"I'll drive directly to Dad's office and see if he can make use of any of these old pieces," she decided.
Although the errand provided an excellent excuse, the real purpose of her call was to learn if Jerry Barrows had kept his appointment.
Mr. Nichols was busy in the inner office when Penny arrived, but Miss Arrow, the efficient secretary, told her that she might go in. She found the detective engrossed in studying a group of photographs and their accompanying Bertillon records.
"Trying to brush up on who's out and why?" Penny asked banteringly.
Mr. Nichols nodded as he offered a photograph for her inspection.
"This is one of the men who I think may be involved in the automobile accessory thefts."
"Not a very pretty face," Penny commented.
"No, and 'Rap' Molberg hasn't a very pretty record either. He's served several terms in the pen, though usually he's a little too smart to have anything proven against him. Rap is the ringleader of the well known Molberg gang. It begins to look as if the outfit had extended its activities to Belton City."
"Is this Rap's description?" Penny inquired, indicating the Bertillon record which lay upon the desk. It consisted of a bewildering array of figures.
1.67.6 1.74.0 88.1 19.0 14-5 HGT OA TR HL HW
"Can you decipher it?" Mr. Nichols smiled.
"I know the HGT stands for height and TR for trunk, but what are the other abbreviations?"
"OA means outer arm," the detective explained. "HL represents head length and HW indicates the head width. Of course all the measurements are reduced to meters, centimeters, and millimeters."
"Not after you become accustomed to it. For instance, I can see at a glance that Rap Molberg is five feet and seven-eighths inches tall--or as it appears in Bertillon--one meter, sixty-seven centimeters and six millimeters."
"I don't believe I'll ever care to be a detective," Penny smiled. "It's too much like studying the multiplication table!"
"Crime detection is a scientific profession----" Mr. Nichols began, but Penny cut him short.
"Tell me, did Jerry Barrows come to interview you this morning?"
"No, and I very much fear we'll never see the young man. I made a point of looking up his juvenile court record and find he has none."