Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1912-11-01


this and live meant precarious ex.
ploits. This rug represents one Of
them. l am telling you the family
secret; l am showing you the skele
ton In the closet, confidentially. |
stole that rug; and when i say that
the seven labors Of our old friend
Hercules We're simple diversions COM
pared, youll recognize the difficulties
had to overcome. You know some
thing OF the Oriental mind. hand
led the job alone may not be out
Of the. jungle yet"
George listened entranced. He could
readily construct the scenes through
which this adventurer had gone; the
watchful nights, the untiring patience,
the thirst, the hunger, the heat. And
yet. he could hardly believe. He was
a trifle skeptical. Many rogue had
Hnade the mistake Of playing Georges
] age against his experience. He had
made some serious blunders in the
early stages Of the business, how
ever; and everybody, to gain some
thing in the end, must lose something
at the start.
"If that rug Is the one / have in
mind. you certainly have stolen it.
And II it's a copy, I'll tell you quickly
enough"
That's fair And that's why"
| Ryanne declared, ~ wanted you to
look at It. To me, considering what
have gone through to get it, to me 1t
is the genuine carpet To your expert
| ha 7 In
this much, that rare rugs and paint
| ings have many copies, and that some
one Is being hooked, sold, bamboozled,
sandbagged, every day in the week. If
this is the real article, want you to
take 1t off my hands," the adventurer
finished pleasantly.
There will be hue and cry"
mo doubt of It,"
And the DEVILS own job to get II
out of Egypt" These were set phrases
of the expert, preliminaries to bar
gaining. "One might as well carry
round a stolen elephant"
But a man who Is as familiar VIZ
the game as you are would have
difficulty. Your integrity is an est,
lished fact, on both sides of the wate
You could take 1t to New York as
| copy, and no appraiser would knoy'
the difference. It's worth the attempt
I'd take 1t to New York myself. but
you see, am fiat broke. Come; whaI
of Turk?" drolly.
What do you want for it, suppos
ing it's genuine?" Georges throat was
drys and his voice harsh. His con-
science reused herself, feebly, for 1t
had been long time since occasion
had necessitated her presence.
Ryanne narrowed his eyes, carefully
balancing the possibilities. Say, one
thousand pounds. 1t Is like giving it
away. But when the devil drives. you
know. 1t Is beyond any set price; 1t
is worth what any collector is willing
to pay for It, believe ! know the
kind of man you are, Mr.. Jones, and
that is why, when learned you were
in Cairo, came directly to you. You
would never sell this rug. No. You
would become like miser over his
gold. You would keep 1t with your
emeralds Il have heard about them,
doors, whenever you looked at 1t. Eh ?
You would love it for its own sake,
and not because 1t is worth so many
thousand pounds You are sailing In
few days; that will help The Pasha
is Ia Constantinople, and 1t will be
three or four weeks before he hears of
the theft. or the cost" with certain
Il grimness.
"You haven't killed any one?" whis.
pered George.
II don't know; perhaps. Christian.
ity against paganism; the Occidental
conscience permits It," Ryanne made
a gesture to indicate that he would
submit to whatever moral arraignment
Mr.. Jones deemed advisable to make.
But George made none! He rose
hastily, sought his knife and, without
so much as by your leave, slashed the
twine. flung aside the paper. and threw
the rug across the counterpane. II
was the Yhiordes. There was not the
slightest doubt In his mind. He had
heard it described. he had seen a
photograph of it. he knew its history
and. most vital of all, he owned a
4 good copy of II
Against temptation that was robust
and energetic and alluring (like the
man who insists upon your having a
drink when you want It and ought not
to have IT., what chance had con.
science, grown innocuous in the long
period of the young mans good be.
havior? Collectors are always honest
before and after that moment arrives
when they want something desperate
lly; and George was no more sanity
than his kind. And how deep Ryanne
and his confederates had delved into
! human nature. how well they could
read and Judge 1t. was made manifes,
In this moment of Georges moral re
lapse.
Bagdad, the jinns. Sinbad. the Thou
sand and One Nights. Alibaba and ths