es."

"Who are they?--how do you know they are here to spy on me?"

"I overheard their plans. I got wind in a roundabout way, as a result
of talk on the part of Mrs. Hutchins' servants, that there was something
doing, with Twin Lakes as a central point of interest. I suspected at
once that your interests were involved; so I stole slyly, Willie
Hawkshaw-like, up to their rendezvous one night and listened to some of
them as they discussed their plans and--"

"Some of them," Mrs. Graham interrupted. "How many are there?"

"Oh, a whole troup of them."

"That's a funny story," the woman commented dubiously, searching the
face of her visitor for an explanation of his, to her, queer statements.

"Not at all so funny when you hear it in detail," Langford returned
quietly.

"Well hurry up with the details," the impatient Mrs. Graham demanded.

"There's no need of being in a hurry," the lawyer said with provoking
calmness. "Business is business, you see, and full confidences should
never be exchanged in a situation of this kind until a contract is drawn
up, signed, sealed, witnessed, and recorded. In other words, I ought to
have an understanding and a retainer before I go any farther."

Mrs. Graham had no reason to doubt that this was coming sooner or later,
but she winced nevertheless when it came.

CHAPTER XV.

LANGFORD GETS A CHECK.

"I hope you realize, Mr. Langford, that we are not exactly made of
money," Mrs. Graham remarked tentatively by way of meeting the demand
which she read between his words. "Moreover, we were under heavy expenses
during the last year and you got a good deal of what we paid out."

"Not so very much," Langford corrected, from his point of view. "You
must remember that I was working for you through another man and he
handled the pay roll, on which he and I were the only payees, and
naturally he took what he didn't absolutely have to give to me."

"Well, how much do you want for this service?" the woman inquired.

"I ought to have at least $25 a day and my expenses," the lawyer
answered.

"Absolutely out of the question. That's several times the amount of our
income from the source you are interested in. And a considerable part of
that has to go for the boy's clothing, board and education."

"That is one of the important points to which I am coming," Langford
interrupted. "I come to inform you that Mrs. Hutchins is very much
interested in how the boy is being clothed and fed