The Raymer enterprise., 1911-11-09
The Crooked Seam
AN ADVENTURE OF PETER cREWE-.THE MAN
WITH THE CAMERA EYES"
By HAROLD CARTER

menus OF some mystery the solution
OF which required the aid Of Peter
Crewe. He had assisted me In the un,
ravelling Of many case which baf'
fed the detective forces both of New
York city and London. chiefly by vir.
tue Of his invaluable gift Of optical
Installation. therefore made an
appointment at my ONCE for the fol.
lowing day. when the two men were
to meet.
Nov. sir. will you repeat your
story as you told 1t to me yesterday"
! said to the Engllshman. after the
formalitles Of the Introduction had
been compiled with.
Sir Arnold was an Englishman Of
international reputation as an expert
on ancient textiles. He had. In fact,
come to New York at the invitation
Of Phineas Boone. the multi-million.
alre, to assist him In the classifica.
tion Of his rare collection or Oriental
rugs.
you had valuable rug destroyed
recently by vandals?" asked Crewe,
before the Englishman could com.
mence bis story. There was an &C.
count Of It In last Sundays papers.
together with illustrations OF the
mutIlated corner"
"Yes. but 1t is not Of that wish to
speak," replied Sir Arnold. "rhe mat.
ter Is In the hands Of the police. who
hold out every hope Of discovering
the criminal. l want to tell you Of
my dog"
Crewe leaned back In his chair and
allowed Sir Arnold to proceed with
his story.
. "The fact is.' he said. that both
my wife and l are being shadowed by
Syrlans. She Is almost prostrated
with fear and anxiety. and the mat.
ter must be cleared up at all hazards.
And the chief objective Of the
wretches seems to be my dog. or my
wife's dog rather"
Recently acquired?" asked Crewe.
"Only last week." Sir Arnold an.
Bwered. Lady Blythe was passing
down Broadway on Thursday after
noon and had Just reached its inter
section with Thlrty.sixth street when
her attention was attracted by a
Syrian man. who was Offering some
puppies for sale upon the corner. My
wife Is fond Of animals and OF an i'm.
pulsive nature. One OF the creatures
came fawnlng toward her. and she
could not resist the temptation to
purchase It, The animal Is only a
mongrel and the fellow demanded an
undue price for It; finally he threw
in pretty Syrian dog blanket, Of
modern make but an excellent imita.
tion OF an old Persian weave. This
,clinched the bargain, and Lady Blythe
bought the beast and took 1t home.
"On the following morning. when
she had the creature on a leash In
the park. she noticed that she was
being followed by the same Syrian.
She sat down upon a bench to rest
and the man passed her. traversed
a short distance. turned back and
whistled. Immediately the dog broke
from her control and set OF at full
speed toward Its former owner. Hap.
PLY q gentleman who had witnessed
the occurrence gave chase. caught
the beast and restored It to Lady
Blythe, while the fellow succeeded In
making his escape. Much upset by
this occurrence. Lady Blythe returned
home.
"The next day she took the dog out
again, but. on reaching Fifty-ninth
street once more perceived tho same
man following her. She was 30 un.
nerved at the sight that she called a
taxicsb and came home and went to
bed. That night death threat was
received. The dog must be delivered,
blanket and all. at certain spot. the
following day. or our lives would be
forfeited.
IL called In the police and It was
arranged that messenger should
take the dog to the place agreed
upon But nobody arrived: however,
on the next morning another letter
was received by me. It was signed
with a bloody hand and In effect re.
peated the former menace. but still
more strongly. The creature Is val.
ueless: the blanket Is worth. at most,
two dollars. and am wholly at loss
to understand the cause Of this perse.
cution."
This rug that was mutilated was
cut with a pair Of scissors" said
Crewe. did not that strike you as
stranger"
II would prefer to discuss ono
thing at time." replied Sir Arnold.
1.-The mutilation Of Mr.. Boone's rug
has nothing to do with the matter
have been speaking Of"
Nevertheless. l would like to hear
about the rug" Persisted Crewe.
'There may be some immediate con.
nection. VIII you tell me. Sir Arnold,
the circumstances Of that affair!"
There is nothing to tell. beyond
what the papers said" answered the
Englishman testify. "One OF the rugs,
n peraian textile of great antiquity.