Chapter XIII: A Bolt of Cloth

Susan instantly approved of Penny's idea, so the girls drove on toward Fairfax, a small city of several thousand inhabitants. They stopped at a corner drugstore to consult a telephone directory. At least fifteen families by the name of Keenan were listed.

"This isn't going to be as easy as I thought," Penny said in disappointment.

"I suppose we could telephone every Keenan in the book," Susan ventured.

"What could we say?" Penny asked. "'I beg your pardon, but are you the person who took Michael Gladwin to the Orphan's Home?' We'd receive nothing but rebuffs."

"I guess it would be silly," Susan agreed. "Let's give it up."

"We might try the postoffice," Penny said after a moment's thought.

They located the government building in the downtown section of Fairfax only to meet disappointment once more. The postmaster listened politely enough while Penny told him that she was seeking a certain Mr. Keenan who for many years had regularly mailed letters to the Glenhaven Orphan's Home, but she could tell that he considered her request for information rather ridiculous.

"We handle hundreds of letters a day here," he explained. "It would be impossible for me to remember any particular one."

Penny and Susan went back to the car, convinced that they could do no more.

"We may as well go home," Penny declared gloomily. "Our day has been wasted."

"Oh, I'd not say that," replied Susan cheerfully. "We've had an interesting time, and we learned quite a few facts from Mrs. Havers."

"We don't know a bit more about Michael Haymond than we did before. He may be the same person as Michael Gladwin but we'll never be able to prove it."

"Not unless he breaks down and admits it, I fear."

"I'd not want Michael to think I was prying into his past life," Penny said hastily. "After all, it's really none of my affair where he spent his early years. I'll just forget about it."

The girls might have been unable to dismiss the affair completely from their minds had it not been that the following day another development crowded all else into the background.

Susan had started to knit a sweater. Finding that she was in need of more wool, she asked Penny to walk down to the village dry goods store with her.

While Susan was trying to match her sample, Penny roved about the store, gazing at the various objects. She had never seen such a strange mixture in any one establishment before. There was a grocery section, a candy department, one devoted to books and stationery, a shoe section, and sundry articles too numerous to mention.

Suddenly Penny's attention was drawn to a bolt of cloth lying on the counter. It was white material of a curious weave. The girl crossed over to examine it.

"Are you thinking of buying yourself a dress, Penny?" asked Susan. She had come up behind her chum.

"Oh! You startled me!" exclaimed Penny with a little laugh. "Susan, I wish you'd look at this cloth!"

"I don't like it at all if you want my honest opinion," replied Susan. "The material is too coarse."

"I don't intend to buy it for a dress," Penny explained quickly, lowering her voice. "Do you remember that broken toy lantern which I showed you?"

"Of course I do. You mean the one which your father believes to be a clue in the Kirmenbach case?"

"Yes."

"I still don't understand what you are driving at," Susan said a trifle impatiently. "What connection does it have with this bolt of dress goods?"

"Look at the cloth very closely," Penny urged. "Now don't you see?"

"No, I don't."

"Have you forgotten the wick of the toy lantern?"

"The wick----" repeated Susan slowly. "Oh! The cloth is the same!"

"It's the very same weave," Penny nodded. "At least that would be my guess. The wick of that toy lantern might have been made from a scrap of cloth sold from this very bolt of goods!"

"I'd never have noticed a thing like that in a million years," Susan murmured in awe. "Penny, you've uncovered an important clue in your father's case."

"I may be wrong about it," Penny admitted.

She lowered her voice for the storekeeper was coming toward the girls.

"May I show you something in yard goods?" he inquired. "That bolt on the counter is one of our popular pieces."

"Have you sold very much of it?" Penny asked quickly.

"Oh, yes, indeed. A great many women in Kendon have had suits made from this particular pattern. It is very reasonably priced too--only thirty-nine cents a yard."

"Could you give me a list of the persons who have bought material from this bolt?" Penny questioned eagerly.

The storekeeper regarded her rather blankly for the request was a strange one.

"Well, no, I'm afraid I can't," he replied. "Half the women in town buy yard goods from me. But I'm sure you can't go wrong in making this selection."

"I'll take a quarter of a yard," Penny told him.

"Only a quarter of a yard?"

"Yes, that will do for a sample. I may want more later on."

The storekeeper cut off the material and wrapped it up. Penny and Susan left the store with their purchases.

"I'm going straight back to the cottage and compare this cloth with the wick of the toy lantern!" Penny exclaimed when they were beyond the storekeeper's hearing.

"It's a pity so many persons bought the material," Susan commented. "Otherwise it might be possible to trace the buyers."

"Yes," agreed Penny, "but the clue may prove to be a valuable one anyway. If this cloth is the same as the toy lantern wick, it's very possible that the thief who stole the Kirmenbach jewels lives right in this town."

"Aren't you forgetting that other stores may have the same kind of material for sale," Susan remarked.

"That's possible of course. Oh, Dad may not consider the clue of much value, but at least it's worth reporting."

Mr. Nichols was sitting on the front porch when the girls reached the cottage. Making certain that Mrs. Masterbrook was not within hearing, Penny told him of her important discovery in the village. Mr. Nichols examined the cloth very closely and then compared it with the wick of the toy lantern.

"The material looks exactly the same to me, Dad!" Penny declared excitedly.

"It is identical," her father agreed. "Where did you say you bought the goods?"

"At Hunters Store. Unfortunately, every woman in Kendon seems to have bought this same material."

Mr. Nichols reached for his hat. "I'm going down there now and talk with the storekeeper," he declared.

"Then you think the clue is important, Dad."

"Yes, I do, Penny. It may not lead to anything, but one can never be sure."

"Didn't I tell you to call on me if you needed help with the case?" laughed Penny.

"You certainly did," her father agreed good-naturedly. "As a detective I'm afraid you're showing me up in a bad light."

Before leaving the cottage Mr. Nichols was careful to lock the toy lantern in his room. Considering its value in the Kirmenbach case he did not wish to run any risk of having it stolen.

Mr. Nichols was absent from the cottage a little over an hour. When Penny saw him coming up the road she ran to meet him.

"Did you learn anything, Dad?" she asked eagerly.

The detective shook his head.

"I'm satisfied that the material is the same," he replied, "but the storekeeper couldn't remember anyone who had bought the goods from him. He seems to be a stupid fellow."

Penny walked along with her father for some distance without making any response. Then she said half apologetically:

"Dad, I have an idea, but I suppose it's a very silly one."

"What is it, Penny?" the detective asked soberly.

"I have a theory that the thief who took the Kirmenbach jewels may have been some person living in this locality."

"That is possible," Mr. Nichols agreed.

"In that case the toy lantern probably belonged to some child who may reside in or near Kendon."

"True."

"This is my idea," Penny explained. "Why not display the lantern in some prominent place where children will be likely to see it--for instance the candy department of Hunter's store. Take Mr. Hunter into your confidence and have him on the lookout for the original owner of the toy lantern. A child seeing it on the store shelf would be almost certain to identify the property as his."

Mr. Nichols did not laugh. Instead he remained thoughtfully silent for a moment.

"There may be something in your idea, Penny," he said gravely. "If we could locate the owner of the toy lantern it should prove fairly easy to trace the thief. But the chance that the right child would enter the store and recognize the toy is a very slim one."

"Would it do any harm to try?"

"No, we've nothing to lose," Mr. Nichols declared. "I've tried all the sensible ways of tracing the thief, and have met with no success. We may as well test out your theory."

"When will you see Mr. Hunter?" Penny asked eagerly.

"We'll get the toy lantern and go right back there together," Mr. Nichols promised. He smiled down at his daughter. "And by the way, there's a new development in the Kirmenbach case which I forgot to mention."

"What is that, Dad?"

"Mr. Kirmenbach has offered a five hundred dollar reward for the capture of the jewel thief. So you see, if your idea should lead to anything, it will prove a very profitable one."