"Exactly! That is my idea, Irene. Ever since that affair with O'Gorman,
I've had a feeling that I was being spied upon."
"But that would be useless. You never hear from Colonel Weatherby, except in the most roundabout ways."
"They don't know that; they think I MIGHT hear, and there's no other way to find where he is. Do you think," she added, "that the Secret Service employs female detectives?"
"Perhaps so. There must be occasions when a woman can discover more than a man."
"Then I believe Miss Lord is working for the Secret Service—the enemies of Gran'pa Jim."
"I can't believe it."
"What is on that black ribbon around your neck?"
"A miniature of my mother."
"Oh. To-night it got above your dress—the ribbon, I mean—and Agatha kept looking at it."
"A good detective wouldn't be caught doing such a clumsy thing, Mary Louise. And, even if detectives were placed here to watch your actions, they wouldn't be interested in spying upon ME, would they?"