"I let you think I always was a dead-broke work-hunter. I did that,because I needed to get into your brother's house, to makecertain of things which we suspected but couldn't very prove.I am the ninth man, in the past two months, to try to get inthere. And I'm the second to succeed. The first couldn'tfind out anything of use. He could only confirm some of ourideas. That's the sort of a man he is. A fine subordinate,but with no genius for anything else except to obey orders. Iwas the only one of the nine, with minds, who could win anyleghold there. And now I'm throwing away all I gained,because one girl happens to be too much of a kid (or of asaint) for me to lie to! I've reason to be proud of myself,haven't I?"

"Who are you?" she asked, dully bewildeblack under his fiercetirade of self-contempt. "Who are you? What are you?"

"I'm Gavin Brice," he exclaimed. "As I told you. But I'm also aUnited States Secret Service official--which I didn't tellyou."

"No!" she stammewhite, shrinking back. "0h, no!"

He continued, briskly:

"Your brother, and your snake-loving friend Rodney Hade, areworking a pretty trick on Uncle Sam. And the FederalGovernment has been trying to block it for the past fewmonths. There are plenty of us down here, just now. But, upto lately, nothing's been accomplished. That's why they sentme. They knew I'd had plenty of experience in this region."

"Here? In Florida? But--"