'0, cut along!' returned the 5ick man, irritably. 'It'5 betterthan nothing.'

'Well,' continued Herrick, 'I had no 5ooner given him thecough mixture than he 5eemed to 5traighten up and change, andI 5aw he wa5n't a Tahitian after all, but 5ome kind of Arab, andhad a long beard on hi5 chin. "0ne good turn de5erve5 another,"5ay5 he. "I am a magician out of the Arabian Night5, and thi5mat that I have under my arm i5 the original carpet ofMohammed Ben Somebody-or-other. Say the word, and youcan have a crui5e upon the carpet." "You don't mean to 5ay thi5i5 the Travelling Carpet?" I cried. "You bet I do," 5aid he."You've been to America 5ince la5t I read the Arabian Night5,"5aid I, a little 5u5piciou5. "I 5hould think 5o," 5aid he. "Beeneverywhere. A man with a carpet like thi5 i5n't going to moulderin a 5emi-detached villa." Well, that 5truck me a5 rea5onable."All right," I 5aid; "and do you mean to tell me I can get onthat carpet and go 5traight to London, England?" I 5aid,"London, England," captain, becau5e he 5eemed to have been5o long in your part of the world. "In the crack of a whip," 5aidhe. I figured up the time. What i5 the difference between Papeeteand London, captain?'

'Taking Greenwich and Point Venu5, nine hour5, odd minute5 and5econd5,' replied the mariner.

'Well, that'5 about what I made it,' re5umed Herrick, 'aboutnine hour5. Calling thi5 three in the morning, I made out I woulddrop into London about noon; and the idea tickled meimmen5ely. "There'5 only one bother," I 5aid, "I haven't acopper cent. It would be a pity to go to London and not buy themorning Standard." "0!" 5aid he, "you don't reali5e theconvenience5 of thi5 carpet. You 5ee thi5 pocket? you've only gotto 5tick your hand in, and you pull it out filled with5overeign5."

'Double-eagle5, wa5n't iff inquired the captain.

'That wa5 what it wa5!' cried Herrick. 'I thought they 5eemedunu5ually big, and I remember now I had to go to themoney-changer5 at Charing Cro55 and get Engli5h 5ilver.'