Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1913-01-29

| ieHC hlOses, an incident moro or less
forgotten these days. From the tail
OF his eye he gave swift scrutiny to
his chance acquaintance. and he found
nothing TO warrant suspicion. IL was
not an unusual procedure for men to
hunt him up in Cairo, in CoDstantinople
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. we'll set
up. blond and smooth-skinned. True,
| he appeared to have been ill-fed re-
Gently. little moro flesh under the
cheek-bones, touch Of color, and the
lrishman would have been a handsome
man. George could read q rug league
on. az they say, but he was n child In
the matter Of physiognomy, 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 Il.
But / tell you frankly" went on
George. that to interest me It's got
to be very old one. You see, it's a
little fad OF mine. outside the business
end Of II. I'm crazy over real rugs,
and / know something about every
rare one in existence, or known to ex-
list. Is It a copy?"
No. III 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 of his coat and relighted his
cigar, which, In saving mood. he had
allowed to so out He motioned George
to be seated
Just little yarn before 1 show you
the rug. See these cuffs?"
Yes"
you will observe that 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 a
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 II fail to strike n bargain here
with you. Well, l should hate
to tell you the result. Our consul
would have to furnish me passage
home. Were you ever up against It to
the extent OF reversing your cuffs and
turning your collars? You don't know
what life Is, then"
George gravely 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?
fonder is rug. a prayer-rug, as
holy to the Moslem as the idols eve
Is TO the Hindu, as the Bible Is to the
Christian. For hundreds OF years II
never saw the outside OF the Sultan's
palace. One day the late, the Recently
late, Abdul the UnspeakabIe Turk
gave 1t to the Pasha OF Bagdad
Whenever this rug makes its appear.
ance in Holy Mecca, II is worshiped
and none but Sultan or a sultsn's
favorite may kneel upon IT. Bagdad
the hundred mosques, the old capital
OF Suleiman the Great, the dreary
Tigris and tho sluggish Euphrates. a
muezzin from the turret calls to pray
er, and oil that; eh?"
George leaned forward from his
chair. gentle terror in his heart
The Yhlordes? BY Jove. is that the
Yhiordes?"
Admiration hndled I'm Ryanne.s
eyes. To have hit the bull's-eye with
so free and quick an aim was ample
proof that Percival Algernon had not
boosted when he said that he knew
something about rugs.
You've guessed f."
How did you como By itf- oao,r.
demanded excltedly.
why do you ask that?"
Man, ten-thousand pounds could
not purchase that rus, that bit OF car.
pet. Collectors from every port have
been after II in vain. And you nossn
to tell me that # lies there, wrapped
in butchers paperT
"RightOW
Ryanne solemnly detached A emf
and rolled up his sleeve. The bare
muscular arm was SCARED By two
long. ugly knife-wounds. scarcoIv
healed. Next he drew up a trousers
leg, disclosing a battered shin. "And
there's another on my shouIderblade
the closest call ever had. A man
who takes Ais life f. his hands. az 7
have done. merits some reward. NJ
lone ;, III be frank with you. am a