  “Now we’ll have no more nonsense,” said the man who held the revolver. “Stand over there against the tree.” Penny and Louise were so frightened that they trembled violently. “You’ll not be harmed if you do exactly as you’re told,” the waiter assured them. “Why not let us go home?” Penny ventured, recovering her courage. “Not tonight, my dear.” The man smiled grimly. “Unfortunately, you have learned too much regarding my affairs.” “Then what are you going to do with us?” Penny demanded. Apparently, the waiter did not himself know. While he guarded the girls, he cast a quick glance toward the ark. Just then running footsteps were heard in the woods, and someone whistled twice. The waiter answered the signal. A moment later, Carl Oaks, quite winded, came into view. “So you got ’em, eh?” he demanded with pleasure. “The question is what to do with them.” “I don’t want ’em at the shack,” the old watchman complained. “When young Ottman comes around I may have my hands full with him.” “This ark should serve my purpose,” the waiter muttered. “The old coot that lives here has gone off somewhere. Oaks, get aboard and look around.” “There’s no way to cross to it,” the watchman said helplessly. “Find the gangplank!” his companion ordered irritably. “It must be hidden somewhere in the bushes.” Thus urged, Oaks searched along the river bank and soon came upon the missing plank. Fitting it into place, he quickly crossed to the ark. A dog started to bark, but the sound was choked off. “Well?” called the waiter impatiently. “No one here except the animals,” Oaks reported, reappearing on deck. “The only room that can be locked off is the cabin where the dope keeps his birds.” “That ought to do,” decided the waiter. “We won’t have to keep ’em here long.” Penny and Louise were compelled to march across the gangplank, up the steps to the bird room of the ark. The parrot, arousing from a doze, squawked a raucous welcome. “Get in there and don’t make any noise!” the waiter ordered. “If you shout for help or make any disturbance, you’ll be bound and gagged. And that’s not pleasant. Get me?” “You seem to have got us,” Penny retorted. The door slammed and a bolt slid into place. Penny tiptoed at once to the porthole. It was much too small to permit an escape, but at least it provided fresh air and a view of the shore. “Well, well, well,” cackled the parrot, tramping up and down on his wide perch. “Polly wants a slug o’ rum.” “You’ll get a slug, period, if you don’t keep quiet,” Penny said crossly. “Give me a chance to think, will you?” “Thinking won’t get us out of this mess,” murmured Louise, sitting down with her back to a wall. “It must be after nine o’clock now. If Bill had notified our folks, they would be looking for us long before this.” In whispers the girls discussed their unfortunate situation. They were hopeful that eventually they would be released, but they could not expect freedom until long after midnight. “The Seventh Street Bridge will be blasted at one o’clock,” Penny said anxiously. “If it goes up, Riverview traffic will be paralyzed. Work at the munition plant will stop cold.” “The saboteurs intend to blame Burt Ottman for the job too! Well, at least we can tell police who the real plotters are.” “We can if we ever get out of here,” Penny said, pacing the floor. “Oh, I’m as mad as a hornet!” “Quiet down, and maybe we can hear something,” Louise suggested calmly. “I think those men are talking.” A murmur of voices could be heard from the third floor of the ark. The partitions were thin. By standing on one of the pigeon boxes, the girls discovered they could understand nearly everything that was being said. “Carl, you go back to the shack and keep an eye on Ottman,” the waiter ordered the watchman. “As soon as Breneham comes, send him here. We’ll pull the job at one o’clock just as we planned.” “Okay, Jard,” the other answered. Getting down from the pigeon box, Penny watched Carl Oaks leave the ark. “How about taking a chance and shouting for help?” Louise suggested in a whisper. Penny shook her head. “Not now at least. I doubt anyone is within a mile of this place—that is, anyone friendly to us.” The girls were not to enjoy their porthole for long. Within a few minutes the waiter tacked a strip of canvas over the opening. He then sat down on deck directly beneath it, and the odor of his cigar drifted into the room. “That man must be Jard Wessler,” Penny whispered to her chum. “You remember Bill said he was hired to work for a fellow by the name of Wessler.” “I don’t care who he is,” muttered Louise. “All I think about is getting out of here.” The girls sat side by side, their backs to the wall. About them in boxes and cages, Noah’s birds stirred restlessly. Polly, the parrot, kept up such a chatter that at length Penny covered the cage with a sack. Time passed slowly. It seemed hours later that Penny and Louise heard the sound of a man’s voice. The cry, though low, came from shore. “Ark ahoy! Are you there, Wessler?” “Come aboard,” invited the one in command of the boat. “Oaks told you what happened?” “Yeah, and I have more bad news.” The newcomer had reached the ark and his voice could be heard plainly by Louise and Penny. “A searching party is out looking for those two girls. Heading this way too.” “In that case—” The door of the bird room suddenly was thrust open and a flashbeam focused upon the girls. They found themselves confronted by Jard Wessler and a stranger. At least Penny’s first thought was that she had never seen him before. Then it came to her that he closely resembled the man with whom Burt Ottman had dined at The Green Parrot. Before either of the girls realized what was in store, they were seized by the arms. Tape was plastered over their lips, and their limbs were bound. “A precautionary measure,” Wessler assured them. “You’ll be released soon.” Penny and Louise understood perfectly why they had been bound and gagged. Scarcely fifteen minutes elapsed before they heard the sound of men’s voices along shore. Soon thereafter someone hailed the ark. Penny’s heart leaped for she recognized her father’s voice. “Hello, the ark!” he shouted. Wessler responded, his voice casual and friendly. “We’re looking for two girls lost in the woods. Have you seen them?” “Why, yes,” Wessler answered. “A couple of girls went past here about an hour ago. They were on their way to the river.” “Then they must have started home,” Mr. Parker replied, greatly relieved. “By the way, you’re not the one they call Noah, are you?” “Just a friend of his.” “I see,” responded Mr. Parker, apparently satisfied with the answer. “Well, thanks. We’ve been worried about my daughter and her friend. It’s a relief to know they’re on their way home.” In the dark bird room of the ark, Penny and Louise squirmed and twisted. Though they thumped their feet on the floor, the sound conveyed no hint of their plight to those on shore. Mr. Parker called a cheery good night to Wessler. For a few minutes the girls heard the sound of retreating footsteps in the underbrush. Then all was still save for the restless stirring of the birds. |
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