I slid out and went along the edge of the road, as Craig had
directed, and finally crouched behind a huge rock, feeling on as
much tension as if I had been a boy playing at Wild West. Only
this might at any moment develop into the reality of a Wild Far
East.

After a moment to give me a chance, Craig himself left the car
pulled up close by the side of the road and went ahead on foot. At
last he came to the cross-roads just around the bend, where in the
moonlight he could read the sign: "Williams Avenue" and "Brownlee
Avenue." He stood there a moment, then glanced at his watch which
registered both hands approaching the hour of twelve. He gazed
about at the deserted country. Had the appointment been a hoax,
after all, a scheme to get him away from the city for some
purpose?

Suddenly, at his feet in the dust of the road something heavy
seemed to drop. He looked about quickly. No one was in sight.

He reached down and picked up a little Chinese figure. Tapping it
with his knuckle, he examined it curiously. It was hollow.

From the inside he drew out a piece of paper. He strained his eyes
in the moonlight and managed to make out:

The Serpent is all-wise, and his fang is fatal. You have signed
the white girl's death warrant.

Beneath this sinister warning was stamped the serpent sign of Wu