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you're working for Jim. Oh, this is my private secretary, Norris. Norris, this is Fenton Hardy, the detective, and his sons, Frank and Joe, who are helping their father out on the case."
    Norris nodded to them. Though they were angry at realizing that their security had been broken, Frank and Joe kept their silence.
    "Well, Mr. Graham - " Fenton began when his sister, Gertrude, appeared in the hallway.
    "I heard the doorbell and the talking. Is there anything wrong? Oh, Mr. Addison! What's happened? You look just awful!"
    Addison replied, "I'm fine, Gertrude, really. Just tired, that's all."
    Gertrude blushed and said, "I'm sorry about the other day. I get carried away sometimes. But I know just the thing to fix you up - a nice steaming cup of cocoa. Let me just - "
    "No, really, you needn't go to any - "
    "Now, it's no trouble at all," insisted Gertrude, heading for the kitchen.
    Andrea Stuart said, "Mr. Hardy, have you learned anything important about Fairburn's past? You said you would check on it."
    Fenton replied, "I don't think we need to keep Mr. Graham and Norris any longer."
    "Oh, come on, Mr. Hardy," Andrea urged. "We can trust Mr. Graham. He is on our side."
    But Graham spoke up. "Ms. Stuart, I think it's best for me to leave. Mr. Hardy is quite right to keep things private. If there's anything more I can do, just ask."
    The financier and his secretary departed, and the others went to Fenton's office.
    "I think you were very rude to Mr. Graham," said Andrea Stuart. "After all he's done for us - "
    "How come Graham knows all about us working for you?" asked Joe.
    Andrea gave him a cold stare. "I beg your pardon. Are you trying to tell me my business?"
    Frank said, "It's our business when our cover is blown. You weren't supposed to talk about us to anybody without clearing it first."
    The manager turned to Fenton. "Mr. Hardy, really. Are my dealings subject to approval by your children? This is ridiculous."
    "Children!" Joe was furious.
    Fenton gave Andrea a cold look. "Frank and Joe are absolutely right to be worried, Mrs. Stuart. The more people who know about our job, the harder it becomes, and the more dangerous as well."
    "Dangerous? Oh, please!" Andrea sneered. "Let's skip the cheap melodrama. How could I persuade Mr. Graham to get your boys hired, or to get Jim out of that cell, without telling him what's going on here?"
    "Melodrama, huh?" Joe said. "Well, we had a little joy ride today on a mountain road with no brakes. That wasn't melodrama, that was real life." He related the story of the van ride.
    Addison was shocked. "But you're okay? You weren't hurt?"
    "We were lucky," replied Joe, "and Frank is a really great driver, or you'd have needed two new gofers tomorrow."
    Andrea Stuart, however, waved it off. "You don't mean to suggest that J. F. Graham goes around fiddling with brakes, do you? He isn't a hoodlum, he's a respectable businessman. It must have been an accident."
    "Andrea." Fenton leaned forward and fixed her with a steely look. "Let's get this clear. You are not to talk to him or to anyone else about this case. Do we understand each other?"
    "Oh, all right, if you insist. Now, what have you learned about Fairburn?"
    Fairburn's past as a crime reporter suggested nothing to either Jim or Andrea.
    "What about this eyewitness?" asked Frank. "Got any ideas about that?"
    Addison shook his head.
    Fenton said, "Jim, when I saw Chief Collig, he showed me the transcript of the eyewitness's story. I can't reveal his name, but I know the man and he's an honest citizen, with no stake in this business. He says he heard you tell Fairburn that he'd earned a bullet and now he was going to get it. We have a problem here. Can you explain it at all?"
    Jim slammed his hand on the arm of his chair. "Explain it! No, it's completely crazy! I was in my hotel room, alone, until just before that opening ceremony, studying my script. I never saw Fairburn that day! Of course, I have no way to prove it. If you don't believe