finally rallied her nerves and stooped down to pick
up the sheet of copy which had fallen from the desk. Almost mechanically
she placed the sheets in order and stacked them neatly. That done she
sat down at the desk to decide what to do.

There was no question in her own mind but what someone was after the
manuscript she had finished and someone outside the studio. The
disappearance of the manuscript from her hotel room tied up with this
latest event and Janet knew that some agency was determined that the
story of the last eventful days of the filming of "Kings of the Air"
should never be told as a part of the radio play they were to present.
Whether the unknown force was the Premier Film Company or a radio rival
of the World Broadcasting Company, she couldn't even guess, but in
either case she knew that she was in a particularly unpleasant position,
and wished that Jim was with her.

Janet unlocked the right hand drawer of Jim's desk and pulled it out.
For ordinary purposes it was strong enough, but to place a valuable
manuscript in it was something that made her hesitate.

She turned around and stared at the curtains at the windows and the door
along the corridor. They were drawn tightly now. It would be impossible
for anyone to see in the office.

What should she do with the manuscript? Would it be safe in her own
hands when she walked down the long corridor she must traverse before
she reached the reception lobby and the battery of elevators?

Janet didn't feel she wanted to risk that, yet she knew it would be
unsafe in the drawer of Jim's desk.

Suddenly her gaze fell upon the telephone and she smiled a little
foolishly. She picked up the instrument and waited for the operator in
the main office to answer.

There was no response.

Janet jiggled the hook several times, but still there was no answer. She
did not know that the particular branch exchange on that floor which
served the publicity department did not have an operator on duty after
midnight.

Janet's spirits drooped when she failed to get a response through the
telephone and once more she looked about the room for some place to hide
the manuscript.

Suddenly she hit upon a plan of action. Seizing the manuscript she
hastened over near the outside window, reached down and pulled up the
heavy carpet which covered the floor. Working swiftly she placed the
manuscript under the carpet, spreading the sheets out so there would be
no noticeable bulge i