“Well, it seems that all along he’s been suspicious of her; he didn’t think she was sincere when she talked about liking America better than her own country,” replied Agony.  “He says he isn’t surprised at all that this happened; he’s been expecting something of the kind.  It was he that told papa and the Secret Service man about her having known the prince.”

“How did he find it out?” demanded Sahwah.

“I don’t know, I never told him,” declared Agony, bristling as though she thought Sahwah suspected she had told.

“I hate that artist!” Sahwah declared fiercely.  “He’s a meddlesome old thing!”

“Well, you can’t really blame him for suspecting Veronica,” said Agony, lightly, “You see, she’s an alien enemy, and——­”

“Agony!” cried Sahwah savagely, “do you believe Veronica’s a traitor?”

“I hate to think——­” began Agony.

Sahwah came close to her and faced her with blazing eyes.  “Do you believe she is?”

“It’s hard to believe——­”

“Do you believe she’s a traitor?”

Agony shrank back from her fury.  “No, I don’t,” she said meekly.  “Don’t be so savage, Sahwah.”

Sahwah subsided.

“Where is Veronica?” she asked.

“She’s still over at our house.  The Secret Service man sent me over here to bring all you girls over, he wants to talk to you.”

Sahwah roused the girls from bed with her sensational piece of news and they all hastened home with Agony.  Mr. Wing took them upstairs to his study and they went in, feeling queer and frightened.  Veronica was sitting there, her face as white as a sheet, her great eyes dilated with fear and bewilderment.  The artist lounged in the window seat, watching Veronica closely and smiling slightly to himself, and facing Veronica sat a small, keen-looking man with little, steely gray eyes that bored like gimlets.

“These are the girls with whom Miss Lehar is staying,” said Mr. Wing.  He introduced the little man as Special Agent Sanders.

Sahwah searched Mr. Wing’s face pleadingly; he looked greatly puzzled, and very, very much disturbed.  Then she looked at the gimlet-eyed man in the chair and saw his eyes rove from one to another of the girls questioningly.  He began to speak without preliminary.

“When you girls reached home after this party last night was Miss Lehar there?”

“Yes,” answered Migwan and Hinpoha and Gladys together.  Sahwah was silent.

Immediately Agent Sanders’ eye was upon her.  “Was she?” he asked directly of Sahwah.

Sahwah opened her lips and closed them nervously, unable to frame an untruth, and equally unable to tell what she knew.  She looked helplessly at Veronica.  The room became very still.  The others looked at her in astonishment.  Agent Sanders bored her with his little, keen eyes.  Sahwah felt herself turning red and white and her heartbeats thumped against her eardrums.  She sent Veronica another miserable look.  Veronica returned the look steadily, and then she spoke.