A stamp in wax was taken, and sent at once to the museum.
“May I show this coin to a friend?” asked the expert. The dealer gladly gave permission, and it was taken to a collector of coins, who told them that that particular coin was never found in Egypt, and, most probably, it was not genuine.
Then the dealer said, “Well, if this coin is not real, then all the things which I have bought are frauds; let us examine all of them.”
This was done, and after three hours’ hard work with magnifying glasses, the expert came to the conclusion that the articles were not really genuine antiquities, but very clever frauds. Then the dealer returned the £250 to his patron who had bought the gold leaves. After this he took the things straight back to the intermediary, who now declined all responsibility, saying, “You bought from the farmer, who is an ignorant man and knows nothing.”
The assistance of the police was invoked, and the head of the village paid £20 to the dealer, intending to reimburse himself from the proceeds of the farmer’s crops.
In the meantime, the dealer was not idle. He found out that a Jewish goldsmith in Cairo had prepared some plain gold leaves and had sent them over to Athens to be stamped. He had then sold them to the intermediary, and this man had passed them on to the fellah, and between them they had made this plan. They buried the things in the ground, and after a time the fellah dug them up, thus being able to swear by the “triple divorce” that he had taken them out of the ground. Then the intermediary had looked about him for a promising victim, and selected the dealer, who lost over the transaction some £60. Some time later, the forgeries were again sold to a well-known man for £30, and were again detected. This time the money in full was returned, and the forgeries were melted down.
One night, thirteen years ago, while I was strolling about in the moonlight after dinner, an Arab came up, and after some conversation slipped a small parcel into my hand, made a sign of silence, and went away. I knew the man, so, after a few minutes, I made an excuse and went indoors to look at the parcel, which was rather heavy and of a peculiar shape. After undoing the knotted ends of a piece of native cloth, there came into view a magnificent pair of gold bracelets made in the form of snakes, with three rings of heavy gold. The make was antique and the design splendid. I was young at the game then, and the beauty of the bracelets made them attractive. I hesitated for a time, and the more I hesitated the less I liked the idea of buying them. I could not be sure that they were real, and an expert opinion could not, under the circumstances, be got, to say nothing of the questionable morality of buying them and thereby encouraging riflers of tombs and stealers of important links between the present and ancient days. For who can say what valuable pieces of evidence may not, in this way, be lost?
I wrapped them up again in their dirty cloth and went out into the moonlight once more. Soon the Arab sidled up to me, and I put the parcel back into his hand.
“You will buy them?” he queried.