out of sight. "I thought he would explode
with rage!"

Penny was staring thoughtfully toward the house.

"Susan," she said, "Mrs. Masterbrook evidently knew Walter Crocker."

"Yes, that was queer, wasn't it?"

"She seemed to be afraid of him," Penny went on in a low voice. "Or
rather, she appeared to fear that someone would find him here at the
cottage. What do you make of it?"

"I think," drawled Susan, "that the mystery is a long way from
explained."

"And I agree with you," said Penny, "but these letters may help a
little. Come on, let's go down to the ravine and read them."

CHAPTER XVI

A Lost Handkerchief

The girls ran down the path to the ravine, selecting a sunny spot by a
large rock. From where they sat they could look far down the valley
and see the swinging footbridge which Herman Crocker had designated as
a meeting place with his nephew.

"Well, here are the letters," Penny said gaily, removing them from her
dress. "Wouldn't Walter rave if he knew we had them!"

"They're worth fifty thousand dollars!" Susan laughed. "At least
that's the price Walter expects to make his uncle pay for them. Penny,
what would happen if we just kept these letters?"

"I suppose Old Herman would refuse to pay over the money. I know I
should in his case."

"Then why wouldn't that be a good solution of the matter?"

"It would from Old Herman's standpoint," Penny said dryly. "But you're
forgetting that Walter isn't actually a blackmailer. The money really
belongs to him."

"Then by keeping these letters we might be depriving him of his
rightful inheritance?"

"It seems that way. I don't like Walter any better than you do--he
appears to be a rather unscrupulous fellow even if he does have the law
on his side. However, we can't let our personal feelings enter into
the matter."

"That being the case, why did we interfere at all?" Susan asked.
"Wouldn't it have been better not to have taken the letters? Now if we
decide to give then back, we'll have a lot of explaining to do."

"You are perfectly right, of course, Susan. My curiosity simply got
the best of me again. I felt as if I had to read these letters."

"Then let's read them," Susan laughed.

Penny untied the cord which bound the letters into a neat package.
There were eight of them all addressed to Herman Crocker. Return
notations in the corners showed that five of the letters were from the
old man's sister, Jenny. The others we