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."

CHAPTER XIV

A Conversation Overheard

Penny had scant hope that ever she would win the reward offered by Mr.
Kirmenbach. She knew as well as did her father that there was not one
chance in fifty that her unique plan would bring results.

Mr. Hunter, upon being taken into the detective's confidence, was very
willing to cooperate. He placed the broken toy lantern on a prominent
shelf near the candy counter and promised to report at once if any
child appeared to claim the trinket.

Susan and Penny fell into the habit of dropping into the store whenever
they were in the village. They saw many children come to buy candy and
all-day-suckers, but days passed and no child took the slightest
interest in the broken lantern.

"I'm afraid it was just another dud idea," Penny admitted ruefully.

"You are entirely too impatient," said her father. "Cases aren't
solved in a week. The idea hasn't been thoroughly tested yet."

"I've lost confidence in it," Penny declared.

"It was a long shot at best," returned Mr. Nichols. "However, we'll
leave the toy lantern at Mr. Hunter's store for another week at least."

Temporarily losing interest in her father's case, Penny remembered that
as yet Susan had never met old Herman Crocker.

"We might go back there this afternoon," she suggested.

"I don't care for Mr. Crocker's dog," Susan said uneasily. "Michael
may not be around to help us out of trouble again."

"Oh, we can be careful," Penny replied. "Anyway, I think