the lid upon the edge of the sarcophagus, took off his sandals, gave a
foot to one of his slaves, and swung himself into the interior. The lamp
was then given him, and he surveyed the wealth and splendor as the king
might never again. And as the king in his day had said with exultation,
Lo! it is all mine, the intruder now asserted title.

Unable, had he so wished, to carry the whole collection off, he looked
around upon this and upon that, determining where to begin. Conscious he
had nothing to fear, and least of all from the owner in the chair, he
was slow and deliberate. From his robe he drew a number of bags of
coarse hempen cloth, and a broad white napkin. The latter he spread upon
the floor, first removing several of the urns to obtain space; then he
emptied one of the vessels upon it, and from the sparkling and
varicolored heap before him proceeded to make selection.

His judgment was excellent, sure and swift. Not seldom he put the large
stones aside, giving preference to color and lustre. Those chosen he
dropped into a bag. When the lot was gone through, he returned the
rejected to the vessel, placing it back exactly in its place. Then he
betook himself to another of the vessels, and then another, until, in
course of a couple of hours, he had made choice from the collection, and
filled nine bags, and tied them securely.

Greatly relieved, he arose, rubbed the benumbed joints of his limbs
awhile, then passed the packages out to the slaves. The occupation had
been wearisome and tensive; but it was finished, and he would now
retire. He lingered to give a last look at the interior, muttering the
sentence again, and leaving it unfinished as before:

"No one has been here since"--