“The chief villain is yet to be caught,” he concluded. “I think we shall find the clew to him in his office.”
There was a great deal of excitement at headquarters, and many questions were asked.
Nick told the reporters to make it plain that Low’s arrest had been a fake.
“When it’s all settled,” he said, “I’ll give you the details, or you can get them from Kerr, who deserves a great deal of credit for the way he picked up evidence. I’ve got work ahead between now and morning.”
Low was released, of course, and he went with Nick, Patsy and Kerr to Claymore’s office.
Everything seemed to be in order there, but Nick picked the lock of Claymore’s desk, and found a lot of papers there on which the man had been at work during the long evening.
There were maps of the country around Mason Creek, some printed, some roughly drawn with a pencil.
There was also the deed which Low had given to the oil company when he sold a piece of his land.
Using his magnifying glass, Nick saw that some changes had been made in the deed.