thefts were reported. In fact, I’ve known for several weeks that a professional gang of tire thieves has been operating in Riverview.”

“Oh, Dad, you’re a peach!” Penny cried, making a dive for him. “I’m going to give you a great big kiss!”

“You are not,” Mr. Parker grinned, pushing her away. “Try to remember, this is an office.”

Penny resigned herself to a chair. Questioned by her father, she gave a straightforward account of how the car had been stripped at the Yacht Club grounds.

“The tire gang is getting bolder every day!” Mr. Parker exclaimed wrathfully. “But we’ll soon put a stop to their little game!”

“How, Dad?”

Mr. Parker hesitated and then said: “I can trust you, can’t I, Penny?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll tell you this in confidence. For weeks Jerry Livingston, our star reporter, has been working on the case. He’s rounded up a lot of evidence against the outfit.”

“Then we have a chance to get those tires back!”

“I’m not thinking about that,” Mr. Parker said impatiently. “Jerry’s gathered enough evidence to smash the entire gang. It will be as big a story as the Star ever published.”

“When are you breaking it, Dad?”

“Perhaps tomorrow. Depends on the state prosecutor.”

“John Gilmore? What does he have to do with it?”

“This story is loaded with dynamite, Penny. If we spread it over our front page before police have a chance to act, the guilty parties are apt to make a getaway.”

“That’s so,” nodded Penny.

“There’s another reason I want to consult the Prosecutor before I use the story,” Mr. Parker resumed. “Some of the men involved—”

A tap sounded on the door. Without completing what he had started to say, the editor called, “Come in.”

Jerry Livingston entered the office. He was a good-looking young man, alert and 

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