The Elbert County tribune., 1915-06-04
SIXTEENTH EPISODE
THE CRYPTIC RING.

Kennedy had been engaged for some
time in the only work outside of the
Dodge case which he had consented TO
take for weeks.
Our old friend, DR.. Leslie. the coro.
ner, had appealed TO him to solve a
very tickIish point in Tong murder
case which had set all Chinatown
agog. II was, indeed, very bewilder-
ing case. A Chinaman named Ii
Chang, leader of the Chang Wah Tong,
had been poisoned. but so far no one
had been able to determine what poi
son it was or even to prove that there
had been poison, except for the fact
that the man was dead, and Kennedy
had taken the thing up in a great
measure because of the sudden turn
in the Dodge case which had brought
us into such close contact with the
Chinese.
I had been watching Kennedy with
interest, for the Tong wars always
make picturesque newspaper stories,
when knock at the door announced
the arrival of DR. Leslie, anxious for
some result.
'Have you been able to find out any
thing YETI" he greeted Kennedy eag-
erly as Craig looked up from his mi
croscope,
Kennedy turned and nodded. Your
dead man was murdered by means OF
aconite, of which, you know, the active
principle is the deadly alkaloid aconi
tine
There are several treatments fol-
aconite poisoning" ruminated Ken
nedy. 81 would say that one of the
latest and best is digitalin given hypo-
dermically." He took down bottle
of digitalin from cabinet, adding,
only it wac too late in this CASE
Just what the relations were be
tween Long Sin and the Chong Wah
Tong have never been able to deter
mine exactly. But one thing was GER
tain: Long Sin on his arrival in New
York had offended the Tong, and now
that his master, WI Fang, was here
the offence was even greater. for the
criminal society brooked no rival.
In the dark recesses of poorly fur
nished cellar, serving as the Tons
3,
eral OF his most trusted followers were
now plotting revenge. Long Sin, they
believed. was responsible for the mur
der. and, with truly Oriental guile
they had obtained hold over WI
Fang's secretary.
Their plan decided on, the China
men left the headquarters and mad,
their way separately uptown. The,
rejoined one another in the shelter o
a rather poor house, before which wa!
= board fence, in the vicinity of /;
fashionable apartment house. A mo
ment's conference followed, and ther
the secretary glided away.
Wu had taken another apartment
uptown in one of the large apartment
houses near parkway.
There Long Sin was now engaged
in making all possible provisions fol
the safety of his master Anyon,
who had happened to glance up at the
roof of the tall apartment building
might have seen Long Sins figure sill
houetted against the sky on the top o.
the mansard roof near flagpole.
He had just finished fastening to the
fagpoIe q stout rope which stretched
taut across an areaway some twenty
or thirty feet wide to the next build
ing, where 1t was fastened to a chin
ney. Again and again he tested 1t
and finally with a nod of satisfaction
descended from the roof and went tc
the apartment of WI.
There. alone. he paused for few
minutes to gaze in wonder at the cryp
tic ring which had been the net result
SO far of his efforts to find the mil
lions which Bennett as the Clutchine
Hand, had hidden. He wore it. strange
ly enough, over his index finger, and
as he examined it he shook his head
In doubt.
Neither he nor his master had yet
been able 10 fathom the Significance OF
the ring.
Long Sin thought that he was unob
served. But outside. looking through
the keyhole, was Wu's secretary, who
had stolen in on the mission which
had been set for him at the Tong
Headquarters.
Long Sin went over to a desk and
opened secret box in which WI had
placed several packages of money