oe could
not help reading it at a glance. To his surprise it was signed by
Sanford, the tricky law clerk.

"I shall be glad to see you if you will call on me when you reach
Lyledale," the letter read. "I am glad you think of buying more stock.
I have some to sell. I will be at the Globe Hotel."

"Whew!" whistled Joe. "It's just as I feared. She's been doing
business with Sanford again--trying to make good her loss on the oil
stock. He has an appointment with her here in Lyledale. That's where
she's gone--to meet him. She must have sold some of her other
securities to get money to buy more stock. I must stop this. I've got
to follow her. Poor Helen!"

Joe had found out what he wanted to know by accident. Helen, he
reasoned, must have received the letter that day, or perhaps the day
before, and had planned to meet Sanford on reaching Lyledale where the
circus was then playing. In order to do this she had to be excused
from the afternoon performance.

"But I'll put a stop to that deal if I can," Joe declared. "I'll tell
her how foolish and risky it is to invest any more money with Sanford.
I only hope she'll believe me."

Joe's time was his own until the night performance. He decided he
would at once follow Helen to the hotel and there remonstrate with her,
if it were not too late.

"Queer that she kept it a secret from all of us," remarked Joe as he
started for town. "I guess she knew we'd try to stop her from throwing
good money after bad, as they say. Well, now to see what luck I'll
have."

The Globe Hotel was the best and largest in town. Joe had no
difficulty in finding it, and on inquiring at the desk was told that
Mr. Sanford was a guest at the place.

"He has two rooms," the clerk told Joe. "One he uses as an office,
where he does business."

"Oh, then he's been here before?" Joe asked.

"Oh, yes, often. I don't know what his business is, but I think, he is
a sort of stock and bond dealer."

"More like a stock and bond swindler," thought Joe.

"Mr. Sanford will see you in a few minutes," the bellboy reported to
Joe, having come back from taking up our hero's card. "There's a lady
in the office with him now."

"A young lady?" Joe asked.

"Yes," nodded the bellboy.

"I'll go up now!" decided Joe. "I think he might just as well see me
now as later."

"Maybe he won't like it," the clerk warned him.

"I don't care whether he likes it or not!" cried Joe. "It may be too
late