The Raymer enterprise., 1911-11-09

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inal has succeeded in making good
his escape"
But you said the police hold out
every hope Of discovering him"
Yes, Of course. sooner or later the
mutilated fragment will reappear
somewhere. probably in the posses.
sion Of peddler. But to come back
to the dog"
I have here photograph of the
rug" persisted Crewe. drawing a
sheet Of newspaper from his breast
pocket. THE matter interested me
exceedingly" He handed 1t to Sir
Arnold. What are those arabesques
Immediately above the tear?" he
asked.
Meaningless and conventional Per.
sian borders" answered the English.
man. They are a feature OF all rugs
OF certain century. That border
was cut OF by tho marauder. appar.
emily aimlessly. But now. sir. l in.
sist upon discussing this affair of the
dog. What do you advise me to do!"
Let me see him and his blanket" /"
Crewe answered. when would It be
convenient for US to CALI"
"You can come back with me at
once" Sir Arnold answered. And
II you can solve the mystery l shall
be most grateful. and Mr.. Boone
will"
Crewe waved away the suggestion
Of the reward. He rose and took his
hat. Are you ready. Langton?" he
asked.
l rose and We two followed Sir
Arnold out of my office. We descend.
ed to the street and took a Lexington
avenue car to the millionaire's town
house. which was temporarily occu.
pied by the Enr' 'shman and his wife.
Once inside Crewe asked to be taken
to the collection Of textiles.
Sir Arnold led US into the chamber
In which they were spread out for
classification. The mutilated rug was
not at first apparent. for the injury
had been much slighter than we had
supposed. Only one extreme corner
had been removed. having been cut
out In zig-zag fashion with pair OF
blunt scissors. and the woolen
threads were curled and warped over
the texture. Crewe studied the rug
long and earnestly.
THE arabesque was in the part re.
moved?" he asked. Then why was
there no similar border woven into
the fabric upon the other corners?"
Here Sir Arnold felt himself upon
safe ground. This was his province.
He turned upon Crewe somewhat
pompously.
my good man." he said, "the craze
for evenness Of design did not. most
fortunately affilct the Persians Of the
date when this fabric was made. The
weaver chose to place border upon
one corner Of the rug alone. and that
fact. in Itself. fixes the date Of It be-
yond all doubt. And now. II you
have quite satisfied your curiosity.
will you look at my dog or not!"
Before Crewe could answer there
came scampering Of feet along the
passage and the animal bounded into
the room with many demonstrations
Of affection for Its new master. 1t
was q curly mongrel. Of no particular
breed. and worth perhaps fifty cents
In the open market. Trailing from Its
back was the dog blanket. Crewe
stopped. unfastened II, and placed It
upon the table.
And this. you say. Is Of modern
workmanship" he asked. What do
those Persian words signify!"
That" replied Sir Arnold. litter.
ally translated, Is: May the wealth Of
Azriban and the treasures Of Mulik's
castle go to the possessor. 1t Is a
purely conventional expression. WOW.
en- into their blankets by the modern
Syrians In imitation Of the ancients.
and wishes prosperity to the owner"
"And tho blanket cannot possible
be Of the same date as the rug?"
asked Crewe.
Sir Arnold smiled In patronizing
way.
you can take II from me-" he
said. that there Is no possible con.
nection between the rug and the
blanket. They were made several
hundred years apart. Do you mean
to suggest that the man who mutilat.
cd the rug sold me the blanket"
"Offhand, I should say that It is ex.
tremely unlikely" answered Crewe.
Then will you tell me, sir. the
meaning Of this persecution. and why
the former owner OF tho dog desires
him back again. and why the blanket
Is an essential feature Of the de-
mand!"
Suddenly Sir Arnold's brows con,
tracted. He staggered slightly and
raising his hand. pointed through the
open window into Lexington avenue
my God! There. he Is again" he
cried.
We looked In the direction indicat
ed and saw man Of swarthy coun
tenance standing on the opposite side