Ordinarily, he carried the pets up the capacious sleeve of each
arm.
A servant, also in native costume, entered and bowed
deferentially.
"A Miss Mary Carson," she lisped in soft English.
"Let the lady enter," waved Long Sin, with a smile of subtle
satisfaction.
The girl bowed again and silently left the room, returning with a
handsome, very well dressed white woman.
It would be difficult to analyze just what the fascination was
that Long Sin exercised over Mary Carson. But as the servant left
the room, Mary bowed almost as deferentially as the little Chinese
girl. Long merely nodded in reply.
After a moment, he slowly rose and took from a drawer a newspaper
clipping. Without a word, he handed it to Mary. She looked at it
with interest, as one woman always does at the picture of another
pretty woman. It was a newspaper cut of Elaine, under which was:
ELAINE DODGE, THE HEIRESS, WHOSE BATTLE WITH THE CLUTCHING HAND IS
CREATING WORLD WIDE INTEREST.
"Now," he began, at last, breaking the silence, "I'll show you
just what I want you to do."
He went over to the wall and took down a curious long Chinese
knife from a scabbard which hung there conspicuously.
"See that?" he added, holding it up.
Before she could say a word, he had plunged the knife, apparently,
into his own breast.
"Oh!" cried Mary, startled.
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