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' . . mmm I ' ' -- -1 I ; ' ' . --- ' ' " i ' ; ... -I r ,. hi n . - " ."""j ImWIOUAL (By K. O. SELLERS. Director ef Eve. nlnf Department The Moody Bible In stitute of Chicago.) Lesson "Well, I've Got a Rug Up In My 8YNOP8I3. George Percival Algernon Jones, Tlce Jjreeident of the Metropolitan Oriental Rut company of New York, thirsting forro Biaacs, to In Cairo on a hualneaa trip. Horace Ryanna arrive at the hotel In Cairo with a carefully guarded bundle. ' CHAPTER III (Continued.) George's romance gathered Itself for a flight Perhaps it was lor thwart ed and the gentleman with the mus tache and imperial, in spite of his ami ability, might be the ogre. Perhaps It was lore and duty. Perhaps her lover had gone down to sea. Perhaps (for foyers are known to do such things) he bad run away with the other glrL If that was the , case, George did not think nighty of thai tentative gentleman's taste. Perhaps and perhaps again; but George might have gone on perhapslng till the era ok o' doom, with never a solitary glimmer of the true state of the girl's mind. Whenever be saw an unknown man or woman who attracted his at tention, he never could resist the im pulse to Invent a romance that might ,apply. '.r:---':'-l--:--,:: I Immediately after dessert the two rose; and George, finding that nothing more important than a pineapple ice detained him, got up and followed. Mr. Ryanne almost trod on bis heels as they went through the doorway Into the cosy ; lounglng-room. -. George dropped Into a vacant divan and wait ed for bis cafe a la Turque. Mr. Ryanne walked over to the head-porter's bureau and asked if that gentle man would be so kind as to point out Mr. George P. A. Jones, if he were anywhere in sight He thoughtfully, not to say regretfully, laid down". a small bribe. . " "Mr. Jones T" The porter knew Mr. Jones very well He was generous, and treated the servants as though they were really human beings. Mr. Ryanne, either by his inquiry or as the result of his bribe, went up sev eral degrees in the porter's estima tion. "Mr. Jones is over there, on the divan by the door." -, "Thanks." ' But Ryanne did not then seek the young man. He studied the-quarry from a diplomatic distance. No; there was nothing to Indicate that George rcrclval Algernon Jones was in any way handicapped by Us Arthuresque middle names. . - ; -Y. i "No fool, as Gloconda In her infinite "- :jm hath said; but romantic, ter- 7 romantic, yet, like the timid ar who puts a foot Into the water, It cold, and withdraws It It will . ,end upon whether he is a real tor or merely a buyer of rugs. ' 1. then, Horace; a sovereign ns!y dashed headlong down the in." The curse of speaking 'its aloud t'l not lie heavily i t.';'a'it, for tV-;-e cogitations in ' , v -"marked by 1 i. 1 Ffooeeded , . 'ft t' a beside i," ha he- i .-. i ipv i ';nI28d Room I'd Like to 8how You." . Ryanne presented his card. "How do you pronounce It!" asked George naively. "As they do in Cork." ' "I never saw it spelled that way be fore." "Nothing surprising in that," replied Ryanne. "No one else has, either." George laughed and waited for the explanation.' - , "Ton see, Ryan Is as good a name as they make them; but it classes with prlie-fighters, politicians and bar chemists. The two extra letters put the finishing touch to the name. A Jewel is all right, but what tells is the way you hang it round your neck. To me, those additional letters repre sent the Jewel Ryan In the hands of a Lailque." -' "Ton talk like an American." - 1 am; three generations. What's the matterT" with sudden concern. George was frowning. "Haven't I met you somewhere before?" "Not to my recollection."- A specu lative frown now marred , Ryanne's forehead. It did not Illustrate a search In his memory for such A casualty as the meeting of George. He never tor got a face and certainly did not re member George's. Rather, the frown bad Its source in the mild dread that Perdval Algernon had seen him some where during, one of those indisposi tions of the morning after. "No; I think you have made a mistake." "Likely enough. It Just struck me that you looked something like a chap named Wadsworth, who was half-back on the varsity, when I entered my freshman year." "A university man? 1 Lord, no I I was turned loose at ten; been hustling ever since." Ryanne spoke easily, not a tremor in bis voice, although be had received a , slight, mental Jolt "No; no college record here. But I want to chat with, you about rugs. I've heard of you, indirectly, "From the carpet fellows? : We do a big business over here. .What have you got?";. "Well, I've a rug up In my room I'd like to show you. I want your Judg ment for one thing. Will you do me the favor?" y - ." , - Since the girl bad disappeared and with her those imaginary appurte nances that had for a space trans formed the lounglng-room Into a stage, George saw again with normal vision that the room was simply a common meeting-ground for well-dressed per sons and Ill-dressed persons, of the unimpeachable, the Impeccable, ; the doubtful and the peccant; for in Cairo, as in ancient Egypt there Is every class and kind of humans, for whom the Decalogue was written, tran scribed, and shattered by the turbu lent Moses, an Incident more or less forgotten these days. From the tall of his eye he gave swift scrutiny to his chance acquaintance, and he found nothing to warrant suspicion. It was not an unusual procedure for men to hunt him np In Cairo, In Constantinople, la Eoiyrna.orlnanyof the Oriental cil.'kS where his business Itinerary led V ii. The house of Jtortimer & Jons was wl- ,'v known. This man Eyontse it' "t 1 t-'-a re"' betwe 1 f i f -7. 1 E M 1 WC-'l t t f 1. Tr x i.l " 1 r it - i Aufkor of HEARTS AND rAS& ttio AAN (Jfi Tile uUA ct&. Jlkistratioivs h .M..G,Krrr.NrisR. COPYRIGHT 19U try BOBBd - jnERRlIA COMPANY "N. IH tell you more about it when we get to my room." "Cowe on, then." George was now quite Filling to discuss rugs and car pets. Having gained the room, Ryanne threw off his coat and relighted his cigar, which, in a saving mood, he had allowed to go out He motioned George to be seated. "Just a little yarn before I show yon the rug. See these cuffs?" "Yes." "You will observe that I have bad to reverse them. Note this collar? Same thing. Trousers-hems a bit frayed, coat shiny at the elbows." Ryanne exhibited bis sole fortune. "Four sovereigns between me and a Jail." - ' . George became thoughtful. He was generous and kind-hearted among those be knew intimately or slightly. but he had the Instinctive reserve of the 'seasoned traveler in cases like this. He waited. "The truth is, I'm all but done for. And If I fall to strike a bargain here with you. . . . Well. ! should hate to telf 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 dont 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 floated 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 smoksd them dally. How long ago had that been? "Yonder Is a rug, a prayer-rug, as holy to the Moslem as the Idol's eye Is to the Hindu, as the Bible Is to the Christian. For hundreds of years It never saw the outside of the Sultan's palace. One day the late, the recently late, Abdul the Unspeakable Turk, gave it to the Pasha of Bagdad. Whenever thls-'rug makes Its appear ance In Holy Mecca, it is worshiped, and none but a Sultan or a Sultan's favorite may kneel upon tt Bagdad, the hundred mosques, the old capital' of Suleiman the Great, the dreary Tigris and the sluggish Euphrates, a mueszln from the turret calls to pray er, and all that; eh?" George leaned forward from his chair, a gentle terror In his heart "The Yblordes? By Jovet is that the YhlordesT" Admiration kindled in Ryanne's eyes. To have bit the bull's-eye with so free and quick an aim was ample proof that Perclval Algernon had not boasted when he said that be knew something about ruga. .. "You've guessed it." "How did you come by itr George demanded, excitedly. "Why do you ask that?" "Man, ten-thousand pounds could not purchase that rug, that bit of car pet Collectors from every port have been after It in vain. And yon mean to tell me that it Ilea there, wrapped In butcher's paper?" "Rlght-Ol" Ryanne solemnly detached a cuff and rolled up his sleeve. The bare muscular arm was scarred by two long, - ugly . knife-wounds, ' scarcely healed. , Next he drew up a trousers leg, disclosing a battered shin. "And there's another on my shoulder-blade, the closest call I ever had. 'A man who takes his life in his hands, as I have done, merits some reward. Mr. Jones, 111 be frank with you. I am a kind of derelict Since I was a boy, 1 have bated the humdrum of offices. of shops. I wanted- to be my own man. to go and come as I pleased. To do this and live meant precarious ex ploits. This rug represents one of them; I am telling you the family secret; I am showing you the skele ton in the closet confidentially. I stole that rug; and when I say that the seven labors, of our old friend Hercules were simple diversions com pared, you'll recognise the difficulties I had to overcome. You know some thing of the Oriental mind. I hand led the Job alone. I 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 trifle sk?ptlcal. Many a rogue bad made the mistake of playing George's age againBt his experience. He bad made some serious blunders In the early stages of the business, bow- ever: and everybody, to rain some- t.:.: in the end, must lose someth! at V, a siart "If t'jftt rug Is t!-.e one I lave t..',..?, you ertatii'y have stui.'a l 1 if it's a copy, 1 "A t-:i you q ' : 1 , "I 1 3 i 1 A out of Egypt" These were set phrases of the expert, preliminaries to bar gaining. "One might as well carry round a 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. You aould take it to New York as a copy, and no appraiser would know the difference. , It's worth the attempt I'd take It to New York myself, but you see, I am flat broke. Come; what do you or I care about a son-of-a-gun of a Turk?" drolly. "What do you want for It suppos ing It's genuine?" George's throat was dry and his voice harsh. His con science roused herself, feebly, for It had been a long time since occasion bad necessitated her presence. Ryanne narrowed his eyes, carefully balancing the possibilities. "Say, one thousand pounds.. It Is like giving it away. But when the devil drives, you know. It is beyond any set price; it is worth what any collector is willing to pay for it I believe I know the kind of man you are, Mr. Jones, and that Is why, when I learned you were In Cairo, I came directly to you. You would never sell this rug. No. You would become like a miser over bis gold. You would keep it with your emeralds (I have heard about them, too) ; draw the curtains, lock the doors, whenever you looked at it Eh? You would love it for its own sake, and not because it Is worth so many thousand pounds. You are sailing In a few days; that will help. The Pasha Is in Constantinople, and It will be three or four weeks before be hears of the theft or the cost" with a certain grimness. " ' v ' 'You haven't killed any oner whis pered George. i 'I don t know; perhaps. Christian ity against paganism; the Occidental conscience permits It" Ryanne made gesture to indicate that be 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, alashed the twine, flung aside the paper, and threw the rug across the ' counterpane. ' It a the Yblordes. There was not the slightest doubt 111 his mind. He had heard It described, be had seen a photograph of it, be knew its history and, most vital of all, he owned a good copy of it - - . Against temptation that was robust and energetic and alluring (like the man who insists upon your having a drink when you want it and ought not to have It), what chance had con science, grown Innocuous in the long period of the young man's good be havior? Collectors are always honest before and after that moment arrives when they want something desperate ly; and George was no more saintly than his kind. And how deep Ryanne and his confederates bad delved Into human nature, how well they could read and Judge It was made manifest In this moment of George s morak re lapse. '- " '- . " Bagdad, the Jlnna, Blnbad, the Thou sand and One Nights, Alibaba and the "Good night" George passed down the corridor to the adjoining room. And now, bang! goes Pandora's box. . ' CHAPTER IV ' An Old Acquaintance.' That faculty which decides on , the lawlessness of our actions; so the noted etymologist described con science. It fell to another distin guished intellect to add that con science makes cowards of us alt Ay. She may be overcome at times, side tracked for any special desire that de mands a clear way: but she's after us. fast enough, with that battered red lantern, of hers, which, brought down from all tongues crisply into our own. reads "Don't do it!" She herself is not wholly without cunning. She rare ly stands boldly upon the track to flag us as we come. She realises that she might be permanently ditched. No; it is far safer to run after ua and catch Forty Thieves; George was transport ed mentally to that maglo city, stand ing between the Tigris and the Eu phrates, in all Its white glory of a MACGRATH Poor as a Church Mexico Q 8lnce Confetti Came Into Use, the Saying Has Mere Meaning Than at Former i imea, The sexton of a fashionable New York church waa sweeping Into a larre mound the bright purple, red and yellow disca of confetti which Ut tered the church enh ance ana steps. "This month," ha f ' 1, "I Lave tad s'ready 85 wedd!; In n y C rh. And at every one i f tUese - , ,.r confetti wm "'en at t br'' Instead of r. ). "XI 9 cor.fottl in 1 I v 7 1 r r-a to us 1 dr ' , . i r. r xto1 ,:rche8 eayi V v. ! 1 I y cl: r, i 1 thousand years gone. Ryanne, the room and Its furnishings, all had van ished, all save the exquisite fabric pat terned out of wool and cotton and knotted with that mingling love and skill and patience the world knows no more. He let his hand stray over if. How many knees had pressed Its thick yet pliant substance? How many strange scenes had it mutely wit nessed, scenes of beauty, of terror? It shone undetf the light like the hide or a healthy hound. The nerves of a smoker areeg sneral- ly made apparent by the rapidity ofrj hls exhalations. These two, in the several minutes, had filled the room with a thick, blue base; and through this the elder man eyed the younger. The sign of the wolf gleamed in his eyes, but wltboat animosity, modified as it was by the half-friendly, half cynical smiled - , -1 ' -"111 risk If. said George finally, having stepped off the magical carpet as it were. "I can't give you a thou sand pounds tonight - I can give you three hundred, and the balance tomor row, between ten and eleven, - at COOWS." , . ; "That will be agreeable to me." George passed over all the available cash be had, rolled up the treasure and tucked It under his arm. That some where In the world was a true be liever, walling and beating his breast and calling down from Allah curses upon the giaour, the dog of an Infidel, who had done this thing, disturbed George not ,in the least "I say," sis he opened the door, "yon must tell me all about the adventure. It must have been a thriller." "It was," replied Ryanne. "The story will keep. Later, if you care to hear it" "Of course," added George, moved by a discretionary thought "this trans action is Just between you and me." "You may lay odds on that" heart ily. "Well, good night See you at Cook's in the morning." ; , na. A degression, perhaps, but more pertlneittly an application. Temptation then no longer at bis shoulder, George began to have It Was the qualms, little chaps, who started bus sing Into his moral ears with all that maddening, interminable drone which makes one marvel however do school teachers survive their - first terms. Bending with difficulty to collect a few obstinate pieces of the bright .pa per confetti that stuck to the floor, the old sexton added: "Of course, these bits of paper are much more awkward for me to sweep up than rice. But even so, I hope the confetti fashion has come to stay." Public P. ul!y tl a r VP in ! 1 , 0( f if rl hoos. 1 of the 9 Of t" 1 f" 9 f " In ant Among these qualms there was none that pleaded for the desolate Turk or his minions whose carelessness 1 bad made the theft possible. For all Georg cared, the Moslem might grind hlai forehead in the soulless sand and make the air palpitate with his plaints to Allah. No. The disturbance was due to the fact that never before had be been wittingly the purchaser of stolen goods. He never tried to gloie over the subtle distinction between knowing and suspecting; and If be had been variously sgsptclous in regard to certain past bargains, conscience bed found no siseanie weuge ior uer ut murrers. The Yhlordes was confessed ly stolen. " He paused, With his band upon the doorknob of his room. It he didn't keep the rug, it would fall Into the hands of a collector leas scrupulous. To return It to the Pasha at Bagdad would be pure folly, and thankless. It Hwas one of the most beautiful weav ing! in existence. It was as priceless In Its way as any Raphael In the Vati can. And be desired Its possession in tensely. Why not? Insidious phrasal Was It not better that the world should see and learn what a wonderful craft the making of a rare rug bad been, than to allow It to return to the sordid chamber of a barem, to Inevit able ruin? As Ryanne said, what the deuce was a fanatical Turk or Arab to him? Against these specious arguments ra favor of becoming' the adventurer's abettor and accomplice, there was first the possible stain of blood. The man agreed that he bad come away from Bagdad in doubt George did not like the thought of blood. Still, he had collected a hundred emeralds, not one of which was without Its red record. Again, If he carried the rug home with hla other purchases, be could pull It through the customs only by lying, which was as distasteful to his mind as being a receiver of stolen goods. -. - . He had already paid a goodly sum against the purchase; and it was not likely that a man who was down to reversing his collars and cuffs would Yhlordes. take back the rug and refund the money. The Yhlordes waa his, hap pen what might So conscience snuffed out her red lantern and retired. . ; ,., TO BE CONTINUED.) prevention of the' liberty on which the government is founded. . Odd Case ef Friendship. At the present time a most unusual case of affection between a domiciled and a comparatively wild animal Is to be witnessed at the little English bam lot of Epoonley, near Market Drayton. On, the farm of Mr. William WooCbura for a week or two past, a small ror h, somewhat vicious -terrier fro a the farmstead has been noticed g--nbontpj In the fields with a large weil-da?el-oped hare. Such an attachment la most uncommon. H. ; - "Cot I i j tl to t'.;e I' t I - t LESSON FOR MARCH 2 , ' GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAM ' LESSON TEXT Gen. :B-11 GOLDEN TEXT "He Is faithful thai promieed." Heb. J0:3. . , ' . ' Until within recent years It was fr' quently asserted that Abram's battle, as recorded In Gen. 14. "had not one whit of proof," yet the archaeologists have not only reconciled the apparent discrepancies, but have proven beyond a question the accuracy of the rec ord. Abram's victory over the four confederate kings Is a story rich withv typical suggestions. I, ; "After These Things." vv. 1-7. , God's word (v. 1) cane to Abram not only as a counsel but for assurance as well. So, too, our assurance Is his word. I John 5:13. In the midst ot the uncertainty and the strife, for we must remember Abrsm never pos sessed the land, Godl appeared to him ' In a vision and said. "Fear not." See Isa. 41:10. There in the midst of nm i imm e-tti flnH nmmteftd to be to Abram a shield and an exceeding great reward. A "shield" tor there la to the Christian life a militant side. Eph. 6:13. 14. I Tim. 6:1. A "re ward" which was far more rich than any given by man. See 14:21, Prov., 10:22. - - . . - ' ' Abram Waa Human. But Abram was, alter all, human, and we read In verse 2 bis question about descendants, be being as yet childless. Even so, however, Abram ; was willing to count the child of bla steward as fulfilling the promise of God. Not so. with God for the prom ise (12:3) was to Include Sarah also. God very clearly makes this plain In verse 4, the heir waa to be Abram'a Indeed and not the child of another. But not only Is Abrsm to have an heir but the land In which be was so journing as a pilgrim was to be hla and his seed to be aa the stars for , multitude. ' - . a . 1 ' . "And he believed." The great test to this faith came later, tieo. u:i, but here in this first distinct scrip tural history of faith 're find set forth those principles that bave governed through all t!me. (1) The acceptance-". of the word of God, e. g., to have our trust built upon or sipported by the word or jenovanr see isa, bu:ii, to act upon that faith so that our course In life manifests the belief of , the heart Abram had already obeyed (12:4) thereby manifesting his faith. We need to remember that all of this was centuries before Moses gave the- eommanaa ana so Aorams iaua not In the keeping of rules and regula tions, but the simple acceptance of God's word. Rom.'4:lH8. Thus there Is set before us two principles, (1) the Master's right to obedience, John 13:13. and (2) the aervant's right to direction in service, Isa. :8-t God's covenant, 12:1-4, Is confirmed in seven wsys, 1, Posterity, (a) nat ural, "earth." (b) spiritual, "heaven (c) also through Isbmael, Gen. 17:18 20: J. Blessing, both temporal an spiritual; 8, great name; 4, Be a bless- ing. Gal.. 3:13, 14; B. "I will blest rthem that bless thee;" , "and curse- them that curse, thee; 7, the families of the earth blessed through Abram, e. g., through Christ Gal. 3:16, ' ' ana ne lienor cu m ma 11 u - - , 6). Abram built upon the naked word of God, he simply looked at that and that alone, Rom. 4:20, R. V. All Go asks of us Is for us to take him at his word. So it is that as we take hla word about Jesus, be reckons that faith to us as righteousness ; no mat ter how unrighteoua ve may have been,-see Rom. 4:3-6; Gal. 8:6-7. The one think that God demands Is that we believe him and Us-word. . - Tt. "Whereby 8hat' I Knew." vr. 8-18. The weakness of human faith in dicated by Abram's question (v 8) la answered by God giving to him direc tions for the prepara tion of a aacrl-. flee. Abram did not , really doubt God's word (v. 6),. but be did desire a confirming sign. Many today are looking for assuring signs from Go wben his bare word shtvld be-enough. Asking for signs la ntt always safe. Luke 1:18-20, but aa in Abram's case God does give us a pledge a sign of our inheritance, 2 Cor. 1:22, Eph. 1:14. God gave Abram, after be had explic itly followed his directions, a sym bolic vision of himself. Someone has suggested that the vile birds of prey (v.- 11) are symbolic of Satan, an Abram, driving them away, a symbol of one victory over evil, Jas. 4:7. God Is always nearer man and best reveals himself when ve are In the midst of sacrifice. , God tells Abram of those days of servitude on the part ef his descendants wMIb they are to be in Egypt, of God's Ji dgment to be brought upon that laid and of their ultimate deliverance. ' 8ymbols of (led.' ' Every detail of thess prd!cf'or and promises was ful.r'ml. Ia versa 15 there ' is prf:-"i;':-.l t'.e f t thought of the need ol' ft: "' ".m ia youth for the fu'-'re d. ; s cf 1 old aste" alco la t' ' rwe a e t s tion of t':e l i I I t' i t's,!. "" to thy fu crs." us e.j vtt also to t'9 " I The r-nt;!.' r i f 1 i f - i x t i ? ' " - c f C I -
The News-Record (Marshall, N.C.)
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