"I don't know what to think. Mr. Rhett should have returned the securities to our vault in the basement. I assumed he had done so, until this morning in making a thorough check, I learned not a single bond had been turned in. I can only conclude that Mr. Rhett had them in his portfolio when he walked out of the bank." "So you decided to notify the police?" "Exactly. It was my duty. Understand I wish to bring no embarrassment to Mrs. Rhett or to cast reflection upon my employer but--" Albert Potts broke off, his gaze focusing upon Penny who had edged closer. "Now who are you?" he demanded suspiciously. Stepping forward, Penny introduced herself as a _Star_ reporter. "You have no business here!" the secretary snapped. "If you overheard what I just said, you're not to print a line of it! Mrs. Rhett would never approve." "I did hear what you told Sergeant Gray," replied Penny with dignity. "However, any report to the police is a matter of public record. It is for our editor to decide whether or not to use the story." Behind thick glasses, Mr. Potts' watery eyes glinted angrily. He appeared on the verge of ordering the girl from the bank, but with an obvious effort regained control of his temper, and said curtly: "If you must write a story, mind you keep the facts straight. Mr. Rhett hasn't been seen in nine days and that's all I know. He may return tomorrow. He may never appear." "Then you believe he's been kidnapped?" Penny asked. "I don't know. There's been no ransom demand." "Perhaps he absconded with the $250,000 in bonds." "Don't quote me as making such a statement even if it should prove true! Mr. Rhett is a wealthy man--or rather, he acquired a fortune when he married a rich widow who set him up here as bank president. But don't quote me on that either!" he exclaimed as Penny jotted down a few notes. "Leave my name out of it entirely!" "Let's have a look at Mr. Rhett's office," proposed Sergeant Gray. "Follow me, please." His poise regained, Albert Potts led the way down the gallery to a large, spacious office room. On the polished mahogany desk rested a picture of an attractive woman in her early forties whom Penny guessed to be Mrs. Rhett. A door opened from the office into a directors' room, and another onto a narrow outdoor balcony overlooking Front Street. Sergeant Gray and the patrolman made a thorough inspection of the two rooms and Mr. Rhett's desk. "When last I saw the bonds, Mr. Rhett had them in the top drawer," the secretary volunteered eagerly. "He should have returned them to the vault, but he failed to do so. Now they're gone." "Then you examined the desk?" "Oh, yes, I considered it my duty."