“You have embarked on a new study—anthropology. What characteristic strikes you most forcibly in connection with it? Cunning? The necklace might be where the skeleton is. Why not begin at the beginning?”
“Drop all investigation. The hands that return these jewels command it.”
“Pitted against the inherited cunning of the ages, you have no chance. I will take compassion upon you. Look in the right-hand drawer of your desk.”
“In the great scheme of things, the Supreme Ruler of the Universe divided an inheritance amongst His children. To one He gave power, to another strength, to another beauty, but to His favourites He gave cunning.”
“You will fail here as you have failed before. Better go back. There is more danger for you in this country than you dream of.”
“To Sanford Quest.
“You have escaped this time by a chance of fortune, not because your wits are keen, not because of your own shrewdness; simply because Fate willed it. It will not be for long.”
“There is not one amongst you with the wit of a Mongar child. Good-bye!”
“The Hands!”
“Fools, all of you! The cunning of the ages defeats your puny efforts at every turn.
“The Hands!”
“You have all lost again. Why not give it up? You can never win.
“The Hands.”
“Even time fights you. It loses that you may lose.
“The Hands.”
“Fools! Tongues of flame will cross Quest’s path. He will never reach the depot alive.”
“You have been a clever opponent, Sanford Quest, but even now you are to be cheated. The wisdom of the ages outreaches yours, outreaches it and triumphs.”
Soon to be available at Project Gutenberg….