,
she could not prevent him from tying her hands behind her back. He
took out a large handkerchief.

"Not a gag!" Penny pleaded.

"I suppose you'd like to make another telephone call," the man said
sarcastically. "I'm going to fix you so you won't make any more
trouble tonight!"

The handkerchief was tied tightly across her mouth and her feet were
securely trussed. Then Molberg placed her with her back against the
wall and left her alone.

Almost immediately he returned with Brunner. The two had brought a
light.

"This is luck!" the garage manager declared, his eyes sparkling. "With
Christopher Nichols' daughter in our hands I guess that snooper won't
make us any more trouble. Did she get through to the police, do you
think?"

"I doubt it. She had just begun to talk on the 'phone when I caught
her," Rap informed.

"We'll take no chance anyway. We're getting out of here as quickly as
we can."

The two men went away, taking the light with them. Penny was left
alone in the dark. She twisted and turned but could not succeed in
loosening her bonds. The gag became uncomfortable.

"What a mess I've made of things now," she told herself in disgust.
"Here I am a prisoner, and there isn't a chance Dad or the police will
get to me in time. If only I could have explained where I was before
Rap Molberg caught me!"

Penny tried not to think of the possible fate which awaited her.
Brunner would never permit her to go free. She had gleaned too much
valuable information and would prove a damaging witness against him.
She knew now that he alone directed the activities of the so-called
Molberg gang. Brunner was the arch criminal, the "master mind" which
had baffled police and private investigators. Rap Molberg, although a
dangerous crook, merely carried out his chief's orders.

"Brunner fooled everyone with his posing as a substantial citizen,"
Penny mused. "All the time he was using his business as a front to
hide his unlawful activities."

Outside, in the main part of the sawmill, she could hear men working
feverishly. In a few minutes the big truck would depart with all the
evidence which could not be destroyed. Penny wondered if she would be
left tied up in the little room or taken along.

Again she struggled to free herself but only succeeded in drawing the
knots tighter. The gag was so tight across her mouth that she could
utter no sound. Spent from her effort to escape, she leaned back
agains