The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1906-05-18

the Rienzi vase shown to be reposing
in its usual position.
Now that it again stands in it's place
for all to see, there can be no objec-
ton to my relating how | once held
the famous Rienzi vase in my pos
session for II days. l am a person
of keenly observant character, and
my business Is to detect vital weak
nesses in great institutions and to
charge a moderately high fee for my
services.
knew that body of picked police
promenaded the museum at night, and
that each of the rooms was usually in
charge of the same man. / learned
later that there were three bodies or
men, so that the same police were
in the museum but one week in every
three.
The first policeman l found who pa
raded the Egyptian room at night was
short and thickset, and l gave him
up as bad job learned from him,
however, who was to occupy the post
during the coming week, and pres
emily | unearthed the private bar
which this latter officer, his name was
Smith, used. Eureka! he was tall
and thin like myself.
! Every night throughout the rest of
the week l spent in this constable's
company, studying his somewhat col
J orless personality. Then one after
| noon l entered the museum disguised.
went up to the Egyptian room
to assure myself that a certain
mummy case had not been removed,
and having found it to occupy its
usual place, l descended to the Etrus-
can basement.
For half an hour l occupied myself
there, Int the commissionaire never
budged from his chair. Luckily, an
incident occurred to serve my pur-
pose. The chief attendant appeared
at the head of the steps. "Robins!"
he called.
Robins ran briskly upstairs at his
call, and then-in Is seconds my
transformation wes complete. Gone
were the weedy gray beard and mus
tache-gone the seedy black garments
and, behold, was attired in mummy
wrappingS!
Into the empty sarccphagus at the
further end of the room, hide
GUS rubber mask slipped over my
features and attached behind the
ears, my arms stiffened and my hands
concealed in the wrappings, and | was
a long-dead mummy-with neat
leather case hidden beneath my
arched back!
Brisk work, l assure you; but one
grows accustomed to it in time. The
commissionaire entered the room
very shortly afterwards. He had not
seen me go out, but, as l expected,
neither was he absolutely sure that
| had not done SO. He peered about
suspiciously, but l did not mind. The
real ordeal came a couple of hours
later when a police officer shone his
lantern into all the tombs.
For a moment my heart seemed to
cease beating as the light shone On
my rubber countenance. But he was
satisfied, this stupid policeman, and
heard his footsteps retreating to the
door. l allowed him time to get to
the top, and extinguish the light in
the Etruscan room, and then
was out of my tomb and hidden in
the little niche Immediately beside
the foot of the stairs. l coughed
loudly. Heavens! He came back down
the steps with such velocity that he
was carried halfway along the room.
He began to shine his lantern into
the tombs again; but before he had
examined the first of them l was up
stairs in the Roman gallery.
Poor Constable Smith. l was sorry
to have to act So but ten minutes
after the closing of the doors of COM
munication of the Egyptian room
came on him from behind. l had
pad ready in my hand, saturated
with the contents of a small phial that
had reposed in my mummy garments.
thrust my knee in his spine and
seized his hands by a trick which
you may learn for peseta any day
in the purlieus of Tangier. A mus
cular man, he tried hard to cope with
his unseen opponent; but the pad
never left his mouth and nostrils, and
the few muffled cries that escaped
him were luckily unheard. He soon
became unconscious, and 1 had t.,
work hard lest the inspector shouli
make his round before l was read,
for him.
The rest was easy. Wrapped up in
my yellow mummy linen were the
various appliances l required, and in
the leather box was the imitation
Rienzi vase. The circular glass top
of the case gave some trouble. So
hard and thick was it that I had to
desist five times and conceal my tools,
owing to the hourly visits of the in
spector.
| filed out with the other police in
the morning in the clothing of Con-
| stable Smith, the Rienzi vase inside
my helmet.
My fee, and the conditions to be OBJ
served in paying it, 1 conveyed to tho
| authorities privately.
The Egyptian and Vase room of
the Great Portland Square museum