"He did. He did. It was Clayte--the wonder man!" "Do--do you deduce that, Barbara?" "Did I?" she raised to mine the face of a sick child. "I must have. See--it's here on the blotter: 'y-t-e,' that's Clayte. Double l-e-r; that's 'teller,' 'Avenue' is part of 'Van Ness Avenue Bank.' Oh, yes; I deduced it, I suppose. Both crimes end in a locked room and a perfect alibi. But--but--don't you see, if it is true--and it is--it is--we're worse off than we were before. We've the wonder man against us." "Barbara," I cried. "Barbara, come out of it!" "See? You don't believe in me any more," and her head went down on the table. I let her cry, while I sat and thought. The broken sentences she'd sobbed out to me began to fit up like a puzzle-game. By all theories of good detective work, I should have seen from the first the similarity of these crimes. But Clayte, slipping in here to do this murder--and why? What mixed him up with affairs here? And then the icy pang--Dykeman had seen a connection--Cummings had found one. With them, it was Clayte and his gang--and his gang was Worth Gilbert. I went and touched Barbara on the shoulder. "I'm going to take you home now." "Yes," tears running down her face as she stumbled to her feet. "I'm a failure. I can't do anything for Worth." I wiped her cheeks with my own handkerchief and led her out. As I turned from locking the door, it seemed to me I saw something move in the shrubbery. I asked Barbara Wallace about it. She hadn't noticed anything. Barbara Wallace hadn't noticed anything! I began to be scared for her. Solemn in the sky above boomed out the town clock--two strokes. Half past nine. I must get this poor child home. We were getting in toward the noise and the light when I felt her shiver, and stopped to say, "Did I forget your coat? Why, where's your hat?" "The hat's back there. I had no coat. It doesn't make any difference. Come on. I can't--can't--I must get home." I looked at her, saw she was about at the end of her strength, and decided quickly, "We'll go straight through the Square. Save time and steps."