usiness in which I am sure Abraham the Jew can help
me, better than any other man in Mecca."

"Ha!" exclaimed the peddler, "and what may that be?"

"Can you keep a still tongue when it is necessary, Jew?"

The peddler placed his fingers on his lips, rolled up his eyes, and
nodded assent.

"Then come with me to the house of Amzi the benevolent,--my Meccan
home,--and I shall explain."

When seated comfortably on divans in the coolest part of the house,
Yusuf told the story of the gold cup, and intimated that Abraham's
wandering life and the numberless throngs of people with whom his trade
threw him in contact, gave him facilities, impossible to others, of
doing a little detective work in a quiet way.

The Jew listened, silent and motionless, with his eyes fixed on a
lotus-bud carved on the cornice. Only once did he turn and fix his
little round eyes sharply on the priest's face.

"There is just one more thing--" continued Yusuf, then he stopped. He
was about to tell of the little carnelian stone, when his eye fell upon
one of the numerous rings upon the Jew's fat fingers. There, in the
center of it, was a small cavity from which, apparently, a jewel of some
sort had fallen from its setting.

Yusuf almost sprang to his feet in the excitement of the discovery.

"Well?" asked the Jew, noting the pause.

"I will tell you later," said Yusuf. "For the present--have some dates,
will you not?"

A servant entered with a tray on which were fruits and small cakes.

The peddler besought Yusuf, for friendship's sake, to eat with him; but
the Persian made a gesture of disgust.

"I have already eaten," he said. "Overeating in Mecca in the hot season
is not wise. Abraham, do you always wear so many rings on your fingers?"

"Oh, no," returned the Jew, "sometimes I wear them; sometimes I carry
them for months in my belt. This"--pointing to a huge band of ancient
workmanship--"is the most curious one of the lot. I got it for carrying
a bundle of manuscript from a man at Oman to your friend Amzi, here. It
seems that Amzi had once lived with him at Oman, but the man--I forget
his name--went inland to Teheran, or some other place in Persia, and
Amzi, after traveling about for two or three years, settled in Mecca.
This one"--and he pointed out the ring on which Yusuf's eyes were
fixed--"is the most expensive of the lot, but a stone fell out of it
once when I was carrying it in my belt."

"Did you not look in your belt for it?"