The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-11-19

IT am sure / am greatly indebted to you,
Count" ! said, hut after thinking 1t sver
I've
Don't say that you have already en-
gagged some one to do the work" he eried
in horror. my dear fellow, Asn't tell me
thati You arc certain 10 naks . dreadful
mistake II you lstAn to any one but
Schw artzmuller. He h he last word IN
restorationa. He 10 he best hst - you
would say in New York. Any enc sass WIN
make . boteh Of The work. You will curse
the day you"
l checked him. az have virtually deeided
70 let the whole matter 60 over until neIt
spring. However, l shall be happy 70 hsvs
Mr.. Sehwartzmuller's opinion. We nsy b
able to plan ahead
A lock Of disappointment fitted acfsss hs
face. The suggestion Of hard old ago ezept
into his features for . second and then dis
appeared.
Delays are dangerous" he said. my
judgment is that those gorgeous paintings
will disintegrate more during the coming win
ter than in all the years gone by. They are
at the critical stage. II mot preserved now
we'll, l cannot bear to think Of the con-
sequences. All, here is Herr Schwartz
puller.'
Just inside the door, We came upon . pom
pous yet servile German who could not by
any means have been mistaken for anything
but the last word in restoration. l have
never seen any one in my life whose ap-
pearance suggested a more complete state Of
rehabilitation. His froek coat was new, it
had the unfailing smell of new wool freshly
dyed; his shoes were painfully new; his
gloves were new; his silk hat was resplend
entity new; his fat iowl was shaved to 3
luminous pink; his gorgeous moustsche was
twisted up at the ends to such a degree that
when he smiled the points wsvered in from.
of his eyes. causing him to blink with aston
ishment. He was undeniably dressed up for
the occasion. NY critical eye, however, dis
covered a pair Of well worn striped trousers
badly stained, slightly frayed at the bot
tom and inclined to bag outward at the
knee. Perhaps l should have said that he
was dressed up from the knee.
''This is the great Herr SchwartSmuller
Of the Imperial galleries in Munchen," said
the Count, Introducing us.
The stranger bowed very profoundly and
at the same time extracted Il business card
from the tail pocket Of his coat, This he
delivered to me with a smile which seemed
to invite me to participate in q great and
serious secret-the secret of irreproachable
standing as an art expert and connoisseur.
| confess to a mistaken impression concern
ing him up to the moment he handed me his
clumsy business card. Ny suspicious had
4 set him down as q confederate of Count
Tarnowsy, q spy, a secret agent or what
ever you choose TO consider one who is
employed in furthering a secret purpose.
, But the business card removed my doubts
and misgivings. 1t stamped him for what
| ha roailv waS--thnra ic M rnIEtaEIpp n Ger
man who hands you his business card. lie
, destroys all possible chance for discussion
In three languages the card announced
that he was August Schwartzmuller, of the
Imperial galleries, Munchen, Zumpe &
Schwartzmuller, proprietors. Reservations a
specially" There was much more, but |
did not have time to read all Of it. More
over, the. card was a trifle soiled, as if it
had been used before, There could be no
doubt as to his genuineness. He was an art
expert.
For ten minutes / allowed them 70 expati-
FGte on the perils Of procrasination in tho
treatment Of rare old csnvases and pig
ments, and then, having formulated my
plans, blandly inquired what the cost would
be. 1t appears that Herr ScAwartxmuller
had examined the ~frescoes no longer than
six months before in the interests Of .
new IoIk Bcutlcmhh W Who& honoAA
dab. had tried to sell them for 4 lump sum.
He was unable to recall the gentleman's
name.
II should gay not more than one hun.
bred and fifty thousand marks, perhaps
less, said the expert, rolling his calealAtive
eye upward and RAINING II along the vast
), dome of the hall - il to figure it out in
yards and inches.
The Count was watching me with an eager
light in his eyes. He looked away IS / shot
a quick glance at his face. Tho whole mat
ter became as clear as day 10 me. He Was
to receive q handsome commission II the
contract Was awarded. No doubt his share
would be at least half Of the amount stipu-
lated. I had reason 10 believe that the
work could be performed At = profit for
less than halt the figure mentioned By the
German.
Nearly forty thousand dollars. in other
words,'' said I reflectively.
''They are worth ten times that amount,
SIR said the expert ~gravely.
I smiled specifically. The Count took in
slant alarm. He realised that I vas not
such a fool as l looked, perhaps.
''Hohendahl was once offered two hun
bred and fifty thousand dollars, Mr.. Smart
he said.
''why didn't he accept III" I asked
bhntly. "He sold the whole place 70 me,
contents included. for less than half that