He bent hastily over the little wallet, which never left him. Suddenly a
little exclamation broke from his lips. The Professor peered over his
shoulder.

"What is it?"

Quest never said a word. From one of the spaces of the wallet he drew out
a small black box, removed the lid and held out the card. They read it
together:

"Fools, all of you! The cunning of the ages defeats your puny
efforts at every turn.

"THE HANDS!"

Even the Professor's lips blanched a little as he read. Quest, however,
seemed suddenly furious. He tore the card and the box to pieces, flung
them into a corner of the tent and drew a revolver from his pocket.

"This time," he exclaimed, "we are going to make an end of the Hands! Out
you go now, girls. You can leave me to finish things up."

One by one they stole along the path. Quest came out and watched them
disappear. Then he gripped his revolver firmly in his hand and turned
towards Craig's tent. There was something in the breathless stillness of
the place, at that moment, which seemed almost a presage of coming
disaster. Without knowing exactly why, Quest's fingers tightened on the
butt of his weapon. Then, from the thick growth by the side of the
clearing, he saw a dark shape steal out and vanish in the direction of
Craig's tent. He came to a standstill, puzzled. There had been rumours of