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

| or shops. l wanted to ba my own man
to go and come as 1 pleased. To do
this and live meant precarious er.
ploits. This rug represents one of
them. l am telling you the family
secret; ! 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 were simple diversions COM
pared. you'll 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 trihe skeptical. Many a rogue had
made the mistake OF playing Georges
age against his experience. He had
made some serious plumbers In the
curly stages OF the business. how
ever: and everybody. to gain some
thing in the end. must lose something
at the start.
III that rug is the one I have In
/ mind. you certainly have stolen it.
And II It's copy. III tell you quickly
enough"
That's fair And that's why"
Ryanne declared. 81 wanted you 10
| look at IT. To me, considering what |
have gone through to get 1t. to me 1t
Is the genuine carpet. To your expert
eye 1t may be only a fine copy. know
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. II
this is the real article, want you to
| take 1t Off my hands," the adventurer
| finished pleasantly.
| There will be a hue and cry"
mo doubt OF it,
And the DEVILS own Job to get Il
out of Egypt" These were set phrases
OF the expert. preliminaries to bar
gaining. "One might as we'll carry
round stolen elephant"
| But a man who is as familiar with
the game as you are would have little
| difficulty Your integrity is an estab-
lished fact. on both sides OF the water.
~
| copy. and no appraiser would know
the difference. It's worth the attempt.
I'd take 1t to New York myself, but
you see. 1 am fat broke. Come; what
do you or 1 care about a son-of-a-gun
OF Turk?,' drolly.
What do you want for It. suppos-
ing it's genuine?" Georges throat was
| dry and his voice harsh. His con-
science reused herself. feebly. for 1t
| had been a long time since occasion
had necessitated her presence.
Ryanne narrowed his eyes, carefully
balancing the possibilities. Say, one
thousand pounds. 1t is like giving 1t
away. But when the devil drives, you
know. 1t is beyond any set price; It
is worth what any collector Is willing
to pay for It. / believe I know the
kind OF man you are, Mr.. Jones. and
that Is why. when l learned you were
In Cairo. came directly to you. You
| would never sell this rug. No You
would become like a miser over his
gold. You would keep It with your
emeralds q have heard about them.
too); draw the curtains, lock the
doors, whenever you looked at II. Eth?
You would love It for its own sake.
and not because It is worth so many
thousand pounds. You are sailing In
few days; that will help. The Pasha
Is In Constantinople. and It will be
three or four weeks before he hears OF
the theft, or the cost" with a certain
| grimness.
you haven't killed any ona?" whia.
pered George.
Il don't know; perhaps. Christian
ity against paganism; the Occidental
| conscience permits It," Ryanne made
gesture 20 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
Irvine. flung aside the paper, and threw
| tho rug across the cOunterpane. II
was the Yhiordes. There was not the
slightest doubt in his mind. He had
heard Il described. he had seen
photograph OF IL. he knew its history
and. most vital OF all, he owned a
good copy OF It.
Against temptation that was robust
and energetic an alluring Olks the
man who insists upon your having
drink when you want II and ought p,t
to have it). what chance had CON
science, grown innocuous ia the lon1
period Of tho young mans good be-
haviori Collectors are always honeat
before and after that moment arrives
when they want something desperate
~; and George was no more sanity
than his kind. And how deep Ryanne
and his confederates had delved into
human nature. how we'll they could
read and Judge IL, was made manifest
in this moment Of Georges moral re-
lapse.