The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-11-23

forgotten these days. From the tall
Of hts eye he gave swift scrutiny to
his chance acquaintance, and he found
nothing to warrant suspicion. It was
not an unusual procedure for men to
hunt him up in Cairo, in Constantinople,
in Smyrna, or in any of the Oriental
cities where his business itinerary led
him. The house Of Mortimer & Jones
was widely known. This man Ryanne
might have been anywhere between
thirty and forty. He was tall, well set
up, blond and sElooth-skinned. True,
he appeared to have been ill-fed re-
Gently. A little more flesh under the
cheek-bones, touch Of color, and the
Irishman would have been handsome
man. George could read rug league
off, as they say, but he was childsin
the matter of physiognomy, whereas
Ryanne was a postmaster In this re-
gard; it was necessary both for his
business and safety.
Certainly, I'll take look at it.
But / tell you frankly" went on
George, that to interest me it's got
to be very old one. You see, it's
little fad of mine, outside the business
end Of it. I'm crazy over real rugs,
and know something about every
rare one in existence, Or known to ex-
ist. Is It copy?"
mo. I'll tell you more about it
when We get to my room
"Come on, then" George was now
quite willing to discuss rugs and car
pets.
Having gained the room, Ryanne
threw off his coat and relighteg his
cigar. which, in saving mood, he had
allowed to go out He motioned George
to be seated.
f.Just little yarn before / show you
the rug. See these cuffs?'
1sYes.'s
"You will observe that haveehad
to reverse them Note this co1s.r?
Same thing. Trousers-hems a bit
frayed, coat shiny at the elbows"
Ryanne exhibited his sole fortune.
-Four sovereigns between me and
JAIL,
George became thoughtful. He was
generous and kind-hearted among
those he knew intimately or slightly,
but he had the instructive reserve OF
the seasoned traveller in cases like
this. He waited.
"The truth is, I'm all but done, for.
And if I fail to strike a bargain here
with YOU Well, / should hate
to tell you the result Our consul
would have to furnish me passage
home Were you ever up against tito
the extent Of reversing your cuffs and
turning your collars? You don't know
what life is, them
George grayely produced two good
cigars and offered one to his host.
There was an absence Of sound.
broken presently by the cheerful
crackle of matches; two billowing
clouds of smoke foated outward and
upward. Ryanne sighed. Here was a
cigar one could not purchase in all the
length and breadth of the Orient, a
Pedro Murias. In one of his doubt
fully prosperous epochs he had smoked
them daily. How long ago had that
been?
"Yonder is rug, a prayer-rug, as
holy to the Moslem as the idols eye
is to the Hindu, as the Bible Is to the
Christian. For hundreds of years 1t
never saw the outside of the Su1tan's
palace. One day the late, the recently
late, Abdul the Unspeakable Turk,
gave it to the Pasha of Bagdad.
Whenever this rug makes its appear
ance In Holy Mecca, 1t is worshiped,
and none but a Sultan or a Sultan's
favorite may kneel upon it. Bagdad,
the hundred mosques, the old capital
of Suleiman the Great, the dreary
Tigris and the sluggish Euphrates, q
muezzin from the turret calls to pray
er, and all that; eh?"
George leaned forward from his
chair, gentle terror in his heart.
"The Yhiordes? BY Jove! is that the
Yhiordes?"
Admiration kindled in Ryanne's
eyes. To have hit the bulrs-eye with
so free and quick an aim was ample
proof that Percival Algernon had not
boasted when he said that be knew
something about rugs.
you've guessed il"
Glow did you come by it?" George
demanded excited1y.
"Why do you ask that?"
Man, ten-thousand pounds could
not purchase that rug, that bit Of car
net. Collectors from every port have
been after 1t in vain. And you mean
to tell me that 1t lies there, wrapped
in butchers paper?''
"Right-O."
Ryanne solemnly detached a cur
and rolled up his sleeve. The bare
| muscular arm was SCARED by two
| long, ugly knife-wounds, scarcely
healed. Next he drew up a trousers
leg, disclosing a battered shin. "And
there's another on my shoulder-b1ade
| the closest call l ever had. man
who takes his life In his hands. az 7
! have done, merits some reward. Mr..
| Jones, III be frank with YOU. I am q