Margaret watched curiously as Zayata took the slate and carefully wiped off the message with a small sponge that the servant gave him. She had seen Zayata write that message — after he had read a note which Chandra had brought.
But Zayata had kept the slate turned so that Margaret had not seen the message. It all seemed curious, but Zayata had volunteered no explanation, so Margaret did not ask for one.
“Chandra,” said Zayata, “bring me those newspapers.”
The servant bowed and went to a table in the corner of the room. He lifted its toplike lid and brought out some newspapers. He carried them to Zayata, who kept the front pages toward himself.
Then, Zayata selected one of the journals and gave it to Margaret. The girl gasped when she read the headlines.
The newspaper told of the arrest of her uncle. It spoke of him as a fiend. Clinton Glendenning was branded as the slayer of two men — Charles Blefken and Don Hasbrouck.
Wildly, the girl’s eyes ran down the columns. A paragraph caught her attention. It said:
The finding of Hasbrouck’s body has revealed Clinton Glendenning as an archfiend. But the proof that is strongest against the retired manufacturer is the evidence brought forth by Detective Joe Cardona. Glendenning’s thumb prints are identical with the marks discovered on the throat of Charles Blefken. A comparison of photostatic reproductions has left no possible doubt. The testimony of Larkin has been of immense value to the police. Larkin declared that on the night when Hasbrouck last visited Glendenning’s home, the old man retired to his bedroom before the sleuth departed. Larkin remained upstairs while Hasbrouck left. It is believed that the old man descended to the ground floor by his interior stairs and slew Hasbrouck, strangling him with those iron hands that have surprised the police by their power. Detective Cardona would not reveal the contents of Glendenning’s diaries. He said that he had learned of their existence through Larkin, who had noted the old man making secret entries in a book. Larkin did not know where the diaries were kept. Cardona discovered them after a long search and now has them at headquarters; The star detective states that the diaries are in Glendenning’s handwriting and that they give information which may lead to the discovery of other crimes. Cardona, although noncommittal, indicated that Robert Buchanan may have been one of the strangle-fiend’s victims. He would say nothing, however, about the disappearance of Glendenning’s niece.
Margaret dropped the newspaper. She buried her face in her hands, and began to weep convulsively. Zayata, consoling, put his arm about her, and the girl leaned on the man’s shoulder while she cried.
At last, her weeping ended, she looked at her new-found friend with tear-dimmed eyes. Zayata’s kindliness was encouraging. The girl tried to smile. Then she closed her eyes and rested her head snugly upon the comforting arm.