The man was defeated.
He was allowed to remain only long enough to make Grover’s triumph complete by sending Roger to the cabinet to take down the can just behind the place from which he had removed his false one.
Therefrom, the Tibetans were glad to receive, as they forgot all animosity toward Roger, the true Eye of Om.
For his attempts on Roger’s safety and his act toward Astrovox, Ryder stayed behind bars a long time.
Chapter 42
CLOSING TIME
The Ear Detective, more favored than ever because he had been the means of listing sound-clues, one of which had completely linked Ryder into his crime, was busy.
Astrovox, well recovered from his blow on the temple, was going to “shoot” the stars as they crossed over the lens of his telescope and Roger was getting a sound-film into a camera.
“Why in the world did Ryder have to go to all that trouble?” the old star-reader inquired. “How much simpler to have come in his own clothes. More freedom for his hands, that way, and no need to bring the ape to unlace his animal skin.”
“He knew,” Roger explained, “about out protective device, and by wearing the skin and bringing the dancing ape, he would never be photographed and he would fool us all the more.”
“Well,” remarked Astrovox, “you’ll remember that Neptune—the planet of deception—was opposed by Saturn, the planet of obstruction, and there was an opposition of Mars, ruling explosives, with Uranus, which is, you might say, the planet that brings up the unexpected.”