ched for the
portrait of Flora Miles, unexpectedly beautiful in the eighteenth
century costume--tight bodice and billowing skirts.

"She questioned you about Mrs. Miles?" Dundee asked.

"Yes. All sorts of questions--her name, and whether she was married and
then who her husband was, and if she had had stage experience," Lois
answered conscientiously. "She explained her interest by saying Flora
looked more like a professional actress than any of the others, and that
we should give her a real chance when we got our Little Theater going. I
asked her if that meant she was going to accept my offer, and she said
she might, but that she would have to talk it over with a friend first.
Just before midnight she telephoned me at my hotel that she had decided
to accept the job."

Dundee's heart leaped. It was very easy to guess who that "friend" was!
But he controlled his excitement, asked his next question casually:

"Did she show particular interest in any other player?"

"Yes. She asked a number of questions about Polly Beale, and seemed
incredulous when I told her that Polly and Clive were engaged. Polly
played 'Mrs. Peachum', and was a riot in the part.... But Nita's
intuition was correct. Flora carried off the acting honors.... Oh, yes,
she also asked, quite naively, if all my friends were rich, too, and
could help support a Little Theater. I reassured her on that point."

"And," Dundee reflected silently, "upon a point much more important to
Nita Selim." Aloud he said: "I don't see _you_ among the cast."

"Oh, I haven't a grain of talent," Lois Dunlap laughed. "I can't act for
two cents--can I, Peter darling?... Here's the redoubtable 'Robin of
Bagshot' in person, Mr. Dundee--my husband!"

The detective rose to shake hands with the man he had been too absorbed
to see or hear approaching.

"You're the man from the district attorney's office?" Peter Dunlap
scowled, his hand barely touching Dundee's. "I suppose you're trying to
get at the bottom of the mystery of why my wife brought that Selim
woman--"

"Don't call her 'that Selim woman', Peter!" Lois Dunlap interrupted with
more sharpness than Dundee had ever seen her display. "You never liked
the poor girl, were never just to her--"

"Well, it looks as if my hunch was correct, doesn't it?" the stocky,
rugged-faced man retorted. "I told you at the beginning to pay her off
and send her back to New York--"

"You knew I couldn't do that, even to please you, dear," L