place. "Ever see a chap
that looked like this, friend Paul, eh?"

"God! The Cracksman!"

"The identical party!" acknowledged Cleek blandly. "Come! I want to have
a few minutes' talk with you, my friend, and---- Stop! Don't back away!
Stop and face me. By God! you'll hang for last night's business if you
don't!"

CHAPTER THIRTY

NEARING THE TRUTH!

It was one o'clock when Mr. Maverick Narkom, pacing uneasily up and down
the narrow strip of turf just outside the boundary wall of Wuthering
Grange, saw the door at the wall angle flash open and shut again, and
without so much as a murmur of sound looked up to find Cleek standing
within a few paces of him.

"My dear fellow! Gad, I never was so glad to see anybody in all my
days," exclaimed the superintendent, swooping down on him in a little
whirlwind of excitement. "Cinnamon! You'll never guess what's happened,
Cleek, never! After all my instructions, those blundering idiots of
local police were too late to catch Margot and her crew at Wimbledon,
the house where young Raynor visited, as you wrote me. I went down
myself directly Dollops brought me your note, but it was too late, the
police had frightened her in some way----"

"It does not matter," said Cleek calmly. "I have come to the end of the
riddle."

"The end?" gasped Mr. Narkom. "The end! Man alive, tell me who----"

"Patience, my friend; perhaps I ought not to have said that yet, some
few things remain to be discovered, but the first thing to do is to
carry out the murderer's message before it is too late, or the letters
get into the wrong hands."

"Whose letters?" exclaimed Mr. Narkom, naturally bewildered.

"The woman who lured Count de Louvisan, though that is not his name, to
his death, Lady Clavering----"

"Lady Clav---- Heavens, man, what possible motive could she have?"

"We shall see, my friend, if my ideas are right. Call up Lennard and the
limousine and let us go down to the cottage. With one more thread in my
hand, and then to-night will see the knot unravelled."

With this Mr. Narkom was fain to be content, and once in the car, the
few minutes that elapsed before they reached Gleer Cottage were passed
in silence. At the gate, when the limousine drew up, Cleek aroused
himself from his reverie.

"Mr. Narkom, get the constables stationed on duty near that room out of
the way. Put them outside somewhere where they won't be able to see or
hear what goes on at the back of the house. T