her with the imminent danger that threatened her grandfather if she went to the home of the Conants--the one thing she positively must not do. Since her arrival was wholly unexpected by her friends, with whom she could not communicate, she now found herself a forlorn wanderer, without money or shelter. When the car stopped at Main Street she got off and walked slowly along the brilliantly lighted thoroughfare, feeling more safe among the moving throngs of people. Presently she came to a well-remembered corner where the principal hotel stood on one side and the First National Bank on the other. She now knew where she was and could find the direct route to the Conants, had she dared go there. To gain time for thought the girl stepped into the doorway of the bank, which was closed for the day, thus avoiding being jostled by pedestrians. She set down her suit case, leaned against the door-frame and tried to determine her wisest course of action. She was hungry, tired, frightened, and the combination of sensations made her turn faint. With a white face and despair in her heart she leaned heavily back and closed her eyes. "Pardon me," said a soft voice, and with a nervous start she opened her eyes to find the little fat-nosed man confronting her. He had removed his hat and was looking straight into her face--for the first time, she imagined--and now she noticed that his gray eyes were not at all unkindly. "What do you want?" she asked sharply, with an involuntary shudder. "I wish to advise you, Miss Burrows," he replied. "I believe you know who I am and it is folly for us to pursue this game of hide-and-seek any longer. You are tired and worn out with your long ride and the anxiety I have caused you." "You are dogging me!" she exclaimed indignantly. "I am keeping you in sight, according to orders." "You are a detective!" she asked, a little disarmed by his frankness. "John O'Gorman by name, Miss. At home I have a little girl much like you, but I doubt if my Josie--even though I have trained her--would prove more shrewd than you have done under such trying circumstances. Even in the train you recognized my profession--and I am thought to be rather clever at disguising my motives." "Yes?" "And you know quite well that because you have come to Dorfield to join your grandfather, whom you call Colonel Weatherby, I have followed you in an attempt to discover, through you, the man for whom our government