The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1900-12-13

DIV
- Lexington avenue. What evil
spirit ever prompted him to give it
place among his beloved curios Bailey
could not comprehend. 1t had come
from the dessert places of New Mexi-
co-had been bought, in fact, for
dollar in dingey adobe shop in Albu-
querque. Bailey had been inveigled
into the purchase of the hideous piece
of pottery partly by the adroit per-
suasion of the Mexican curic vender
and partly by the very ugliness OF the
piece itself.
He never would have been in Albu-
querque and never would have STUN
bled upon the dingy little shop If his
train had not been delayed five hours
by a miserable sand storm. The
storm necessitated a long waitat Al
buauerque for the westbound express.
1t was unbearable in the car. In
spite of the double windows, Bailey
felt as though he had taken into his
mouth and nose sand enough to bal
last a balloon. He wanted fresh air
and sandwich.
1t was early May, and he got plenty
of the former as he walked up the
platform to the station, but as the
sandwiches under the glass covers in
the musty lunchroom must have lain
in state there since early April he had
to content himself with satisfying his
first want alone.
With that end in view, he took a
turn about the town, having first
made sure that the train was a fix
ture for half an hour at least, and, in
the course of his wandering he fell
upon the adobe curio shop. AS he ran
his eve over the odds and ends of pot
terry, arrow heads, stone hatchets and
Indian beadwork that were spread
over the rough tables and shelves OF
the dingy place he espied the Aztec
Jug. An ugly, black little creation it
was, and Bailey thought it might
have been an antediluviam cream
pitcher. 1t stood some five inches
high, and been carved, apparently,
out of a solid block of black stone.
No clay, thought Bailey, who was
something of an expert in prehistoric
or antique curios, could never have
been baked so hard. 1t was black as
ebony and of the most uncouth design.
What attracted Bailey chiefly were
three hideous faces that stood out in
bas-relief from the curved surface,
lending an uncanny and mysterious
air to the bit of pottery. Noticing
Bailey's fixed look at the jug the old
curio vender fastened forward and
picked it up.
"From the tomb of an Aztec prince,
Senor," he said with an alluring smile
and a moment later the jug was in
Bailey's possession.
"If the deceased Aztec gentleman
resembled these portraits on the out
side he must have been glad to die"
remarked Bailey, gazing doubtfully
at his purchase.
every old, very old: thousand
years old maybe" answered the old
vender, evidently fearful that Bailey
might regret the transaction.
SIT will do for that cabinet OF Hin
doc idols and Chinese gods" murmur-
ed Bailey, thinking of his den in New
York.
He inspected the jug on his way
back to the train, and found it half
filed with hardened yellow clay.
When he had scraped this out with
his pocket knife he discovered a de-
posit in the bottom of the vessel OF
some substance that resembled hard
ened wax. This proved too hard for
the blade. and he let it alone. Clay
still clung to the carvings underneath
the three faces on the outside. The
handle was merely fiat knob.
"You must have lain in the earth
quite few years, Mr.. Janus" unused
Bailey. 81 wonder what sort of a
chap that Aztec potentate was. Must
have been dull company for you these
last thousand years"
In the low doorway of the adobe
shop the leather-faced Mexican ven
der watched the white stranger disap-
pear down the narrow street, then
went inside, muttering Spanish words
and chuckling softly to himself.
The Aztec jug certainly added much
to the weird appearance of the cabi-
net of Hindoo idols and Chinese gods
and called forth many admiring COM
ments from Bailey's artistic friends
when they visited him on his return,
but it was extraordinary that so much
ill-luck had befallen him lately.
1t was bad enough to have valu-
able terra Gotta Nubian figure topple
off the mantel shelf from no apparent
cause and neatly decapitate itself,
but when this was followed by the
smashing of rare Pompeiian vase
and an almost priceless Moorish lamp
it was time to call halt.
These accidents all happen in Bal
ley's absence, and Louise, the house
maid, who took care of his rooms,
vowed "indeed indeed she hadn't
touched 'em, cause she knowed Mr..
Bailey was always particular about