Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1912-02-09
The Crooked Seam
AN ADVENTURE OF PETER CREWE-"TEEE MAN
WITH THE CAMERA EYES"
By HA ROLD CA RTER

BLYTHE appeared to contain the elc.
ments of some mystery the solution
of which required the aid of Peter
Crcwe He had assisted me in the III.
rayelling of many case which BAT.
fed the detective forces both of New
York city and London, chiefly by viz
tue of his invaluable gift of optical
INSTALLATION. ! therefore made al
appointment at my office for the fo!-
lowing day, when the two men were
to meet.
Now, sir, will you repeat your
story as you told it to me yesterdays
l said to the Englishman, after the
formalities of the introduction had
been complied 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-milion'
aire, to assist him in the cI.s$itica'
ton Of his rare collection or Oriental
rugs.
"Tou had valuable rug destroyed
recently by vandals?" asked CreWc,
before the Englishlnan could com
mence his story There was an &C.
count of it in last Sundays papers,
together with illustrations OF the
mutilated corner"
"Yes, but it is not of that I wish to
speak" replied Sir Arnold. "The 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 deg"
Crewe leaned back in his chair and
allowed Sir Arnold to proceed with
his story.
"The fact u.s." he said, that both
my wife and l are being shadowed by
Syrians. She is almost Frustrated
with fear and anxiety, and the mat
ter must be cleared up at all hazards.
And the chief objective of tho
wretches seems to be my dog, or my
wife's dog rather"
Recently acquired?" asked Crewe.
"Only last week." Sir Arnold an
swered Lady Blythe was passinG
down Broadway on Thursday after
noon anu ldu just ItiSllSu ilo iIilSA-
section with Thirty-siXth street when
her attention was attracted by
Syrian man, who was offering some
puppies for sale upon the corner. Ny
wife is fond of animals and Of an ln:-
pulsive nature One of the creature
came fawning toward her, and she
could not resist the temptation to
81 C o1yr
mongrel and the fellow demanded al
undue price for it;1 finally he threw
in pretty Syrian dog blanket, OF
modern make but an excellent imita-
ton of an old Persian weave. This
clinched the bargain, and Lady Blythe
bought the beast and took it home.
"On the following morning, when
she had the creature on a leash il
the park, she noticed that she was
being followed by the same Syrian.
She sat down upon 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 off at full
speed toward it's former owner Hap
PLY a 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.
1.-THE next day she took the dog out
again, but, on reaching Fifty-ninth
nnrpaivnd tho
man following her. She was so I'M
ne.yed at the sight that she called a
taxicab and came home and went to
bed That night death threat was
received The dog must be delivered
blanket and all, at a certain spot, the
following day, or our lives would be
forfeited.
"T called in the police and it was
arranged that a messenger should
take the dog to the place agreed
upon. But nobody arrived; however,
on the next morning another letter
was received by me. 1t 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 l 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"
Il would prefer to discuss one
thing at time" replied Sir Arnold.
"The mutilation of Mr.. Boone's, rug
has nothing to do with the matter |
have been speaking Of"
Nevertheless, I would like to hear
about the rug" persisted Crewe.
There may be some immediate con-
nectior Will you tell me, Sir Arnold,
the circumstances of that affair.""
There is nothing to tell, beyond
what the papers said" answered the
Englishman testify. Zone of the rugs,
a Persian textile of great antiquity,
had corner cut away with a pair of
scissors, leaving jagged tear. The
act was perpetrated some time after
midnight on Wednesday, and the per.
petrator succeeded in making his es.
cape undetected."
1.-THE police have discovered no
clue?"
$50 far none. They have searched
every rug depository IN the city in