k," advised Dick suddenly. "Here comes Mrs. Dexter now."

"Looks as though she'd been crying, too," murmured Dave, scanning the
approaching woman.

"Then we won't scoot," advised Dick, changing front instantly. "It
doesn't look very fine to run away from any one who's in trouble."

Strangely enough Mrs. Dexter didn't appear, at first, to want to talk
with the boys. She nodded, smiled wanly and said:

"Good afternoon, boys! Are things dull to-day?"

"Just quiet, Mrs. Dexter," Dick answered.

Then Dave, with some of his usual impulsiveness, put in, earnestly:

"You look as though you had heard bad news, Mrs. Dexter."

The woman had started to go on her way. Then she turned about again.

"Perhaps I have heard bad news," she smiled wearily.

"It isn't anything that we could help you about, is it?" asked Dick. He
felt that he was taking a liberty in putting the question, yet he could
not hold his inquiry back.

"I--I am afraid not, this time," she answered slowly. "Besides, I don't
want to see any of you get into any more trouble on my account."

"Then it's--it's Mr. Dexter?" hazarded Dave.

The woman swallowed hard, seemed to be trying to choke back something,
and then replied:

"Yes."

"Has he dared to get troublesome again?" flashed Dick.

"N-n-n-o matter. Please don't ask me. You can't help me any this time."

Once more Mrs. Dexter looked as though she would follow her way, but
some other instinct prompted her to add:

"Don't think I don't appreciate my excellent young friends. But you
can't help me this time. No one can. Mr. Dexter is too dangerous a man,
and when he threatens disaster, and says he'll wait patiently a year to
bring it about, he means every word that he says."

"Whew! So he has threatened that, has he?" Dick inquired.

"Yes. I guess I may as well tell you the rest of it. Well, this morning
I received a letter from Mr. Dexter. He wanted more money before. Now he
puts his demand at thirty thousand dollars. He says that, if I don't
arrange to meet him and turn over the cash, he'll wait patiently for a
year or more, if necessary, but that he'll watch and find his chance to
burn my home down and destroy Myra and me in it."

"Dexter threatened that, did he?" chuckled Dave Darrin, almost merrily.
"Why Dexter hasn't the nerve to do such a thing. Excuse me, Mrs. Dexter,
but all that fellow is good for is frightening timid women."

"I wish I could believe that," sighed the woman nervously.