rofession----" Mr. Nichols began, but
Penny cut him short.

"Tell me, did Jerry Barrows come to interview you this morning?"

"No, and I very much fear we'll never see the young man. I made a
point of looking up his juvenile court record and find he has none."

"Then he must have given me a false name."

"I suspect he did, Penny."

"I guess it was silly of me to trust him. I didn't exactly believe his
story at the time, and yet he seemed like a rather decent sort too."

"I'd not worry about it any more," Mr. Nichols said kindly.

"I'm afraid I've just done another foolish thing too," Penny declared.
She then told him about the severed wheel rack.

"Why, I'd like to examine those pieces of metal," the detective said
with interest. "What did you do with them?"

"They're in the roadster. I parked the car in front of the office."

"Then I'll just go down and get them," Mr. Nichols decided. "I should
have inspected the car more carefully last night but I was in a hurry.
Wait here and I'll be back in a minute."

During her father's absence, Penny amused herself by looking through
some of the books on his desk. There were several weighty volumes
devoted to criminology and law. She found them dull and turned with
more interest to the photograph of Rap Molberg.

He had the appearance of a typical man from the underworld. His eyes
were hard and glaring; there were sullen, cruel lines about his mouth.
The only unusual mark of identification was a long jagged scar across
his left cheek.

In the outside office, a telephone rang. Penny heard Miss Arrow answer
the call. Apparently, the secretary was unaware that Mr. Nichols had
stepped from the office, for she said:

"Just a minute, please. I will connect you with him."

An instant later the telephone at Penny's elbow jangled.

She took the receiver from its hook intending to explain to the caller
that Mr. Nichols had left the office. Before she could speak, a cold,
precise masculine voice came to her over the wire.

"Just a little warning, Mr. Nichols!" the words clipped into her ear.
"Lay off the Molberg gang or else----"

Penny heard a receiver click. The wire had gone dead.

CHAPTER IV

The Molberg Gang

Penny signaled frantically for the operator's attention. It seemed
minutes before the telephone girl responded mechanically: "Number
please."

"I was disconnected with my party," Penny informed tensely. "See if
you can trace the cal