he asked.

“Oh, yes, Mr. Kohl.” Penny was quick to press for an advantage. “Why, I am one of your best customers. Ever since I was six years old I’ve trusted your bank with my savings!”

“I remember you now,” said Mr. Kohl, smiling. “You’re the Parker girl.”

Adding a mental note that Anthony Parker actually was one of the bank’s largest depositors, he decided it would be excellent policy to make light of the accident. A moment later as a policeman came to investigate, he insisted that the incident had been unavoidable and that it would be a mistake to arrest the girls.

“Mr. Kohl, you were noble, absolutely noble,” declared Penny gratefully after the policeman had gone. “The least I can do is to pay for the damage.”

“I’ll stop at Sherman’s Garage and have a new fender put on,” the banker responded. “The bill can be sent to your father.”

After Mr. Kohl had driven away, Louise helped Penny hook the coupe to the sedan once more. She remarked cuttingly:

“You’ve done right well today. One parking ticket, a bill for twenty-five dollars, and another one coming up. Just what will your father say?”

“Plenty,” sighed Penny. “I wonder if it might not be a good idea to break the news by easy stages? Perhaps he’ll take it more calmly if I telephone.”

“Don’t be too sure.”

The street was a narrow, dingy one with few business houses. Noticing a Japanese store which bore a sign, “Kano’s Curio Shop,” she started toward it, intending to seek a public telephone.

Louise seized her arm. “Penny, you’re not going in there!”

“Why not?”

“This is Dorr Street—one of the worst places in Riverview.”

“Oh, don’t be silly,” chuckled Penny. “It’s perfectly safe by daylight. I’ll go alone if you’re afraid.”

Thus challenged, Louise indignantly denied that she was afraid, and accompanied her chum.

The door of Mr. Kano’s shop stood invitingly open. Pausing on the threshold, the girls caught a pleasant aroma of sandalwood.

So quietly did Louise and Penny enter that the elderly, white-haired shop owner did not immediately see them. He sat behind a high counter, engrossed in something he was sewing.

“Good afternoon,” said Penny pleasantly.

The Japanese glanced up quickly and as quickly thrust his work beneath the counter. Recovering poise, he bowed to the girls.

“May we use your telephone if you have one?” Penny requested.

“So very sorry, Miss,” the Japanese responded, bowing again. “Have no telephone.”

Penny nodded, absently fingering a tray of tiny ivory figures. The Japanese watched her, and mistaking curiosity for buying interest, brought additional pieces for her to inspect. The curios were all too expensive for Penny’s purse, but after endless debate she bought a pair of wooden clogs. The shop owner padded away into a back room, intending to wrap the package for her.

Scarcely had he vanished when Penny turned excitedly to her chum.

“Lou, did you notice how funny he acted when we came in here?”

“Yes, he didn’t want us to see what he was making evidently.”

“Exactly what I thought! But we’ll fool Mr. Kano!”

Giving Louise no opportunity to protest, Penny boldly peered behind the counter.

“Here it is,” she whispered. “But what is it?”

Hidden in a pasteboard box lay coil upon coil of what appeared to be fine, black silk rope. Curiously, she lifted it up, exposing a network of crossbars.

“Well, of all things!” she exclaimed. “It’s a ladder, Lou! A ladder made of silk!”

CHAPTER
2
A ROPE OF SILK

Even as Penny spoke, she felt a hard, warning tug on her skirt. Quickly she turned around.

In the doorway stood the old Japanese. His smile was not pleasant to behold.

“We-we were just looking at this rope,” Penny stammered, trying to carry off the situation with dignity. “I hope you don’t mind.”

The Japanese shopkeeper gazed steadily at the girl, his face an emotionless mask. Since he spoke no word, it became increasingly evident that he regarded her with anger and suspicion.

“May I ask what use is made of this silk rope?” Penny inquired. “Do you sell it for a special purpose?”

The Japanese coldly ignored the direct questions.

“So very sorry to have kept you waiting,” he said softly. “Your change please.”

Penny knew that she deserved the rebuke. Accepting the package and coins, she and Louise hastily left the shop. Not until they were some distance away did the latter speak.

“Penny, you would do a trick like that! One of these days your curiosity will get us into serious trouble.”

“At least I learned what was hidden behind the counter,” chuckled Penny. “But that Jap didn’t seem very eager to answer my questions.”

“Can you blame him? It certainly was none of our affair what he kept inside the box.”

“Perhaps not, Lou, but you must admit he acted strangely when we first entered the shop. You know—as if we had surprised him in a questionable act.”

“He naturally was startled. We came in so quietly.”

“All the same, I’m not one bit sorry I looked behind the counter,” Penny maintained. “I like to learn about things.”

“I agree with you there!”

“Lou, what purpose do you suppose silk ladders serve? Who uses them and why?”

“Now, how should I know? Penny, you ask enough questions to be master of ceremonies on a radio quiz program.”

“I can’t recall ever having seen a silk ladder before,” Penny resumed, undisturbed by her chum’s quip. “Would acrobats use them, do you think?”

“Not to my knowledge,” Louise answered. “If I were in your shoes I should worry about more serious matters than those connected with a mere silk ladder.”

“The world is filled with serious things,” sighed Penny. “But mystery! One doesn’t run into it every day.”

“You do,” said Louise brutally. “If a stranger twitches his ears twice you immediately suspect him of villainy.”

“Nevertheless, being of a suspicious nature won me a new car,” Penny defended herself. “Don’t forget Dad gave it to me for solving a mystery, for telling his newspaper readers what was going on Behind the Green Door.”

“Oh, your curiosity has paid dividends,” Louise admitted with a laugh. “Take for instance the time you trailed the Vanishing Houseboat, and again when you lowered the Kippenberg drawbridge to capture a boatload of crooks! Those were the days!”

“Why dwell in the past, Lou? Now take this affair of the silk ladder—”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to take it,” Louise interrupted. “Do you realize it’s nearly four o’clock? In exactly ten minutes I am supposed to be at the auditorium for orchestra practice.”

“Lou, you can’t desert me now,” Penny protested quickly. “How will I get Lena home? I need you to steer her.”

“Thanks, but I don’t trust your tow rope.”

“At least go as far as the Star office with me. Once there, maybe I can get one of the reporters to help me the rest of the way.”

“Oh, all right,” Louise consented. “But the Star office is my