or informed her that no one answered.

"Mrs. Gallup must have been detained," Penny thought. "I'll not need
to hurry home now."

As she was leaving the drug store, the door of the tire shop on the
opposite side of the street opened and George Brunner emerged. Penny
hastily dodged back into the doorway to avoid being seen.

Brunner walked directly to his car, preparing to depart. Before he
could start the motor, the owner of the shop came running after him.
It was the same man who had spoken so harshly to Penny upon her
previous visit.

The two men conversed in low tones for several minutes, but as they
became more excited, their voices grew louder.

"It's too dangerous I tell you," she heard the owner of the tire shop
say. "The police are getting wise. And only a day or so ago Nichols
sent his daughter around here to spy."

"I'll deal with her," Brunner promised. "She's getting too curious for
her own good."

"After tonight I'm through," the other insisted. "The little I make
isn't worth the risk I take."

Penny could not hear Brunner's reply. He seemed to be arguing with the
tire shop owner. She felt elated and excited at the information she
had gleaned.

_After tonight_! The words burned into her mind. What coup were the
two men planning for that evening? If only she might learn!

Could it be that Brunner was involved in the auto accessory thefts? It
was generally believed that the disreputable owner of the tire shop
made a practice of receiving stolen goods. Why then, should a man in
Brunner's position stoop to have dealings with such a person unless he
too were guilty?

The evidence against the two was purely circumstantial, that Penny
plainly realized. It seemed ridiculous to connect Brunner with the
underworld and yet the very fact that no suspicion had ever been
attached to him offered a measure of safety for his dishonorable
activities.

"Dad warned me that one must move cautiously in trying to gather
evidence against influential citizens," Penny reasoned. "Yet, if I
wait until I can talk it over with him, it may be too late."

Brunner's automobile was moving away from the curbing. Penny did not
have a minute to debate. The instant that the tire shop owner vanished
inside his store, she darted to her own car.

Already Brunner was far up the street, but by speeding she managed to
approach close enough to keep him within sight.

"Perhaps I'd better take Joe into my confidence,