pay."

"You have no cheaper offices you could let Mr. De Royster have?"

"None. In fact I am thinking of raising the rents of those."

Roy wondered if he and his father would get any of the increase.

"That property must be quite valuable," he went on.

"It is."

Roy now felt that the real estate agent had convicted himself. There
was need of no further evidence. It was time to make the disclosure.

"Mr. Annister," said Roy. "Perhaps I had better introduce myself.
Here is my card."

He handed over one on which he had written his name, and the address of
his father's ranch, as well as that of the hotel where he was stopping.

For a moment the agent did not know what to do, as he looked at the bit
of pasteboard. His face became pale, then red, then pale again. Next
he smiled, in a sickly sort of way.

"So you are Roy Bradner, son of James Bradner, eh?" he asked, slowly.

"Yes, sir."

"Well, that's--that's a pretty good joke," went on the agent. "A
pretty good joke."

Roy could not quite see it.

"You come East here, and pretend to want an office in the building your
father owns, and you take me in completely. That is a good joke. But
I see what you are after."

"That will save a lot of explanation then, Mr. Annister."

"I see what you want," the agent went on. "You wanted to find out in a
quiet way, if I was properly looking after your father's property. So
you come here, and don't let me know who you are. It's a good joke.
But I guess you found I was looking after your interests; didn't you?
You found me faithful to my trust. Now you can go back and tell your
father that I am looking well after his affairs. That's what you can
do. When are you going back?"

"I don't know!" exclaimed Roy boldly, "but when I do go back I will
tell my father that you are a swindler, and that you are cheating
him--and me also--out of our rent money."

"What's that?" cried Mr. Annister, his face fairly purple with rage.
"You dare call me a swindler! I'll have you arrested for insulting me!
Leave my office at once! How dare you address me in that manner?"

"I dare because I'm right," replied Roy coolly. "You can't bluff me,
Mr. Annister. I see through your game. I now demand that you pay back
all the money you have retained, or I shall make a complaint against
you."

The bold and fearless bearing of the boy had its effect on the real
estate agent. He saw he had to deal with a lad, who, if he had h