enables anybody in whose possession it is to travel anywhere they
wish--surely you must have heard about it."

"No!" cried Lionel, his eyes sparkling with eagerness, "not really? Oh,
sir! Do--_do_ please buy it--it will be simply ripping! Do! do! Why, it
will be better than an aeroplane."

I had never in my life before seen my cousin so excited about anything.

"I should certainly advise you to purchase it," whispered Shin Shira.
"It is a very valuable rug, and no doubt you would find it very useful
in many ways."

I must confess to a considerable amount of curiosity myself as we
entered the shop and asked to be shown the carpet which Shin Shira
declared to be endued with such remarkable properties.

It was a very handsome one, and the shopkeeper showed it to us with a
considerable amount of pride.

"It's a genuine article, sir," he told me. "Came over only last week
from Arabia in a special parcel purchased by our agent in Baghdad--I
believe it's very old. These foreigners know how to make things which
will last."

I inquired the price, and hesitated considerably when I found that it
was far in excess of the amount I had intended to pay for a rug.

However, Lionel seemed so very eager, and Shin Shira assured me so
positively that it was really a bargain, that, with a sigh at what I