n, in a careless, offhand tone, "I've come here to save
you. You're in trouble."

"I am not aware of it."

"Very true. If you were, the danger would be less. I've always had to
guess at most of your secret life. I knew you were sly and secretive. I
didn't know until now that you've been crooked."

He frowned a little but made no retort.

"It doesn't surprise me, however," she continued. "A good many folks
are crooked, at times, and the only wonder is that a clever man like
you has tripped and allowed himself to fall under suspicion. Suspicion
leads to investigation--when it's followed up--and investigation, in
such cases, leads to--jail."

He gave a low growl that sounded like the cry of an enraged beast, and
gripped the arms of his chair fiercely. Then he rose and paced the room
with frantic energy. Nan watched him with a half smile on her face.
When he had finally mastered his wrath and became more quiet she said:

"Don't worry, Dad. I said I have come to save you. It will be fun,
after working for the Government so long, to work against it. There's a
certain red-headed imp in this neighborhood who is the daughter of our
assistant chief, John O'Gorman. Her name is Josie O'Gorman and she's in
training for the same profession of which I'm an ornament. I won't
sneer at her, for she's clever, in a way, but I'd like to show O'Gorman
that Nan Shelley--that's my name in Washington--is a little more clever
than his pet. This Josie O'Gorman is staying with the Hathaway family.
She's been probing your secret life and business enterprises and has
unearthed an important clew in which the department is bound to be
interested. So she sent a code telegram to O'Gorman, who left it on his
desk long enough for me to decipher and read it. I don't know what the
assistant chief will do about it, for I left Washington an hour later
and came straight to you. What I do know is that I'm in time to spike
Miss Josie's guns, which will give me a great deal of pleasure. She
doesn't know I'm your daughter, any more than O'Gorman does, so if the
girl sees me here she'll imagine I'm on Government business. But I want
to keep out of her way for a time. Do you know the girl, Dad?"

"Yes," he said.

"She's rather clever."

"Yes."

"I think she'd have nabbed you, presently, if I hadn't taken hold of
the case so promptly myself. With our start, and the exercise of a
grain of intelligence, we can baffle any opposition the girl can bring
to be