he replied in disgust, "they got away."

It was long after midnight when they reached home. Penny would have
liked to remain up awhile to discuss the exciting events of the evening
but Mr. Nichols was too sleepy to be in a talkative mood. He hurried
his daughter off to bed.

"I think I'll visit Amy Coulter sometime to-day," Penny remarked the
next morning at breakfast. "What I saw last night convinced me that
she could have no part in the theft of the painting."

"The picture in Mrs. Dillon's possession doesn't prove anything," Mr.
Nichols replied as he pushed aside his coffee cup. "The painting may
be a fake. Or if it's genuine this girl may have been one of a gang
who negotiated the deal with Mrs. Dillon."

"If you met Amy you'd understand that she isn't the criminal type, Dad."

"And just what is the criminal type? Give me a definition."

Penny threw down her napkin impatiently. "Oh, there's no use arguing
with you! You always win!"

"I'm not suggesting that your friend Amy is a crook," the detective
smiled. "I'm merely trying to teach you to think and not to arrive at
conclusions through impulse or emotion."

After the morning's work was done, Penny telephoned Susan Altman to
tell her about the Dillon party. Susan was not at home so she walked
to Amy Coulter's rooming house where she was admitted by the landlady.

"I'm so glad you came," Amy cried joyfully as she admitted the girl.
"I took your advice and shut myself up here in my castle, but it's been
dreadfully lonesome."

The young sculptress had been working on a small statue. After Penny
had admired it, she covered the figure with a cloth and set it away.

"I'm worried about my Black Imp," she confessed, offering Penny a
chair. "This morning a notice appeared in the paper that all
contestants for the Huddleson prize should call within twenty-four
hours at the Gage Galleries for their entries. I'm afraid to go for
fear I'll be arrested."

"It wouldn't be safe," Penny agreed, "but if we're patient for a few
days longer I believe the mystery may begin to clear up. In fact, I
have an important clue already."

She then told Amy how she had discovered the Rembrandt in Mrs. Dillon's
library. The girl was overjoyed to learn the news for she felt that
the recovery of the painting would exonerate her. However, her face
clouded as Penny mentioned that the picture might be a fake.

"If I were certain the picture was stolen from the museum,