DESTROY THIS IMMEDIATELY."
At the bottom of the note appeared the sinister signature of the
Clutching Hand.
As soon as he had finished reading the note, the Chinaman turned
to his obsequious secretary, who stood motionless, with folded
arms and head meekly bent.
"Very well," he said with an imperious wave of his hand. "You may
go."
Bowing low again, the secretary shuffled across and down again
through the hatchway, closing the door as he descended.
Long Sin read the note once more, while his inscrutable face
assumed an expression of malicious cunning. Then he glanced at his
heavy gold watch.
With an air of deliberation, he reached for a match and struck it.
He had just placed the paper in the flame when suddenly he seemed
to change his mind. He hastily blew out the match which had
destroyed only a corner of the paper, then folded the note
carefully and placed it in his pocket.
A few moments later, with a malignant chuckle, Long Sin rose
slowly and left the room.
. . . . . . . .
Meanwhile, the master criminal was busily engaged in putting the
finishing touches to a final scheme of fiendish ingenuity for the
absolute destruction of Craig Kennedy.
He had been at work in a small room, fitted up as a sort of
laboratory, in the mysterious house which now served as his
headquarters.
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