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."

"Tom isn't guilty, I am sure of that."

"And Raymond Case is equally certain that Miss Langmore isn't guilty."

"He is the young man who came here and engaged you?"

"Yes."

"Is he engaged to her?"

"Yes."

"Then, of course, he thinks her innocent."

"I think her innocent myself."

"Do you think Tom is guilty?"

At this direct question Adam Adams winced. He saw before him a
disagreeable duty which must be performed.

"I see I must give you the facts, Letty. But I will do so on one
condition only, and that is, that you keep what I have to say to
yourself--considering them as office secrets."

"Very well, Uncle Adam, I'll promise," she answered, with a pale face
upturned to him. He bent down and kissed her on the forehead. Then he
locked the office door, sat down in an armchair and let her sit on his
lap, just as she had done since childhood.

His recital took the best part of an hour, and he gave all the
particulars of his interview with Cephas Carboy and with Doctor Calkey,
and told of the finding of the bit of paper with the address of the
drug firm on it, and of the strange Chinese poison. At the mention of
the fatal drug she drew a sharp breath.

"I--I--" she began, and stopped short.

"Do you know anything of that drug, Letty? Perhaps he spoke to you
about it?"

"He did, once, when we were speaking of poisons. He said he was glad
his firm had decided not to handle it, for it was too dangerous. It
has a power that most folks do not know about."

"The power to kill people, I suppose."

"No, not that. He said it was a fatal drug, but more than that, he
said it had a strange power, according to the Chinese chemists who
manufactured it. That power