The L'Anse sentinel., 1915-09-11
SIXTEENTH EPISODE
THE 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
very ticklish point In Tong murder
case which had set all Chinatown
agog. 1t was. indeed, a 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 pol
SON 1t 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 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
oroscope.
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 for
aconite poisoning" ruminated Ken
nedy. "I would say that one Of the
latest and best is digitalin given hypo-
dermically." He took down bottle
of digitalin from a cabinet, adding,
''only 1t was too late in this case"
! Just what the relations were be-
tween Long Sin and the Chong Wah
Tong l 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, Wu 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 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 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
a rather poor house, before which was
a board fence, in the vicinity OF
fashionable apartment house. A mo-
ment's conference followed, and then
the secretary glided away.
Wu had taken another apartment
uptown in one Of the large apartment
houses near 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 at the
roof of the tall apartment building
might have seen Long Sins figure sil-
houetted against the sky on the top OF
the mansard roof near fagpole.
He had just finished fastening to the
Aagpole q stout rope which stretched
taut across an areaway some twenty
or thirty feet wide to the next build
ing. where II was fastened to chin
ney. Again and again he tested IT,
and finally with nod Of satisfaction
descended from the roof and went to
the apartment, Of WI.
There, alone, he paused for . rev
minutes to gaze in wonder at the cryp.
tic ring which had been the net result
% far OF his efforts to find the MIL
Hons which Bennett. as the Clutching
Hand. had hidden. He wore It, strange
Il enough, over his index finger. and
- he examined it he shook his head
IN doubt.
Neither he NOR his master had yet
bepi able u fAthom the signincance OF
xhs hnk. =
Long Sin thought that he was unob-
served. But outsidA looking through
the keyhoIo. waS Wu'S sectetary. who
had stolen in On fhe mitsion which
nad bsen ~ for him 4 ths Tong
Ldue sln wsut Over 70 : deak snd
opensd oscree opx ~ vhaoA Wa ha1
ek,~eA aovorn1 AlHcnnm - w0nhI