You ought to know from
past experiences that disagreeable scenes are my forte."

"I know that I'd rather have you with me on this expedition than any one
else I know," responded Grace. "You are not easily intimidated."

The two girls by this time had left Main Street and turned into Putnam
Square.

"Grace," said Eleanor suddenly. "I believe I can guess the place you are
headed for. You are going to Henry Hammond's office, aren't you?"

"Yes," said Grace, surprised at the accuracy of Eleanor's guess, "I am."

"And you are going there about the money that he stole from Marian. Am I
right!"

"You are," answered Grace truthfully. "But how did you know?"

"Because," said Eleanor quietly, "I intended going there myself."

"Then you think that----" began Grace.

"I think that Henry Hammond is a thief and an impostor," finished
Eleanor. "He tried to interest Aunt Margaret in some real estate, and
called at 'Heartsease' on two different occasions. She is a very shrewd
business woman and he couldn't fool her in the least. Both times he
called he kept looking about him all the time, as though he were trying
to see whether we had any valuables. He raved over the house, and hinted
to be shown through it, but we weren't so foolish.

"When Chief Burroughs was questioning the prisoner to-day about his
confederate, it suddenly flashed across me that it might be this man
Hammond. He appeared here for the first time on the night of the bazaar
and--"

"Eleanor," exclaimed Grace, "you've missed your vocation. You should
have been a detective. I believe what you say to be the truth and have
thought so for some time. We can hardly denounce Henry Hammond upon
suspicion, but we can scare him and make him give back the class money.
Perhaps we are defeating the ends of justice by not telling what we
suspect, but if we have him arrested on suspicion, then the only way we
can get back our money is to publicly charge him with extorting it from
Marian. Think what a disgrace that would be for her in her graduating
year, too," Grace added. "She would feel too ashamed to ever again face
her best friends."

"I have thought of all that, too, and now that we are both of the same
mind, let's on to victory," said Eleanor.

The two girls paused and shook hands as they entered the building in
which Henry Hammond had his office, then mounted the stairs with the
full determination of winning in their cause.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hammond," called