of her chum
as they saw Betty Davis disappear inside the cottage.

"I'm not a mind reader," Penny returned with a shrug. "The air seems
to be filled with mysteries this evening."

She then told of her experience in shadowing the man whom she had
believed to be Rap Molberg. Susan listened in amazement.

"You must have lost your senses, Penny Nichols! If you turn up missing
some morning, it will be easy to guess the reason why!"

"Perhaps it was a foolish thing to do. But I thought if I could learn
Rap Molberg's hideout it would be a big help to Dad. Investigators
from the agency have been searching days for that man.

"You should leave the job to them then," Susan advised severely.

"I guess I will," Penny said ruefully. "At any rate, I failed at it."

After dropping Susan off at the Altman residence, she drove on to her
own home. Mr. Nichols was nervously pacing the living room floor when
Penny entered.

"I'm glad you're here," he said in relief. "Mrs. Gallup told me you
had gone off after receiving a telephone call. I was afraid it might
have been a frame-up."

"I went to meet Susan. Didn't Mrs. Gallup explain?"

"No, but it doesn't matter now. I shouldn't have worried only things
have been popping in the city tonight."

"The tire theft gang is at work again?"

"Yes, they made a big haul. When the story gets out, the Nichols
Detective Agency isn't going to appear in a very good light."

"You haven't been working long on the case, Dad."

"True, but to date the result of our investigation has been
disappointing. This haul tonight has all the earmarks of Rap Molberg's
hand, yet my men can find no trace of him in the city."

Penny could not restrain her news an instant longer. She half expected
that her father would scold her for the taxicab escapade, but to her
surprise he became mildly excited.

"Can you give me an accurate description of the man, Penny?"

"He was about five and a half feet in height and wore workman's
clothes."

"Undoubtedly, a disguise," the detective interposed.

"His eyes were dark. The expression of his mouth was sullen. His
teeth were uneven."

"Did you notice a scar on his cheek?"

"No."

"The mark isn't really significant, for Rap Molberg would be clever
enough to hide it. Did you observe anything more?"

"He seemed extremely nervous. And the telephone conversation made me
suspicious. Oh, yes, when he drove away I copied down the license
number."