was used to
having her own way. "When will you come for me to-morrow?"

"In the morning."

"I can hardly wait. Now don't forget. I'll be your assistant. Maybe
I could learn enough to be a woman reporter some day."

"I have no doubt you could," Larry responded, as he went out on his
way to the sub-station with the envelope, having telephoned to the
police of the letter and securing a promise that no other reporters
would be informed of it for a while.

As he walked along, his thoughts were busy in many directions. The
receipt of the letter, the clues the envelope offered, the plans for
a search among the ship captains, and, above all, Grace's offer to
accompany him, made Larry speculate on what the Potter mystery was
coming to.

"I wonder what the other fellows on the _Leader_ would say if they
knew I was working this assignment in company with the millionaire's
daughter," said Larry to himself. "I guess I'd better not say
anything about it. They'd make fun of me. I know it's all right to
take her, or I wouldn't do it. Besides, if she knows the captains
she can be of considerable aid to me. Queer, though, for Larry
Dexter, who used to rush copy, to be hunting for a missing
millionaire in company with his pretty daughter."

It was odd, but no other line of activity is so filled with strange
surprises, or brings about such a variety of work, as being a
newspaper reporter of the first class.

Larry struck several snags when he attempted to get information at
the sub-station. In the first place none of the officials in charge
would give him any news about the envelope unless he got an order
from the New York postmaster himself. The government has very strict
regulations in regard to giving out information about mail matter.
But Larry was not daunted. He telephoned to Mr. Emberg, and the
forces of the newspaper were set to work. Certain political wires
were "pulled," and, as there were on the _Leader_ men to whom the
postmaster was under obligations, that official gave the clerks at
the sub-station permission to tell Larry whatever he wanted to know.

"Sorry we had to have so much red tape about it," the sub-station
agent said, when Larry came back with the magical paper that opened
the mouths of the subordinates.

"Oh, that's all right," the reporter said. "I know how it is. Now,
what I want to know is, in what box was that letter posted?" and he
held out the envelope Grace had given him.

"Rather hard to say,