New-York tribune., 1920-09-26
HER beads and headdress
L. IL are familiar sights on
the sUGnderers' highroads

the sOGmderers' highroGds
tray, we helping him all the tina.
AT last 1t was found in his own
waistcoat pocket. We; were COM
pletely taken in by the a,ypsy's Arse
rate acting. The two pieces, or what
we thought were the two pieces,
were now wrapped up in one single
bit Of linoleum, and the little packet
placed upon the red hot Goals AL
most Immediately it melted into
white liquid metal BY this time
beads Of perspiration covered the
forehead Of the gypsy, produced,
doubtless, by the strain Of hav-
ing to act his part in the presence
Of an audience presumably some
what more wide awake than his
usual Bulgarian victim. His hands,
too, were trembling violently. Then
all four gypsies made the sign Of
the cross in the orthodox fashion,
from right to left, and hastily NUT
tered a prayer that God and the
Sinbo MaaiG might help them, and
carefully poured the contents Of the
iron cup into a small pocket mold.
This consisted Of an iron frame
shaped like brandy flask, with an
iron neck to it, the body Of the flask
being solid, and made Of sand baked
black and damped into consistency
with water. This mold was divided
lengthwise into two portions exactly
similar, save that on the inside of
one Of them was the hollowed-out
impression Of sovereign joined by
narrow canal to the impression of
smaller coin. The two portions
were, Of course, tightly clapped TO-
gether when the metal was poured
in. After a minute the gypsy opened
the mold, and we beheld two white
coin-shaped pieces of metal, without,
however, a trace Of the necessary
efigy and design. at is neverthe-
less there" said the gypsy, "and
only requires the heat of fire to bring
it out into relief" The fire would
also produce, he said, the right hue.
We watched breathless, while with
great swiftness the gypsy wrapped
up the coin in a fresh piece Of IL
noleum and held it over the hot Goals
by means of some small pincers.
After some time the linoleum was
consumed end there appeared q
dirty smoky sovereign, which he
again held over the fame, to give it,
he said, the right ring. He then
polished it with some sand and
handed it over to US.
Would Return at Once
He soon left us, after drinking
some more brandy and assuring me
that II I required his services I had
merely to telegraph to Rustchuk,
whittier he was returning that aft
ernoon, and he would Immediately
come to me. He said, however, that
he had but a limited supply Of H.
noleum, and that if he did not hear
from me within a month he would
no longer keep it for me, as he had
applicants who desired to double
their fortunes in this easy and with
al safe manner. In the hall he met
my baby daughter and insisted upon
giving her q two-franc piece fol-
luck, which he said he had that
morning coined at the hotel. He
must now return TO the hotel, he
said, in order to occupy his time ad.
vantageously until the hour at which
the train for Rustchuk was timed te
leave. When about to leave, anc
already in the garden, he knocked
the pocket mold against his heel
as one might a pipe, and there fel
to she ground q lot Of fine blacl
sand. "You see," he said, "no ont
: can know what we have been doing
All traces have disappeared"
J A Sad Peasant
II might have been about tws
months later that one Of the peas
ants whom ! had seen in the com
pany Of the gypsy at the hotel a
Varns paid me visit. His appear
asaea had sadly changed. Hs wa