22/72 What clew could he have obtained to-- Over the unwashed face of Larry the Bat a gray pallor spread slowly. His fingers were plucking at the frayed edge of his inside vest pocket. A laugh, like the laugh of one damned, rose to his lips, and was choked back. It was gone! GONE! That thin metal case, like a cigarette case, that, between the little sheets of oil paper, held those diamond-shaped, gray-coloured, adhesive seals, the insignia of the Gray Seal--was gone! Clew! It seemed as though there were an overpowering nausea upon him. CLEW! That little case was not a clew--it was a death warrant! His hands clenched fiercely. |