The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-04-15
STARTLING an
GRAB ROBBER
By David Ker

nj wv, professor, your baggage Is
~ all in the boat, and whenever
you're ready, l am"
So spoke the captain of the Austrian
LLOYD steamer. which had just an
chored before the Syrian port of Jaffa
to big, light-haired, yellow bearded
man in enormous green spectacles,
from behind which a pair of large blue
eyes looked out very kindly and pleas
antly.
Both the captain and his passengers
seemed to treat the specialized man
with great respect, as well they might,
for he was no less parsonage than the
famous German professor, Herr Julius
Allenstein, who had just come out to
the Holy Land for the third time, in
order to dig up few more antiques"
for the Berlin museum.
AS every eastern traveller knows, it is
no joke to get ashore at Jaffa, which is
merely an open roadstead, with dan
gerous reef right across it, upon which
the waves break SO furiously that it is
often impossible to land at all. Hence
the captain thought it best to take the
professor ashore in his own boat.
But just as Herr Altenstein was step
ping toward the gangway, a gaunt,
ragged, Withholding figure started up
right in his path, crying, in. a queer
tumble of Italian, French and German:
"Signori signor! Fine musicbox.
You buy him, me sell very sheap."
The professor, annoyed at being
stopped, was going to push past; but
the poor Italians hungry, woe-begone
face touched his warm German heart,
ard he felt in his pocket for some small
change, though without any idea Of
buying the musical box.
Fine box, signor," repeated the Ital-
ian, seeing that he had mode some i'm
preston. 'Play German song fine,
see!"
He touched the spring as he spoke,
and instantly the musical box struck
up "Die Wacht, am Rhein.'
This was too much for the patriotic
professor, who hastily dropped hand
full of silver into the Italians extended
palm, and thrusting the box into his
pocket, plunged into the boat like a
scared elephant
Herr Altenstein was halfway to land
before he had done examining his new
purchase, which was queer-looking
affair enough. The spring being quite
hidden and the box itself completely
coated with 'grits" Like the rough side
Of matchbox, it looked at first sight
just like lump of sandstone. But its
tone was so clear and sweet that the
professor thought he had made very
good bargain; and so indeed he had
though in way of which he little
dreamed just then.
That very night the professor an6
his dragoman rode across the Plain Of
Sharon and through the hills of Abu-
Gosh, up to Jerusalem.
Here he stayed just long enough te
get the necessary papers" from the
Turkish pasha or governor, and ther
trotted off again along the steep, mar
row path that winds through the tire
mendous precipices between Jerusalem
and the Plain of Jericho.
Within two days of his landing, oul
energetic professor had got over the
Jordan, and was right in among tn,
blue hills of Moab, where his work lay
1t is easy enough to get workmen, il
Palestine when you have pasha's or
der in your pocket, and easier still
when you pay your men well, instead
Of making them work for nothing, lik,
the pasta himself. Herr Altenstein die
not take long to muster a gang o
tough, wiry, bare-limbed Arabs abb
and willing to labor from sunrise til
sunset on the hottest day in summer
provided they got enough pastries t.
make it worth their while.
The Arabs, however, although quit
satisfied with the wages paid for thei
work, were sorely puzzled by the worl
itself. When they first saw Herr Alien
stein begin digging and grubbin,
among the stones and dirt. the
naturally thought that he must be O.
the track of some of those "burie
treasures" about which the Syria
Arabs tel. so many strange tales. BIZ
when NO treasure appeared, and the