* * * * * Next morning, Joyce came flying over to Cynthia's house half an hour before it was time to start for high school. She seemed rather excited. "Come on! Do hurry, Cyn! I've something important to tell you." "But it isn't time to start yet," objected Cynthia, "and I'm only half through breakfast. Tell me here!" Joyce gave her a warning glance before turning away. "Oh, later will do," she remarked casually, and strolled into the sitting-room to chat with Mrs. Sprague. This was sufficient to hasten Cynthia, who usually loved to linger cozily over her morning meal. She had her hat and coat on and her books under her arm inside of seven minutes, and the two girls hurried away together. They were no sooner down the steps than Joyce began: "Last night an idea came to me, just through some remark that Father happened to make. It's queer we never thought of it before. There's a real-estate agent over the other side of the town--Mr. Wade--and he ought to know everything about all the property here. That's his business. Let's go to his office and ask him about the old house. He doesn't know us, and won't suspect anything. We'll go this afternoon, right after school!" "But there's a meeting of the Sigma Sigma Society this afternoon," Cynthia remonstrated, "and they're going to give that little play. I'm crazy to see it!" "I don't care!" cried Joyce, recklessly. "What's the meeting of an old literary society compared to an important thing like this?" "But we could do it just as well to-morrow." "I can't wait till to-morrow, Cynthia Sprague!" And that settled the matter. They started on their expedition that very afternoon. It was a bleak, raw day, and they found Mr. Wade huddled over a red-hot stove in his little office. He stared at them in some surprise as they entered. "Pardon me," began Joyce, always the spokesman, "but I'd like to ask a question or two about the old boarded-up house on Orchard Avenue." Now the agent was apparently not in the best of spirits that day. Business had been very dull, he had two children at home sick with measles, and he himself was in the first stage of a cold. "I don't know anything about it!" he mumbled crossly. "It ain't in the market--never was!" "Oh, we don't want to _buy_ it or _rent_ it!" explained Joyce, politely. "We only wanted to know if you knew the owners, where they live and what their names are." "No, I don't!" he reiterated. "Tried to find out once. It's some estate. Business all transacted through lawyers in New York, and they won't open their heads about it. Plain as told me it was none of my affairs!" "Then perhaps you could tell us--" Joyce was persisting, when the agent suddenly interrupted, turning on her suspiciously: "Say, what do you want to know all this for? What's the old place to you, anyhow?"