THE PADDINGTON MYSTERIES. NEW AND STARTLING FEATURES. DIAMOND WORTH £80,000 BEING LOOKED FOR MURDER IN MAIDA VALE
Ayscough laid down the paper and smiled. Levendale—if not dead—could scarcely fail to see that!
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
ONE O'CLOCK MIDNIGHT
Five minutes after Ayscough had gone away with Dr. Mirandolet the hotel servant who had summoned him from Purdie's sitting-room knocked at the door for the second time and put a somewhat mystified face inside.
"Beg pardon, sir," he said, glancing at Purdie, who was questioning Melky Rubinstein as to the events of the evening in their relation to the house in Maida Vale. "Two ladies outside, sir—waiting to see you. But they don't want to come in, sir, unless they know who's here—don't want to meet no strangers, sir."
Purdie jumped to his feet, and putting the man aside looked into the dimly-lighted corridor. There, a few paces away, stood Zillah—and, half hidden by her, Mrs. Goldmark.
"Come in—come in!" he exclaimed. "Nobody here but Andie Lauriston and
Melky Rubinstein. You've something to tell—something's happened?"
He ushered them into the room, sent the hotel servant, obviously in a state of high curiosity about these happenings, away, and closed the door.
"S'elp me!" exclaimed Melky, "there ain't no other surprises, Zillah? You ain't come round at this time o' night for nothing! What you got to tell, Zillah?—another development?"