into thedarkness. When she reached the dock, the vessel appeared deserted.

  Yet, peering upward at the towering vessel, the girl had a feeling thatshe was being watched. She was satisfied that the rescue of the man whocalled himself James Webster had been observed. She was equally certainthat those aboard the _Snark_ were aware of her presence now.

  "Ahoy, the _Snark_!" she called impulsively.

  There was no answer from aboard the tied-up vessel, but footsteps poundeddown the dock. Penny whirled around to find herself the target for aflashlight. Momentarily blinded, she could see nothing. Then, the lightshifted away from her face, and she recognized a wharf guard.

  "What you doing here?" he demanded gruffly.

  Though tempted to tell the entire story, Penny held her tongue. "Justlooking," she mumbled.

  "Didn't I hear you call out?"

  "Yes."

  "Know anyone aboard the _Snark?_"

  "No."

  "Then move along," the guard ordered curtly.

  Penny did not argue. Slipping quietly away, she sought a brightly lightedstreet which led toward the newspaper office. Midway there, she stoppedat a corner drugstore to call home and inquire for her father. Mrs. Weemstold her that so far as she knew Mr. Parker had returned to the _Star_office to do a little extra work.

  "Then I'll catch him there," Penny declared.

  "Is anything wrong?" the housekeeper inquired anxiously.

  "Just something in connection with a news story," Penny reassured her."I'll be home soon."

  Hanging up the receiver before the housekeeper could ask any morequestions, she walked swiftly on to the _Star_ building. The front doorwas locked, but Penny had her own key. Letting herself in through thedarkened advertising room, she climbed the stairs to the news floor.

  A few members of the Sunday staff were working at their desks, butotherwise the room was deserted. Typewriters, like hooded ghosts, stoodin rigid ranks.

  Pausing to chat for a moment with the Sunday editor, Penny asked if herfather were in the building.

  "He was in his office a few minutes ago," the man replied. "I don't knowif he left or not."

  Going on through the long newsroom, Penny saw that her father's officewas dark. The door remained locked.

  Disappointed, she started to turn back when she noticed a light burningin the photography room. At this hour she knew no one would be workingthere, unless Salt Sommers or one of the other photographers had decidedto develop and print a few of his own pictures.

  "Dad, are you there?" she called.

  No one answered, but Penny heard a scurry of footsteps.

  "Salt!" she called, thinking it must be one of the photographers.

  Again there was no reply, but a gust of wind came suddenly down thecorridor. The door of the photography room slammed shut.

  Startled, Penny decided to investigate. She pushed open the door. Thelight was on, but no one was in the room.

  "Salt!" she called again, thinking that the photographer might be in thedarkroom.

  He did not reply. As she started forward to investigate, the swingingchain of the skylight drew her attention. The glass panels were closedand there was no breeze in the room. Yet the brass chain swung back andforth as if it had been agitated only a moment before.

  "Queer!" thought Penny, staring upward. "Could anyone have come in herethrough that skylight?"

  The idea seemed fantastic. She could think of no reason why anyone shouldseek such a difficult means of entering the newspaper office. To herknowledge, nothing of great value was kept in the photography rooms.

  Yet, the fact remained that the light was on, the chain was swaying backand forth, and a door had slammed as if from a gust of wind.

  Studying the skylight with keen interest, Penny decided that it would bepossible and not too difficult for a person on the roof to raise theglass panels, and by means of the chain, drop down to the floor. Butcould a prowler reverse the process?

  Penny would have dismissed the feat as impossible, had not her gazefocused upon an old filing cabinet which stood against the wall, almostdirectly beneath the skylight. Inspecting it, she was disturbed to findimprints of a man's shoe on its top surface.

  "Someone was in here!" Penny thought. "To get out, he climbed up on thiscabinet!"

  The brass handles of the cabinet drawers offered convenient steps. As shetried them, the cabinet nearly toppled over, but she reached the topwithout catastrophe. By standing on tiptoe, her head and shoulders wouldjust pass through the skylight.

  Pulling the brass chain, she opened it, and peered out onto the darkroof. No one was in sight. In the adjoining building, lights burned in anumber of offices.

  Suddenly the door of the photography room opened. Startled, Penny duckeddown so fast that she bumped her head.

  "Well, for Pete's sake!" exclaimed a familiar voice. "What are you doingup there?"

  Penny was relieved to recognize Salt. She closed the skylight and droppedlightly to the floor.

  "Looking for termites?" the photographer asked.

  "Two legged ones! Salt, someone has been prowling about in here! Whoeverhe was, he came in through this skylight."

  "What makes you think so, kitten?" Salt looked mildly amused and not inthe least convinced.

  Penny told him what had happened and showed him the footprints on thefiling cabinet. Only then did the photographer take her seriously.

  "Well, this is something!" he exclaimed. "But who would sneak in here andfor what reason?"

  "Do you have anything valuable in the darkroom?"

  "Only our cameras. Let's see if they're missing."

  Striding across the room, Salt flung open the door of the inner darkroom,and snapped on a light. One glance assured him that the cameras remaineduntouched. But several old films were scattered on the floor. Pickingthem up, he examined them briefly, and tossed them into a paper basket.

  "Someone has been here all right," he said softly. "But what was thefellow after?"

  "Films perhaps."

  "We haven't anything of value here, Penny. If we get a good picture weuse it right away."

  Methodically, Salt examined the room, but could find nothing missing.

  "Perhaps the person, whoever he was, didn't get what he was after," Pennyspeculated. "I'm inclined to think this isn't his first visit here."

  Questioned by Salt, she revealed Elda Hunt's recent experience in thephotography room.

  "That dizzy dame!" he dismissed the subject. "She wouldn't know whethershe saw anything or not."

  "Something frightened her," Penny insisted. "It may have been this sameman trying to get in. Can't the skylight be locked?"

  "Why, I suppose so," Salt agreed. "The only trouble is that this roomgets pretty stuffy in the daytime. We need the fresh air."

  "At least it should be locked when no one is here."

  "I'll see that it is," Salt promised. "But it's not likely the prowlerwill come back again--especially as you nearly caught him."

  It was growing late. Convinced that her father had left the _Star_building, Penny decided to take a bus home. As she turned to leave, sheasked Salt carelessly:

  "By the way, did you know Ben Bartell?"

  "Fairly well," he returned. "Why?"

  "Oh, I met him tonight. He's had a run of hard luck."

  "So I hear."

  "Salt, what did Ben do, that caused him to be blacklisted with all thenewspapers?"

  "Well, for one thing, he socked an editor on the jaw."

  "Jason Cordell of the _Mirror_?"

  "Yes, they got into a fight of some sort. Ben was discharged, and hedidn't take it very well."

  "Was he a hard drinker?"

  "Ben? Not that I ever heard. I used to think he was a pretty fair
reporter, but he made enemies."

  Penny nodded, and without explaining why the information interested her,bade Salt goodnight. Leaving the _Star_ building by the back stairway,she walked slowly toward the bus stop.

  As she reached the corner, she heard the scream of a police car siren.Down the street came the ambulance, pulling up only a short distanceaway. Observing that a crowd had gathered, Penny quickened her step tosee who had been injured.

  Pushing her way through the throng of curious pedestrians, she saw aheavy-set man lying unconscious on the pavement. Policemen were liftinghim onto a stretcher.

  "What happened?" Penny asked the man nearest her.

  "Just a drunk," he said with a shrug. "The fellow was weaving all overthe street, and finally collapsed. A storekeeper called the ambulancecrew."

  Penny nodded and started to move away. Just then, the ambulance menpushed past her, and she caught a clear glimpse of the man on thestretcher. She recognized him as Edward McClusky, a deep water diver forthe Evirude Salvage Company. She knew too that under no circumstances didhe ever touch intoxicating liquors.

  "Wait!" she exclaimed to the startled ambulance crew. "I know that man!Where are you taking him?"