it in the door. A moment more and they had stepped into
a beautiful room, all blue and gold, and with deep, lacily curtained
windows and twin beds set over in one corner, with a small table and a
reading lamp beside each one.

If the girls had not been used to handsome surroundings, the beauty of
the room might have overwhelmed them a little. As it was, they were
merely delighted.

Walter set the bags and hat boxes inside the door for them, and then
turned to Nan, who was regarding her own particular bag with a disturbed
little frown.

"I don't know what the matter is, Nan," he said in a low voice. "But if
there is anything about those men you don't like I'll see that they
don't worry you."

"Thank you, Walter. You're a dear," said Nan gratefully. "I'll tell you
all about it just as soon as I can. And you really can help me, Walter,
if you want to."

"I'll say I do," returned Walter boyishly. "See you later," and he went
out quickly, closing the door behind him.

As Nan turned back into the room she found Bess regarding her with a
mischievous little smile that said as plainly as words: "What did I tell
you, Nan Sherwood?"

Nan felt unreasonably angry, but she was not given very much time to
nurse the feeling. Grace was upon her like a young whirlwind, dragging
her over to one of the beds and demanding in no uncertain tone what she
had to say in explanation of her queer conduct a few minutes before.
Rhoda sat down on the other side of Nan, her face eagerly flushed.

"I never was so curious in my life, Nan Sherwood," she said. "Hurry up
and tell us all about it."

Nan obediently went over the whole story. She told where she was
carrying Mrs. Bragley's papers, and of her, Nan's, strange impression of
being watched ever since the papers had come into her possession.

Then while Grace and Rhoda's eyes became wider and wider she told of the
two men they had met on the boat and the tall one's evident desire to
get into their cabin, for some reason known only to himself. And lastly
she related how on that very morning they had found the mysterious men
in suspicious proximity to their stateroom again and how the two had
disappeared upon catching sight of the girls.

"Why, it's a regular mystery!" Grace cried eagerly, and Bess turned away
from the mirror where she was fixing her hair and looked at her. "A real
mystery!"

"You speak as if you liked it," she said impatiently. "It is lots of
fun, I must say, to have