d now you want to spoil all the fun
by breaking up the party. For goodness' sake, listen to reason," she
wailed, as Nan, with a determined shake of her red-capped head, started
in toward shore.

"Haven't time," she flung back.

"You can at least tell us what the matter is," called Grace, as
reluctant as Bess to cut short the fun.

"Haven't time," Nan repeated, half way in to shore now.

Bess and Grace paddled the water and looked at each other helplessly.

"Don't you think we had better go, too?" asked Rhoda uncertainly.

"No, I don't," was Bess's cross answer. "Nan's acting awfully funny
these days, anyway. I think she has another secret."

As for Nan, she did not wait to see whether the girls were following her
or not, but ran posthaste to her bathhouse, where she exchanged her
bathing suit for more formal attire. Then she hurried on to the hotel.

She had not seen this man since his arrival at Palm Beach, and the
sudden appearance of his face so close to hers in the water had startled
her horribly. Her first thought had been of the documents in her
suitcase and her one desire to get to them as soon as possible.

"Oh, what a fool I was not to give those papers to Mr. Mason, or have
them placed in the hotel safe," she scolded to herself. She called
herself several kinds of a goose as she ran down the quiet corridor to
her room. As she stood before the door a slight noise within sent her
heart suddenly into her mouth, and she hesitated before turning the
knob.

Then, with desperate courage, she flung the door wide and stepped into
the room. Before her bed a tall, thin man was standing, and on the bed
was a bag, her bag, partly open, with the contents showing!

In a moment her fear changed to flaming indignation, and she sprang
forward, flinging herself before the bag and pushing the man away from
her with furious, impotent little fists.

"You little imp!" the fellow snarled, catching her wrists and holding
them in an iron grip. "You just dare make a noise, and I'll show you
who's boss. You little----"

"Nan! Oh, Nan, what's the matter?"

The voice held a frightened note, and its owner was evidently running
along the corridor toward Nan's open door. The man said something under
his breath, released Nan's wrists, and darted toward the window.

Nan, conscious of a stabbing pain in her wrists, followed him, but not
in time to stop his flight. She saw him disappear down the fire escape
and then, with a litt