Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1899-12-01
Capturing Statue
%
With Paint, Wig and Beard a
Work Of Art May Easily
Be Made RepulslVe.

In the course Of my long and event
fui career l have the honor Of plan
ming various schemes which have
taken n conspicuous place In point OF
~Eudncity In the records Of crime, but
perhaps In none OF these transactions
was such audacity more prominent
than In the incident Of the carrying or
Of the Apollo statue from the residence
OF Sir Titus Blaydes, Bart, the statue
in question being the work OF the
famous sculptor Apelles and being
valued by experts at $250.000.
One evening I wns sitting In a restau-
ran finishing an after dinner cigar
when a short, foreign looking man. OK
~penslyely dressed, came and sat down
beside me.
Excuse the liberty l take In nd
dressing you" he began courteously,
speaking with a strong foreign accent.
but in perfect EngllGh h. "Dnt your fame
has Indirectly reached my ears. l
think l have the honor OF addressing
Mr.. Godfrey Vincor'
''rhat is my NAME" / returned. much
amazed. "May / ask what you desire
with meT'
He came very close and, sinking his
voice. said In n whisper, ~ want you
TO carry of for me the Apollo statue
from the house OF Sir Titus Blnydes
at Longworth Court"
One glance Mt the card told me all.
It bore the name OF Count Antonio
Delarocca. the famous millionaire col
lector of the antique. whose gallery at
Milan contained priceless glorics OF
ancient masters.
II recognize your name, count, and
shall be glad to be Of service to you.
But may | ask what constrained you
to fix upon me MS the instrument Of
your designsr'
IL CHANGED to be present at your trial
over the WigInore case, when, as you
will remember. you escaped with a
light sentence. though the evidence
showed you to De al artist In crime. |
kept my eye upon you, resolving to
offer you this delicate mission directly
the government no longer required
your services"
IL shall be delighted to do all In my
power for you count, but first Of all
you must tell me In detail what you re.
qulre done"
"Most certainly" he made answer, as
he offered me n cigar and rellt his own.
During the past four years l have
made countless offers to Sir Titus
Blaydes for his Apollo, the offers being
made through secret agents of mine,
for naturally the baronet would not
part with the statue to n rival collector
such as myself. My last offer was no
less than $250.OOO. but this also was
un~hesitatingly refused"
He paused and blew a great cloud
from his cigar. Then he resumed: u
am q man Of iron will, and what set
my heart upon | always obtain. Sir
Titus has proved unamenable to fair
means. l will now assail him with the
only Observation-Disclosures. Yes, mere
ly stratagem. not robbery, for on the
day that you hand over to me the Apol.
10 statue l shall forward him anony'
mously the sum OF $250.00O. And you
my friend, would receive .$25.0O0
Come, Is the bait sufficiently tempt
mgr
Before we parted he gave me his ad
dress In Milan. for which place he was
leaving on the morrow, and 1t was Il
this address that l vas to convey the
statue II my Efforts proved successful
1 may add that he left with me the
Sum OF $500 as a guarantee OF goot
faith.
On the following Monday l journey
ed down to Longworth court, and
mingling with the crowd, entered tn
spacious mansion. ! soon gained ad
mittanco to the gallery.
Tho more ! contemplated the. bust
ness the further and further away did
the counts reward seem, and by thu
time l reached London | was In a de
spairlng mood. I retired to bed, resolV
ed to think no more OF the matter
though on the following morning
visited two OF my oldest chums, Jacl
Grimes and Tom Harris, and put tn
case TO them. They sneered at the af
fair, declaring It was impossible.
1t therefore came about that tn
matter passed out OF my mind unit
the end OF November. when 1t wa
brought back to mo In a curious man
ner.
1 happened TO enter a theater on
night where a play was being enacte'
in which a distracted hairdresser, be
ing pursued by a statue which ha'
been mlraculously endowed with life
suddenly conceived the Idea OF paint
ing her face and dressing her In mod
ern attire, so as to render her appear
ance more conventional when she wa
tracking his steps.
An Idea flashed through my bral
when | witnessed this Incident. ! di
not wait for the end OF the play, bu
Ieaping into a hanson. drove to our der
where. by a lucky chance. ! foun
Grimes and Harris ~ensconced In arm
chairs and smoking peacefully.
They both looked up quickly. but di
not speak.
~Aiy plan Is this" ] went on. Fpeal