"I'm sorry," interrupted Mr. Nichols, "but the Crocker family isn't of
great interest to us. Suppose we forget about it."

"I thought you wanted to hear," retorted Mrs. Masterbrook indignantly.
She subsided into hurt silence.

Penny felt sorry that her father had discouraged the woman from
talking. Although she did not approve of idle gossip, she had been
eager to learn more about Herman Crocker and his queer relatives. She
wondered too if Mrs. Masterbrook could tell her anything about Mr.
Crocker's nephew, Walter.

Penny and her father left the housekeeper at the cottage and then drove
back to the village for supplies.

"I'm afraid I made a great mistake in hiring her," confessed the
detective. "She'll talk us crazy."

"At least you must admit it's interesting to have all the inside
information about our landlord."

"I'm not concerned in Crocker's affairs," Mr. Nichols rejoined.
"Anyway, I'd not believe a word that woman said about him. Obviously,
she bears a grudge."

Penny and her father made their purchases in one of the grocery stores,
finding the owner a pleasant, genial individual. During the course of
the conversation he remarked upon the automobile accident which had
occurred the previous night.

"It's a funny thing about it," he said. "The owner of the car
disappeared and no one seems to know the driver."

"Why, my daughter and I brought him to town last night," declared Mr.
Nichols quickly. "He was Herman Crocker's nephew, or so he told us."

"You don't say! Well, that's the first time I ever heard that Herman
had a living nephew. Shall I carry these packages out to the car for
you?"

"Yes, please," requested the detective.

The storekeeper deposited the grocery order in the automobile and then
went back into his shop.

"Dad, Mr. Crocker asked me not to tell anyone about his nephew's having
been here," Penny said as they started up Knob Hill.

"Well, I didn't make any such promise," replied her father. "I can't
see why there should be any mystery about it. Anyway, it will be
fairly easy for the police to learn the man's name by tracing the
license plates of his abandoned car."

"Yes, that's true," Penny agreed. "I can't for the life of me
understand why Walter Crocker would go back to the city without trying
to salvage his car."

"I'd not worry about it too much," smiled the detective. "For all we
know he may have left orders at one of the garages to have it hauled in
and r