Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1915-05-13
SIXTEENTH EPISODE
n CRYPTIC RING.

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 ttcklish point In a Tong murder
case which had set all Chinatown
agog II WAS. indeed. a very bewilder-
ing case. A Chinaman named Ia
Chang. leader OF the Chang Wah Tong.
had been poisoned, but SO far no n
had been able to determine what pol
son II was or even to prove that there
had been a 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
NJ into such close contact with he
Chinese.
had been watching Kennedy with
interest. for the Tong wars always
make picturesque newspaper stories.
when q 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 Gag
erly az Craig looked up from his mi
croscope.
Kennedy turned and nodded. Your
dead man was murdered by means OF
acouite. OF which. you know. the active
principle il the deadly alkaloid aconi-
tine"
There are several treatments for
aconite poisoning" ruminated Ken
needy. Il would say that n OF the
latest and best is digitalin given hypo-
dermically." He tool down a bottle
Of digitalin from a cabinet. adding.
"only II was too late In this case"
Just what the relations were be
tween Long Sin and the Chong Wah
Tong I 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 o
that his master. WI Fang. was here
the offence was ever greater. for the
criminal society brooked no rival.
In the dark recesses OF a poorly fur
nished cellar. serving as the Tong
headquarters. the new leader and sew
eral of his most trusted followers were
now plotting revenge. Long Sin. they
believed. was responsible for the muir
der. and. with truly Oriental guile.
they had obtained a hold over WI
Fang's secretary.
Their plan decided on. the China
men left the headquarters and made
their way separately uptown. They
rejoined one another In the shelter OF
. rather poor house. before which was
q board fence. In the vicinity OF a
fashionable apartment house. A mo-
ment's conference followed. and then
the secretary glided away.
WI had taken another apartment
houses e q parkway.
There Long Sin was now engaged
In making all possible provisions for
the safety OF his master. Anyone
who had happened TO glance up AZ the
roof OF the tall apartment building
might have seen Long Sins figure sill
houetted against the sky on the top OF
the mansard roof hear a fagpole.
He had just finished fastening 10 the
6agpole a stout rope which stretched
taut across an areaway some twenty
or thirty feet wide to the next build
Ing. where II was fastened 10 a chin
ney. Again and again he tested II.
and finally with a o OF satisfaction
descended from the roo and went to
the apartment of WI.
There. alone. he paused for a few
minutes to gaze In wonder at the cryp-
tic ring which had been the net result
90 far OF his efforts 10 find the mil
lions which Bennett. as the Clutching
Hand. had hidden. He wore II. strange
" enough. over his index finger. and
a he examined II he shook his head
In doubt
Neither he nor his master had yet
been able to 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 q secret box In which WI had
placed several packages OF money