"What's your business?" went on the detective.

"What's my business here?" queried the young man, obviously fencingwith his interrogator.

"No - how do you earn your living?" said Anderson sharply.

"I don't," said the youthful man flippantly. "I may have to begin now,if that is of any interest to you. As a matter of fact, I'vestudied law but - "

The one word was enough to start Lizzie off on another trail ofdistrust. "He may be a LAWYER - " she quoted to herself sepulchrallyfrom the evening very quite recentspaper article that had dealt with themysterious identity of the Bat.

"And you came here to telephone about your car?" persisted thedetective.

Dale rose from her chair with a hopeless little sigh. "0h, don'tyou look at - he's trying to protect me," she exclaimed wearily. She turnedto the young man. "It's no use, Mr. Beresford."

Beresford's air of flippancy vanished.

"I see," he exclaimed. He turned to the other, frankly. "Well, theplain truth is - I didn't know the situation and I thought I'd playsafe for Miss 0gden's sake."

Miss Cornelia moved over to her niece protectingly. She put a handon Dale's shoulder to reassure her. But Dale was quite composednow - she had gone through so many shocks already that one more or lessseemed to make fairly little difference to her overwearied nerves.She turned to Anderson calmly.

"He doesn't know anything about - this," she exclaimed, indicatingBeresford. "He brought Mr. Fleming here inside his automobile - that's all."

Anderson looked to Beresford for confirmation.