Penny Nichols Finds a Clue Part 34

"Don't be afraid," he told her in a whisper. "I've come to help you."

Penny was relieved to know that the boy had not been seriously injured by the blow he had received from Brunner. She tried to speak but could not.

Quickly, he bent and untied the cloth about her mouth.

"Why are you doing this?" Penny whispered.

"Because you helped me once when I was in trouble," the boy told her instantly. "Besides, I hate Brunner."

"He has forced you to continue in crime against your will?"

"Yes."

"Your real name is not Jerry Barrows," Penny stated.

The boy paused in untying the cords about her wrists.

"No, that isn't my own name," he admitted.

"You are Jimmie Davis," Penny accused.

The boy stared. "How did you know?"

"From a photograph."

"You haven't told my father?" he demanded nervously.

"No, I've said nothing of it to anyone. But I think the only way out for you is to make a clean breast of everything."

"I mean to tell the truth if I ever get away from here alive."

"You'll testify against Brunner and Molberg?" Penny questioned eagerly.

"Yes, if we can manage to escape. The main door is guarded."

"I came in through a window," Penny told him. "Perhaps we can get out the same way."

The instant her bonds had been cut, she sprang to her feet. They moved noiselessly to the door. Jimmie opened it a crack, then closed it hastily. Penny could hear footsteps.

"It's Brunner!" the boy whispered. "I think he suspects."

They braced themselves against the door. The k.n.o.b turned slowly. Then a man's weight was hurled against the panel.

"Open that door!" Brunner shouted furiously, "Open or I'll break it down."

There was no escape from the room for it was without windows. Penny and her companion held the door as long as they could, but when Rap Molberg had come in response to his chief's call, the result was inevitable. A panel splintered and then the door gave way.

Penny and her companion retreated against the wall.

"So you thought you'd help her escape!" Brunner sneered, confronting the boy. "I thought I'd find you here. But you'll pay for your treachery, Jimmie Davis!"

He turned to Molberg, tersely ordering him to tie the arms of the prisoners.

As the man caught her by the wrist, Penny struggled furiously. Jimmie was too battered from his recent encounter to put up a fight. He recognized the futility of struggling against impossible odds.

"What shall we do with 'em now?" Molberg asked gruffly when he had succeeded in overpowering Penny. "This girl is a little wildcat if there ever was one!"

"We'll take them along with us," Brunner ordered tersely. "The important thing is to get away from here while the getting is good. We can decide the fate of these two later on."

Penny and her companion were forced to walk into the main room of the sawmill. They saw that everything was in readiness for a hurried departure. The truck had been reloaded and stood waiting by the door.

"Get in!" Molberg commanded sharply, pus.h.i.+ng Penny toward the rear of the van.

"How can I with my hands tied?" she demanded indignantly. "Unfasten the cords."

Instead, Molberg lifted her off her feet, dropping her unceremoniously among the neat stacks of car wheels with which the truck was filled.

Even less gently, Jimmie Davis was tossed in beside her.

Then the back end of the van was dropped down and the canvas cover thrown over it. Penny and her companion were enveloped in darkness.

"Where are they taking us?" she asked in a whisper.

"Probably to a hideout in another state," Jimmie informed. "Our jig is up unless we can escape."

"We may have a chance after the truck starts."

"I doubt it," the boy returned gloomily. "We'll be watched every second. If we make a move, they'll shoot."

Penny relapsed into a moody silence. It was hot and unpleasant in the covered truck. Her arms hurt where the cords cut deeply into the flesh. Her head had begun to ache and she could think of no way to escape.

Presently the truck began to move. From the manner in which it b.u.mped about, Penny knew they were traveling down the rough side road to the main highway. Once there the van would be absorbed in the general stream of traffic.

"I guess Brunner was right when he called me yellow," Jimmie presently said in a low tone. "I've betrayed my father, my sister and my friends. I wanted to go straight, but Brunner had me in a strangle hold."

"How do you mean?" Penny asked.

"He threatened to tell my father the truth. I'd have quit working for him long ago if I hadn't been such a coward."

"Just what did you do for Brunner, Jimmie?"

"I drove the truck. At first I thought it was a legitimate job. When I discovered that I was hauling stolen tires I wanted to quit.

"Brunner wouldn't let you?"

"No, he made me keep on. You see I was heavily in debt--Father didn't know that either. I needed the money the job brought in. I kept getting in deeper and deeper. I hated to disgrace my father and my sister."

"I can understand that, Jimmie."

"I didn't treat you right either, Miss Nichols. I lied to you about why the police were after me."