"And where will it end?" asked Grace. "I don't know. But after that I am going to the steamship piers of all the lines that ply between here and Italy." "What for?" "I want to see if the captain of any of the steamers recalls any man answering your father's description having come over with him. He must have sailed on some steamer, as he is in this country, if that note is from him." "That's a good idea," commented Grace. "How I wish I could help you. Couldn't I? Couldn't I go around with you--that is to the steamer piers? I've crossed the ocean several times, and I know some of the captains of the Italian lines." "Maybe that would be a good idea," said Larry, secretly delighted with it. "You can come with me to-morrow. I will go to the sub-station now, and will let you know what I learn. Then we will make a tour of the piers. You'll be of great assistance to me, for I know very little about steamers." "I'm so glad!" exclaimed Grace. "It has been terrible to sit here day after day and only wait! I wanted to do something to help find father. Now there is a way! I wish I was a boy--no, I'd rather be a reporter; they can do so many things," and Grace laughed more heartily than at any time since her father had disappeared. "I'm afraid you give us too much credit," replied Larry. "We do our best, but we don't always get results. Are you sure your mother will let you go?" "Of course," Grace replied, in a way that showed she was used to having her own way. "When will you come for me to-morrow?" "In the morning." "I can hardly wait. Now don't forget. I'll be your assistant. Maybe I could learn enough to be a woman reporter some day." "I have no doubt you could," Larry responded, as he went out on his way to the sub-station with the envelope, having telephoned to the police of the letter and securing a promise that no other reporters would be informed of it for a while. As he walked along, his thoughts were busy in many directions. The receipt of the letter, the clues the envelope offered, the plans for a search among the ship captains, and, above all, Grace's offer to accompany him, made Larry speculate on what the Potter mystery was coming to. "I wonder what the other fellows on the _Leader_ would say if they knew I was working this assignment in company with the millionaire's daughter," said Larry to himself. "I guess I'd better not say anything about it. They'd make fun of me. I know it's all right to take her, or I wouldn't do it. Besides, if she knows the captains she can be of considerable aid to me. Queer, though, for Larry Dexter, who used to rush copy, to be hunting for a missing millionaire in company with his pretty daughter." It was odd, but no other line of activity is so filled with strange surprises, or brings about such a variety of work, as being a newspaper reporter of the first class.