Elaine and I were still talking over the entertainment.

She happened to place her hand on the desk near Long Sin. My back
was toward him and I did not see him start suddenly and look at
her hand. On it was the ring--the ring which, unknown to us, Long
Sin had found in the passageway under Aunt Tabby's garden, of
which he had been robbed, and which now, by a strange chance, had
come into Elaine's possession.

It was a peculiar situation for Long Sin, although as yet we did
not know it. He could not lay claim to the mystic ring, for then
Kennedy would make him prove his ownership, and the whole affair
of which we still knew nothing would be exposed.

He acted quickly. Long Sin decided to recover the ring by stealth.

Elaine was still talking enthusiastically about her party, when
Long Sin turned from Kennedy and moved toward us with a bow.

"The lady speaks of an Oriental reception," he remarked. "Would
she care to engage a magician?"

Elaine turned to him surprised. "Do you mean that you are a
magician?" she asked, puzzled.

Long Sin smiled quietly. He reached over and took a small bottle
from Kennedy's laboratory table. Holding it in his hand almost
directly before us, he made a few sleight-of-hand passes, and,
presto! the bottle had disappeared. A few more passes, and a test