Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-12-19

forgotten these days. From the tan
of his eye he gave swift scrutiny to
his chance acquaintance, and he found
nothing to warrant suspicion. 1t 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 smooth-skinned. True,
he appeared to have been ill-fed re-
Gently. A little more flesh under the
cheek-bones, a touch of color, and the
Irishman would have been a handsome
man. George could read a rug a league
of, as they say, but he was a child in
the matter of p~hysiognomy, whereas
Ryanne was a postmaster IN this re-
gard; 1t was necessary both for his
business and safety.
Certainly, I'll take a look at It,
But l tell you frankly" went on
George, that to interest me It's got
to be a very old one. You see, it's a
little fad of mine, outside the business
end Of it. I'm crazy over real rugs,
and I know something about every
rare one in existence, or known to ex-
list. Is 1t a copy?"
mo. I'll tell you more about 1t
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 relighted his
cigar, which, in a saving mood, he had
allowed to go out. He motioned George
to be seated.
Just a little yarn before l show you
the rug. See these cuffs?"
yes"
"You will observe that l have had
to reverse them. Note this collar?
Same thing. Trousers-hems a bit
frayed, coat shiny at the elbows"
Ryanne exhibited his sole fortune,
-Four sovereigns between me and q
jail"
George became thoughtful. He was
generous and ki~nd-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, l should hate
to tell you the result. Our consu
would have to furnish me passage
home. Were you ever up against 1t tt
the extent Of reversing your cuffs ant
turning your collars? You don't know
what life is, then"
George gravely produced two goot
cigars and offered one to his host
There was an absence Of sound
broken presently by the cheerful
crackle Of matches; two billowini
; clouds of smoke fioated outward ant
+ upward. Ryanne sighed. Here was
cigar one could not purchase in all tn,
length and breadth of the Orient,
Pedro Murias. In one of his doubt
fully prosperous epochs he had smoke
them daily. How long ago had tina
been?
"Yonder is a rug, a prayer-rug, a
holy to the Moslem as the idols ey
is to the Hindu, as the Bible Is to tn
l Christian. For hundreds Of years
never saw the outside Of the Sultan
+ palace. One day the late, the recent
s late, Abdul the Unspeakable Turl
b gave 1t to the Pasha Of Bagdat
8 Whenever this rug makes its appea.
ance in Holy Mecca, 1t is worshipet
and none but a Sultan or a Sultan
n favorite may kneel upon 1t. Bagdat
the hundred mosques, the old capt.,
} Of Suleiman the Great, the drear
Tigris and the sluggish E~uphrates,
l muezzin from the turret calls to pra.
er, and all that; chi"
Q George leaned forward from h!
D chair, a gentle terror in his hear
k "The Yhiordes? BY Jove! is that tt
y Yhiordes?" 4
Admiration kindled in Ryanne
/ eyes. To have hit the bull,s-eye wit
SO free and quick an aim was amp
1t proof that Percival Algernon had nj
boosted when he said that he kne
{. something about rugs.
l you've guessed it,"
"How did you come by it?" Geors
darnauded oxcitadIv. t4&
why do you ask that7"
Man, ten-thousand pounds coul
not purchase that rug, that bit Of ca
pet. Collectors from every port ha,
been after 1t in vain. And you mea
to tell me that 1t lies there, wrappt
in butchers paper?
ID "Right-o!"
Ryanne solemnly detached a Gu
g. and rolled up his sleeve. The ba,
Q, muscular arm was SCARED by tv
long, ugly knife-wounds, scarce
healed. Next he drew up a trouser
r. leg. disclosing a battered shin. "Ar
le there's another on my s~houlder-blad
le the closest call | ever had. Al ms
o, who takes his life In his hands. as
" have done. merits some reward. Nj
N Jones, Ill be frank with you. / am
n kind Of derelict. Since | was d boy,
u have hated the humdrum az ofios