“But Margaret, dear—­”

“No, I cannot listen!  You must go away, and let them take me to prison, let them hang me if they will!” Her voice sank still lower.  “There is nothing else to do—­I see the end.  They have cornered me, have found me out!  Yes, they have found me out!” She gave a wild, uncanny laugh that made his flesh creep.  “Ha! ha!  I thought they could not do it, but they did.  They have found me out!  They have found me out!” And then, with another scream, she pitched back and lay again like one dead.

CHAPTER XV

LOVE VERSUS BUSINESS

“Uncle Adam, you must tell me everything.  Do you hear?—­everything!”

“But my dear Letty, I am not sure of these things.  I only want you to wait.  That’s easy enough, isn’t it?”

“It will be, if you tell me everything.  But I can’t wait if I am kept in the dark.”  The girl raised her tear-stained face to that of the detective.  “Oh, I am sure you will do the best you can and all that—­you have always been so kind to me.  But—­but I must know the details.”

A half hour had passed since he had discovered that Letty Bernard was in love with Tom Ostrello, that she had been in love with the traveling man ever since they had first met.  He had heard her whole tale, how the young man had taken her out and how they had planned for the future—­a tale not uncommon even in these plain, common-sense days, when Romance lingers only on the outskirts of society.  He had been tremendously interested, as much so as if the girl was his own flesh and blood.

“Of course, he invited me to the theatre before he knew of the death of his mother,” Letty went on.  “And I suppose he has been so upset he hasn’t thought to notify me.  But he might have sent me word,” she added wistfully.  “I should have done so if it was my mother.”

“He is not like you, Letty.”

“Well, he is just as good.”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Are you going to tell me what you have in your mind or not, Uncle Adam?”

He gazed at her fondly.  How could he tell her?  And yet, if his suspicions were correct, it would be better for her to know the truth now than to be struck down by it later on.

“There is nothing very definite, Letty,” he said slowly.  “You know that all detectives get on the wrong trail at times—­I have made a mess of more than one case—­you know that, even if the general public doesn’t.”

“Then he is suspected of these murders?” she said boldly.

“If you must have the whole story, I’ll tell it to you.  It is certainly a curious situation.  At first suspicions pointed to Mr. Langmore’s daughter; now they appear to point to Mrs. Langmore’s son.  For your sake and for the sake of Miss Langmore, who appears to be a very nice young lady, I trust we shall be able to prove some outside party guilty.”