I certainly hope so. Of course, it's possible the police have traced
the real culprit by this time. I hate to think Amy Coulter is under
suspicion."

After Mr. Nichols had read the newspaper, Penny carefully cut out the
story which concerned the theft at the Gage Galleries, including the
reproduction of the missing painting and a map of the various rooms of
the museum.

"Do you intend to do a little private work on the case?" the detective
inquired, slightly amused.

Penny laughed and shook her head. "No, I was just interested because I
happened to be at the Galleries when the painting disappeared."

In an inside section of the paper she found an article which had been
written by the art critic, Hanley Cron. He discussed at length his
selection of the prize winning statue, but while he listed a number of
figures which were deserving of high praise, nothing was said regarding
"The Black Imp," Amy Coulter's entry in the contest.

"After dinner I'm going to get another paper and learn what other
critics have to say about it," Penny announced. "You should have seen
the prize winning piece, Dad. It was terrible!"

"I fear you may be prejudiced in this Coulter girl's favor, my dear."

"I'm not. Others said the same thing."

Directly after the dinner dishes were wiped, Penny slipped out to the
street corner to purchase two other evening papers. She turned to the
art sections and was gratified to discover that Hanley Cron's selection
of the statue, "Winged Night," was severely criticized by various
authorities. Amy Coulter's entry was highly praised and one writer
ventured to say that it should have been awarded the
five-thousand-dollar prize.

Penny showed the papers to Mrs. Gallup and her father, feeling that her
judgment had been confirmed. However, she was deeply troubled by the
similarity of the news stories regarding the theft of the painting.
Each account mentioned that the police expected to make an arrest soon
and one said that officials of the museum were of the opinion the
painting had been stolen by a disgruntled contestant for the Huddleson
prize.

"They must mean Amy," Penny declared. "I wonder if she has any idea
she is under suspicion."

The telephone rang. It was a call from police headquarters for Mr.
Nichols.

"I'll have to run down to the station for a few minutes," the detective
announced as he returned to the living room after answering the
summons. "The chief wants to talk wit