The Washington herald., 1913-12-28
tCopJaglIt. lsl5)

into my rOOIn-
put down the book at which my brain
had been scratching like a dog scratching
at a closed door.
1 looked up at my servant little list
Iessly and yet a little puzzled by what
was plainly studied calmness Of ap-
pearance-
Benson. why aren't you in bedT'
If you'll pardon me, sir" began the
intruder. I've a gentleman here"
He was so extraordinarily cool about 1t
that / rose like a fish at the flash Of
something unusual
AT this time Of the night?' 1 inquired.
Yes, sir
But what kind Of gentleman, Benson?'
Benson hesitated: it was the sort Of
hesitation that is able to translate silence
into an apology
II think, sir. it's a burglar"
"A What?'' 1 demanded, incredulous.
The fact is, sir, 'appened to hear
him at the lock. When he forced the
door, sir, not being able to work the
lock. I was waiting for him"
This sounds rather interesting, Ben
son. Be so good as to show the gentle
man up
I sat down, with a second look at the
dragging hands Of the French clock But
Benson still seemed a trifie Ill at ease.
II took the liberty of tying him up
a bit sir" explained the servant, being
compelled, as it were, to use bit Of
force"
OF course. Then unite him as much
as necessary and fetch him here. And
you might bring up bottle of La Fitte
and a bite to eat For two, IL you please,
BensonI'
Yes, sir" he answered. But still he
hesitated-
The revolver, sir, is in the cabinet
drawer on Your left, sir"
We won't need the revolver, Benson.
What ] most need, l fancy, is amuse-
ment, distraction, excitement, anything
anything to get me through this endless
hades OF a night"'
] could feel my voice rise on the clos
ing words, like the uprear OF a tc- rified
race horse. 1t was not a good sign.
got up and paced the rug. like a cast
away pacing some barren and empty
island. But here, / told myself, was a
timely footprint. l waited, as breathless
as a CrUsOe awaiting his Friday.
waited so long that / was beginning
to dread some mshap. Then the por-
there's parted for the second time, and
Benson led the burglar into the roGGh.
l experienced, as l looked at him, a
distinct sense of disappointment. He was
not at all what ! expected. The thing
that first impressed me was his slender
ness. an almost feline sort of slender
ness. The thing 1 next remarked was
that he was very badly frightened, so
frightened, in fact. that his face was the
tint of j rather sOiled white glove. He
stood before me for all the world as
though a hospital inferno had been prac-
icing abstruse bandaging feats on his
body, so neatly and yet so firmly had the
rcdoubtable Benson hobbled him and
swathed his arms in half dozen Of my
oest Irish linen table napkins Over
these. again, had been wound and buck
led a trunk strap. Benson had not
skimped his job.
My hope for any diverting talk along
the more picturesque avenues of life was
depressinSly shOrt-lived. The man re-
manned both sullen and silent. Blood still
dripped slowly down the back of his soiled
collar where Benson's neat welt had
lhraded the scalp.
Yet his eyes, all the time were alert
enough To fire questions at him was as
futile as throwing pebbles at an alligator.
He had determined. apparently, not to
open his lips; though his glance. all this
time. was never an idle or empty one. l
gave up. with touch of anger.
Frisk him. l told the waiting Benson.
See if he's carrying a gun. Search his
pockets-every one of them"
This Benson did. with an engaging mix
ture of muffied caution and open repug-
nance.
The result of that search was quite en-
rOuraging. From one pocket came an
ugly. short barreled Colt. From another
anne two skeleton keys and a few inches
IF copper wire bent into a coil From still
another came a small electric fashlight
Under our burglars coat, with one end
~esting in his left-hand waisteoat pocket,
was a twenty-inch steel Jimmy 1t was
4 very attractive tool, not unlike a long
,1,- p1,r
a tip-tilted end. l found it suggestive of
tremendous leverage power, tempting one
% test its strength.
From the right-hand waistcoat pocket
Benson produced a lady's gold watch, two
niger rings, a gold barette, and a foot or
TWO of Old-fashioned locket chain of solid
gold. There was nothing to show who
he owner of this jewelry might be.
Il suppose you just bought this at Tiff
beginning to get on my nerves. He might
have been a wax figure in the Eden
Musee, were it not for those reptiliously
alert and ever-exasperating eyes. 1
stood up and confronted him..
i want to know where this stuff came
fromr'
The white-faced burglar still looked at
me out of those sullen and rebellious eyes.
But not a word passed his lips.
Then we'll investigate a little further"
said. eyeing his somewhat protuberant
breastbone. Go on with the search,
Benson, and get everything" For it was
plain that our visitor, before honoring
Us that night, had called at other homes.
watched Benson with increasing in
terest as his fastidiously exploring hand
went down inside the burglars opened
waistcoat I saw him feel about there,
and as he did so I caught a change OF
expression on our prisoners face, The
man was not snakelike. He was LIE a
oornered rat. Rat seemed written all over
him.
But at that moment my eyes went back
to Benson, for l had seen his hand bring
away a small vase partly wrapped in a
pocket handkerchief. This handkerchief
was extremely dirty.
I took the vase from his hand drawing
away the rag that screened it Only by
an effort, as did so, was 1 able to con-
ceal my surprise.
For one glance at that slender little COL
umn of sang-de-boeuf porcelain told me
what it was. There was no possibility
Of mistake. One glimpse was enough. 1t
was from the Gubtin collection. For
once before my fingers had caressed the
came glaze and the same tender contours
Once before, and under vastly different
I had weighed that deli
cate tube of porcelain in my contemplat-
I've hands.
I sat back and looked at il more care
fully. Then / looked back at the deli
cate lip, the lip that once had been in
jured and artfully banded with ring of
gold. 1t was a vase of the K'anghs.
period, a rare and beautiful specimen
among the Yang Lao monochromes. And
history said that thirty years before it
had haeD DurcbaS sod froun fba sixfb pr;noa