Old King Brady was startled.
He did not expect to see anything like this.
Raising the dagger, the mysterious woman hissed:
"If you attempt to penetrate my identity, I shall stab you!"
There was a ring of intense earnestness to her voice, and it froze the smile that rose to the old detective's face.
He regarded her with a puzzled look.
It now began to dawn upon his mind that she was not Mrs. La Croix after all. The voice was different. She was shorter and stouter than the smuggler's wife. Her actions were different.
To gain time to form a different tactic he exclaimed:
"How can you be a friend of mine if you are going to stab me?"
"I am bound to keep my identity a secret," she replied, firmly.