Great." Then he
sighed. "O.K.," he said. "What _does_ she want with it? She must have
some use for it. She isn't just a kleptomaniac or something--is she?"

"Of course not," the Queen said.

"Then she has a reason," Malone said. "Fine. But what is it? Is she an
auxiliary member of the Silent Spooks, or something like that? Don't
tell me she's Mike Fueyo's girl friend. I don't think I could take that.
It's too silly."

"Naturally it's silly! Sir Kenneth, I--" She stopped, and her face lit
up suddenly with pleasure. "Now you're on the right track!" she said.
"You just keep right on with that line of thought."

Malone blinked in awe. "You mean she's--"

He didn't want to say it. But the evidence was all there. Dorothy's
appearance at the station. The remark Mrs. Fueyo had made when he went
to the apartment.

It all fit.

"That's right," the Queen said, a little sadly. "She's Dorothea
Francisca Fueyo--little Miguel Fueyo's older sister."

XII.

[Illustration]

Malone put in a great deal of time, he imagined, just staring at the
face of the little old lady in the screen. At last he said: "Her name is
Fueyo!"

"I've told you so," the Queen said with some asperity.

"I know," Malone said. "But--"

"You're excited," the Queen said. "You're stunned. Goodness, you don't
need to tell me that, Sir Kenneth. I know."

"But she's--" Malone discovered that he couldn't talk. He swallowed a
couple of times and then went on. "She's Mike Fueyo's sister."

"That's exactly right, Sir Kenneth," the Queen said.

"Then she ... swiped the book to protect her little brother," Malone
said. "Oh, boy."

"Exactly, Sir Kenneth," the Queen said.

"And she doesn't care about me at all," Malone said. "I mean, she only
went out with me because I was me. Malone. And she wanted the notebook.
That was all there was to it."

"I wouldn't say that, if I were you," she went on. "Quite the contrary.
She does like you, you know. And she thinks you're a very nice person."
The Queen beamed. "You are, you know," she said.

"Oh," Malone said uncomfortably. "Sure."

"You don't have to think that she merely went out with you because of
her brother's notebook," the Queen said. "But she does have a strong
sense of loyalty--and he _is_ her younger brother, after all."

"He sure is," Malone said. "He's a great kid, little Mike."

"You see," the Queen continued imperturbably, "Mike told her about
losing the notebook the other night--when