ry proposition made to you by
the three men, Carlis, Mallowe and Rockamore; in other words, place
yourself absolutely in their hands, but keep me informed of every move
they make. You understand that the most important factor in this case
is to keep them absolutely unsuspecting of your distrust, or that you
have called me to your assistance. I must not be seen coming here or
to Mr. Hamilton's office, nor must you come to mine. I will have a
private wire installed for you to-morrow morning, by means of which
you can communicate with me, or one of my operatives, at any hour of
the day or night, in the presence of anyone. This telephone will
connect only with my office, but the number will be, supposedly, that
of your dressmaker, and if you require aid, advice, or the presence of
one of my operatives, you have merely to call up the number and say:
'Is my gown ready? If it is, please send it around immediately.' Let
me know through this medium whatever occurs, and take absolutely no
one into your confidence."

"I understand, Mr. Blaine; and I will try to follow your instructions
to the letter. Oh, by the way, there is something I wish to tell you,
which no one, not even Mr. Hamilton, knows, much less my father's
friends, or my minister. Four years ago, my father financed a
philanthropic venture of mine, the Anita Lawton Club for Working
Girls. It is not a purely charitable institution, but a home club,
where worthy young women could live by paying a nominal sum--merely to
preserve their self-respect--and be aided in obtaining positions.
Stenographers, telephone and telegraph operators, clerks, all find
homes there. No one knew, however, that under my management, the club
grew in less than a year not only to have paid for itself, but to have
yielded a small income, over and above expenses. I did not tell my
father--I don't know why, perhaps it was because I inherited a little
of his business acumen, but I manipulated the net income in various
minor undertakings, even in time buying small plots of unimproved
real-estate, meaning after a year or two more to surprise my father
with the result of my venture, but his death intervened before I could
tell him about it."

"Your father's associates, then, believe you to be without funds or
private income of your own?" the detective asked.

"Yes, Mr. Blaine. And whatever money is necessary for the investigation,
will, of course, be forthcoming from this source."

"Let me strongly