"Yes," agreed Hardwick, "and he seems to be a strange man. Listen; 'If I succeed in finding a true solution to the mystery, you may pay me whatever you deem the matter worth, if I do not, there will be no charge of any sort. Except that I should wish to live in the house with you all, at Black Aspens. I know all of the affair that has been printed in the newspapers, and no more. If you are still in the dark, I should like prodigiously to get into the thick of it and will arrive as soon as you summon me." There was more to the letter but that was the gist of it, and Braye listened in silence. "I think," he said, as the Professor finished, "that we don't want that detective poking into our affairs." "I agree," said Landon. "There's been quite enough publicity about all this already, and I, for one, prefer to go back to New York and forget it as soon as we can." "We can't forget it very soon, Wynne," put in Milly, "but I, too, want to go back to New York." "We can't go right off," Braye told them, "we must wait a week or so, at least." "Why?" asked Eve, not at all displeased by this statement, for she frankly admitted a desire to stay longer at Black Aspens. "Oh, lots of reasons." Braye put her off. "But let's settle down for another week here, and then we'll see." "Then I'm going to tell Wise to come up for that week," declared the Professor. "I don't altogether adhere to my conviction as to supernatural powers, and I want to see what a big, really clever detective can dig up in the way of clues or evidence or whatever they work by." "Oh, cut out Wise," urged Braye. "We don't want any more detectives than we are ourselves. And Peterson is pretty busy just now, too." It was after the confab broke up that Milly went to Braye. "Why don't you want Mr. Wise to come?" she said, without preamble. "Why, oh,--why just 'cause I don't," he stammered, in an embarrassed way. "You can't fool me, Rudolph," she said, with an agonized look on her pretty face. "You are afraid he'll suspect Wynne,--aren't you?" "Don't, Milly," urged Braye, "_don't_ say such things!" "You are! I know from the way you try to put me off. Oh, Braye, he _didn't_ do it! He hadn't any hand in any of the queer doings, had he, Rudolph? Tell me you _know_ he hadn't!" "Of course, Milly, of course." "But, listen, Rudolph, I heard some of the things that Peterson man said to you, I listened at the door, I couldn't help it." "Milly! I'm ashamed of you!" "I don't care! I'm not ashamed. But,--I heard him say that he thinks Wynne is in league with Mr. Stebbins and that the two of them brought about all the mysterious doings----" "Hush, Milly! Don't let any one hear you! You mustn't breathe such things!" "But he did say so, didn't he, Rudolph?" "I won't tell you." "I know he did! I heard him."