and
platter of doughnuts. "Even if you've eaten breakfast, you can manage a
couple of these." He poured coffee and made sure the boys were
comfortable, then sank into an armchair and looked at them quizzically.

"All right. Out with it."

Rick chuckled. "You're too sharp," he accused. "We had a plan all cooked
up. I was going to comment on the fishing and hunting, and then
ask--very innocently--when the season for flying stingarees opened."

The agent's eyebrows went up. "Flying stingarees? Swimming ones, yes.
Open season any time. Flying ones, no. What is all this?"

"Rick saw one last night in the storm," Scotty explained.

"That's not all," Rick added. He told of their conversation at the
Narrows and of the talk with Orvil Harris that morning. "So there's
something fishy around here besides crabs and rockfish. We thought you
might know," he concluded.

Steve shook his head with obvious admiration. "Leave it to the Spindrift
twins! If there's a mystery afoot, you'll unearth it. Nope, lads. Never
heard of your flying stingarees, or flying saucers, either. But that's
not surprising. I'm down here mostly on weekends, sometimes with a
friend or two, and the only local folks we see are at the store or gas
station. Usually I'm in too much of a rush for small talk. I don't get
the local papers, and when I listen to the radio or watch TV, it's
either a Washington or Baltimore station. So I'm not in touch with local
events."

"Anyway," Rick said, "stingarees don't fly."

Steve had been in the Virgin Islands, too, and had been involved in the
adventure of _The Wailing Octopus_. "You found out that the octopus
didn't wail," he reminded them, "but for a while it looked as though
you'd found a new species. Maybe this is the same thing. What makes the
stingaree fly?"

"It would be fun to find out," Scotty admitted.

"You'll have time to make a start, and I won't be in the way with plans
for fishing or crabbing. I'm sorry, boys, but I'll be in and out of
Washington for a few days. Got a hot case working that I can't leave for
long."

The boys protested. "You deserve some vacation," Rick said hotly.

Steve held up his hand. "Whoa! I'm getting a vacation. This case should
be settled in three or four days, and I'll be with you. Meanwhile, you
move in here. You can drive me to the airport at Cambridge and pick me
up when I come back. That will leave you a car, and you can use the
motorboat for exploring or for fishing. I