Part 27 (1/2)
”Generous, fiddlesticks! I did it because it pleased me and for no other reason. Let's not talk about it any more.”
Mrs. Marborough questioned the girls concerning their exploration of the tunnel. Her disappointment over the failure to find the pearls was keen but she tried not to show it.
”I knew it was a fool's errand coming to Riverview to look for that stupid necklace!” she declared. ”Like as not, it never was hidden at Rose Acres, my sister's letter to the contrary. I intend to forget about the whole affair.”
”Oh, Mrs. Marborough, don't give up so soon,” Penny pleaded. ”Louise and I have only started to search. We may find it yet.”
”You've been very nice,” the widow said, smiling almost in a friendly way. ”I'll remember it always when I am far away.”
”Then you intend to leave Riverview?” Louise asked in disappointment.
”I must sell Rose Acres. I have no other course open.”
”Not to Jay Franklin, I hope!” Penny exclaimed.
”I have no intention of dealing with him if anyone else will make an offer. So far I have found no other person who is interested in the property.”
Drawing a deep sigh, Mrs. Marborough arose. Without much enthusiasm she invited the girls to come with her into the house, but they tactfully declined.
”We'll come again tomorrow, if you don't mind,” Penny said as she and Louise turned to leave.
”Do,” replied Mrs. Marborough. ”We might make a final search for the pearls.”
Enroute to Riverview, the girls talked over the situation and agreed that the prospect of finding the necklace was a slim one. They had grown to like the eccentric widow and were sorry that she had decided to move away from the city of her birth.
”I am sure if she had money she would remain here,” Louise declared. ”And it will nearly kill her if she is forced to deal with Jay Franklin. How she does dislike him!”
Parting with her chum in the business section of Riverview, Penny went directly to the _Star_ office. Her father was ready to start home.
”Anything new about Jay Franklin and those record stones he hopes to sell to the museum?” Penny inquired absently as the automobile sped along the congested streets.
”Nothing you haven't heard,” Mr. Parker replied. ”Franklin expects to make the sale and probably will. The museum people have put themselves on record as saying that the stones bear authentic writing.”
”Then it appears that your original hunch was incorrect,” Penny observed.
”Too bad you played down the story in the _Star_.”
”I may have made a mistake. All the same, I am pinning my hopes on the expert from Brimwell College.”
”What expert, Dad?”
”I guess I neglected to tell you. The _Star_ hired Professor Anjus from Brimwell to inspect the stones. His opinion doesn't coincide with that of the museum experts. He has p.r.o.nounced them fakes.”
”If the experts can't agree, then how can one prove anything?”
”It is something of a tangle,” Mr. Parker smiled. ”I turned that tool you obtained from Crocker over to Professor Anjus. He expects to make exhaustive tests and to report to me within a few days.”
The car had reached the outskirts of Riverview. As it pa.s.sed along streets which were spa.r.s.ely dotted with houses, Penny called attention to several large billboards which disfigured the landscape.
”Look, Dad!” she directed, pointing to a particularly colorful poster.