he street and was growing
very discouraged when she halted at a place which looked cleaner and
slightly more inviting than its crowded neighbors.

In response to Penny's rap, a woman in a blue wrapper came to the door.

"Can you tell me if a girl named Amy Coulter lives here?" Penny asked
mechanically, for she had asked the question many times.

"Amy Coulter?" the woman repeated. "No, not any more."

"Then she did live here at one time?" Penny inquired eagerly.

"Yes, until last night. She didn't give me any notice. She just took
her luggage and went."

"Did Miss Coulter leave a forwarding address?"

"No, she didn't. I can't tell you anything more about her."

Impolitely, the woman closed the door in Penny's face.

The girl walked slowly down the steps to the street. She was
disappointed at not finding Amy, and a little troubled to learn that
the youthful sculptress had departed from the rooming house without
leaving an address. Her disappearance looked almost like flight.

The muffled roar of an automobile engine caused Penny to gaze toward
the street. A dark blue car had pulled up to the curbing. Three men
in civilian garb climbed out, and after briefly surveying the rooming
house, walked toward it.

"Plain-clothes men from police headquarters," Penny appraised
instantly. "I can spot them a mile away. I wonder if they're on the
trail of Amy Coulter too?"

CHAPTER IV

Following Amy's Trail

The detectives glanced curiously at Penny as they came up the steps to
the rooming house but failed to notice that she lingered by the street
curbing to learn what had brought them to the scene. They rang the
bell and the door was opened almost instantly by the landlady.

"You may as well go away," she began irately, then paused in confusion.
"Oh, I beg your pardon. I thought it was someone else."

The plain clothes men flashed their badges and then inquired if Amy
Coulter resided at the house.

"You're not the first that's asked for her," the woman informed.
"Someone from the Gage Galleries has been telephoning all morning until
it's enough to drive a body wild. And just a minute ago a girl came to
bother me."

"I take it then that Amy Coulter is not here?" one of the detectives
interrupted.

"No, she packed up her luggage and cleared out last night without
leaving an address. What has she done now?"

"We're not certain that she has done anything, but we wish to question
her."

"I tho