step with the
girls. "I came to see Herman Crocker too."

Neither Penny nor Susan offered any comment. They were quite sure that
the young man had been crouching behind the hedge. They believed that
he had observed Mr. Crocker drive away, and they thought that probably
he had been watching their own movements.

During the walk back to the cottage, the girls chatted pleasantly with
Michael. Susan, unaware that the young man had been uncommunicative
regarding his past history, began to ask him casual questions about his
home town.

"You were born in the west, Penny tells me," she commented.

"That's right," the young man agreed uneasily.

"I'd never have suspected it," Susan went on. "You don't talk like a
westerner. Did you live on a ranch?"

Michael shook his head. He hesitated and then said in a low tone:

"I spent most of my early life in an orphan's home. It was a place
called Glenhaven."

"Why, there's a Home in this state by that name!" cried Penny.

"Well, that's certainly odd," replied Michael, avoiding her gaze. "But
I suppose Glenhaven is a common name."

"Tell us more about yourself," urged Susan.

"There's nothing to tell. I don't know very much about my parents. I
was just turned over to the Home until I was eighteen years of age. I
worked hard there but I was well treated. Then I left and got a job in
a factory, but times turned hard and I was laid off. That about brings
me up to date."

Penny thought: "But it doesn't explain why you came to Kendon to see
Herman Crocker." However, her serene countenance gave no hint that she
doubted any of Michael's story.

Alone in Penny's bedroom, the girls discussed the young man.

"I like him a great deal," said Susan.

"And so do I," Penny agreed, "but that doesn't alter facts. I feel
certain he's not telling us a straightforward story. He may have been
born in the west but I believe he's spent a great deal of his life
right herein this state."

"What makes you think so, Penny?"

"Because in talking with him I've noticed that he's always well versed
in local history and state politics. And another thing--I doubt that
Glenhaven is a common name for an orphan's home."

"He did act embarrassed about that."

"Do you want to know what I think?" asked Penny earnestly. "I suspect
Michael Haymond spent most of his life in the Glenhaven Home which is
in this state--not out west."

"But why should he try to hide the fact?"

"I could