I was exceedingly surprised a few weeks after our latest adventure with the little Yellow Dwarf to receive the following extraordinary letter from him. It was dated from Baghdad, and bore two very unusual postage stamps, which Lionel promptly claimed for his collection.

"Well!" I exclaimed, after perusing this remarkable epistle, "of all the extraordinary requests I have ever received this is the strangest. This man, whom I have only met at the most half-a-dozen times in my life, expects me to neglect my work and rush off to Baghdad, of all places in the world, to his assistance, because he has got into some trouble which has landed him in the State Prison there. I always thought somehow that those uncanny powers which he possesses would get him into serious difficulties at some time or another. I'll send him a letter stating that I cannot go to him." And here I endeavoured to dismiss Shin Shira and his affairs from my mind.

I was so worried about the matter, however, that I couldn't settle to work, so I lit my pipe and settled myself in my easy-chair to think the matter out.

Poor little fellow! If he really was in such desperate straits it seemed very heartless to leave him to his fate if in any way I could be of real assistance to him; and, after all, I could work almost as well while I was away as I could at home, and the voyage would probably give me plenty of new ideas for my book. I thought of all the kind things the little chap had done for me, and how he had always somehow come to the rescue when I had been in difficulties in my adventures with him; and finally I came to the conclusion that it would be most ungrateful and selfish of me if I let anything stand in the way of my going to my friend's assistance.

I had no sooner made up my mind on this point than I called a cab and set out at once for Messrs. Cook's office and booked a passage by the next steamer.

I will not tell you anything about the somewhat uninteresting journey either by sea or land, with the exception that when I at last stepped ashore in an Oriental port, I found in the curious costumes and strange surroundings many things to amuse me and to wonder at.

The entire journey on the whole, however, was decidedly tedious, and I was very glad to find myself at last in the ancient city of Baghdad.

I went at once to the British Consul there and told him my object in coming to the city.

"Shin Shira!" he exclaimed. "Why, there is scarcely anything talked about in these days but Shin Shira. He has stolen one of the most valuable crown jewels, and was caught with it in his possession. Despite the indisputable evidence against him, however, he persists in declaring his innocence, and pleads that, with the assistance of a friend from London, he can prove it conclusively. I suppose, sir, that you are the friend from London."

I told him that I was, and that I was deeply grieved to hear of the trouble that Shin Shira was in, and that I felt convinced that there was some mistake in the matter which could somehow or other be cleared up.

"I should be very glad to think so," said the Consul, shaking his head, "but I fear it is hopeless. You see, the stone—an almost priceless diamond—was actually found in his possession. But come, you will be anxious to see your friend as soon as possible. I will come with you to the prison and see that you are admitted."

The kind-hearted official called his carriage, and together we drove through the unfamiliar narrow streets to the dismal-looking building in which my poor friend was confined.

A brief consultation with the authorities and the signing of various papers made me free to enter the prison, and having thanked the Consul for his kind offices, I was led away by one of the officials to a terribly dark dungeon, in which, crouched in a corner, I found my poor friend Shin Shira, looking the picture of misery.

His face lit up with a smile of hope, however, when he saw me, and his whole aspect changed.

"My friend! my deliverer!" he cried, using all kinds of extravagant Oriental phrases to express his delight at seeing me. "Ah! at last you have come, and I shall be saved! May all the blessings of Allah be on your head!"

The official withdrew, locking the door carefully behind him, having first given me to understand by various signs that he would return for me in about half-an-hour.

"Well, now," I inquired, when we were alone, "what is this terrible trouble which has brought you here? What have you been doing?"

"Nothing!" declared Shin Shira solemnly. "Nothing whatever to merit this punishment. It is all a horrible mistake. Let me begin at the beginning. About two months ago, after a series of my usual adventures, I suddenly appeared here in Baghdad. Now I have been acquainted with the city for many, many years—in fact, ever since the time of Sinbad the Sailor, whom I knew quite well, and with whom I was at one time very friendly. Well, I have many times appeared here since then, and on each occasion I have taken a great interest in the place on account of old associations. I have made many friends here, too; so when I found myself here once more I was greatly delighted, and was making my way to the Bazaar, where I knew I should be sure to find some acquaintances, when greatly to my surprise I saw several passers-by stop and stare at me curiously and then, whispering amongst themselves, follow me at some distance behind.

"It could not be my clothing which was attracting all this attention, for it was more or less of the same pattern to which they were accustomed. I caught sight of myself in a polished steel mirror in one of the shops in the Bazaar, and stole a glance at myself, but could see nothing wrong. What could be the cause? I had not long to wait, however, before I found out to my cost what was wrong.

"The crowd following me had increased in size, and at last two enormous men in uniform came up and seized me by my arms, and I was immediately surrounded by a throng of curious faces.

"'Where did you get that diamond?' demanded one of my captors, pointing to my turban, in which, as you know, I always wear the jewel which the Princess gave me.

"'Oh that! That was given to me many years ago by a friend—a Princess—who has been dead now for many hundreds of years,' I said.

"'Many hundreds of years? And you say she was a friend of yours?' exclaimed the man. 'Absurd!'

"'Preposterous!' declared the other. 'Look here! If you can't give us some more reasonable explanation than that, we shall take you off at once to the Chief Magistrate, and charge you with having stolen it.'

"'But why?' I gasped. 'Why should you think that I have stolen it?'

"'A diamond of exactly that size and colour has disappeared from amongst the Crown jewels, and it strikes me very forcibly that this is the very one.'

"It was in vain for me to protest. I was taken before the Magistrate, and experts were called to examine the jewel.

"They weighed it and examined it carefully through powerful magnifying glasses, and finally unanimously agreed that it was indeed the missing jewel.

"I was closely cross-questioned as to how it came into my possession, and also as to my movements during the past six months. My explanations were considered most unsatisfactory, and no one would believe me; consequently I was thrown into prison and condemned to death. It was only by the most earnest pleading that I managed to gain time for you to get here, as I assured them that you would be able to put everything right, and explain matters to their entire satisfaction."

"I?" I stammered. "I am very, very sorry for you, my poor friend, and I would do anything to help you, but what am I to say or do which will convince them when you tell me that you have failed to do so?"

"It is easy—easy," declared Shin Shira hopefully. "Now attend carefully to what I say. I am of course not allowed outside the prison walls, and there is no one here whom I would dare to trust with an important commission.

"Now I want you to go at once to the Bazaar, and find a man named Mustapha, a dealer in old curiosities; and, without letting him know whom it is for, purchase from him a large round crystal which you will find in his shop. He will probably want a lot of money for it, but whatever he asks offer him just half, and you will find that after a lot of argument he will let you have it at that. These Oriental shopkeepers are all like that. And then, having secured the crystal, hurry back here and the rest will be easy."

Although I could not in the least see what Shin Shira wanted the crystal for, I was careful to execute his commission to the letter.

I found no difficulty in reaching the Bazaar, and, once there, soon found out Mustapha. I did not like the look of the man at all.

He was a fawning, obsequious little man, with shifting eyes which never looked you straight in the face.

He stood bowing and smiling and rubbing his hands when I entered the shop and asked to see the crystal.

"Ah yea—very fine crystal—for those who know how to use it. Very vallyble—lot money. You know this? You got?" and he gave me a searching glance with his little bead-like eyes.

"Oh yes, I can pay for it if I want it," I said, "but what do you call a lot of money? How much do you want for it?"

He named a price which I knew to be very excessive, and I shook my head decidedly.

"No! too much!" I declared.

"Oh! but see! Beautiful crystal!" he argued.

"No," I replied, "too much! I'll give you half," and I began to walk unconcernedly out of the shop.

"And you give me little present besides?" pleaded Mustapha.

"Not a penny," said I.

The man gave a little sigh.

"Oh well, you take him," he said. "Not enough money, but Mustapha very poor, must sell him. I wrap him up for you, see!"

I paid him the money and hurried out of the shop, for I must confess that I had taken a great dislike to the little man with his smooth, oily manner.

However, I had got the crystal, and that was the main thing.

I hastened back to the prison, and after a long argument with the authorities, I managed to gain permission to see the prisoner once more.

I found Shin Shira all eagerness to know if I had secured the crystal, and when he saw it in my hand, his joy knew no bounds.

"Now it is all easy," said he, "and I shall soon be free. This is a Magic Crystal, and by wishing very hard to see any particular object and gazing at it steadily for a moment or two, you will see just what you wish to see reflected in it. Now I'm just going to wish to—er—to—er—er—o—o-h! I'm going to vanish! To think that I've been here all this time hoping every day that I should be able to disappear, and now, just as I was about to get myself free—I—good-bye—!"

And to my horror, the little Yellow Dwarf suddenly faded away, and I was left alone in the dungeon.I say to my horror, for what was I to say when the jailer appeared? How was I to account for the prisoner's escape? I was just puzzling about these things when the door opened and the jailer hurriedly came to tell me the time allowed for my visit was up.

He saw at once that Shin Shira was not there, and in a great state of excitement plied me with questions.

I felt, however, that the best thing to do was to preserve silence: it would at least gain time; so I shook my head and pretended not to understand a word of what he was saying in his broken English.

The man doubly locked the door and hurried off to inform his superior officers, and I was left alone once more.

My eyes fell upon the crystal, and I suddenly thought of what Shin Shira had said. Holding it carefully in my hands, I wished to see the real thief who had stolen the crown jewel.

A vague mist spread over the crystal, which gradually cleared away, and I distinctly saw revealed the features of—Mustapha. Then I wished to see what he had done with the stone, and after gazing a moment or two longer, I saw him take it down to a cellar under his shop and bury it in a tin box under a stone, which he lifted up from the floor.That was enough for me. When the jailer and the other officers came hurrying back I was ready for them.

"Where is the prisoner?" they demanded.

"He has escaped," I replied coolly.

"What!" they exclaimed. "You dare to admit this, and that you assisted him to do so? You shall take his place here, and will no doubt receive the punishment which was intended for him."

"He is an innocent man," said I calmly, "and ought never to have been imprisoned. He did not steal the diamond."

"How can you say that when we found it upon him? Why, he was actually impudent enough to go walking about in the street with it boldly stuck in his turban."

"The stone he was wearing was his own, and he had every right, to wear it where and how he liked," I replied steadily.

"His own! Pooh! a likely story. Where is the missing jewel then? Can you tell me that?"

"Yes," I replied, to their great astonishment.

"And the thief?" they questioned eagerly.

"I know who he is too. Take me before the Magistrate at once, and I will soon restore the lost jewel."My assured tone of voice seemed somewhat to impress the officials, and they left me for a few moments to consult amongst themselves as to what was best to be done.

Presently they returned and told me to follow them.

I found myself conducted to a plainly-furnished room where a dignified-looking gentleman was seated at a table strewn with papers. He looked up at me sharply as we entered the room, and addressing me in excellent English, said—

"What is this extraordinary story I hear about the escape of the prisoner Shin Shira, and that you are prepared to inform us of another person who has, as you say, the crown jewel in his possession?"

"It is true," said I, "and if you will allow some of your officers to accompany me into the Bazaar I will point out the thief at once, and show you where he has hidden the stone."

The Magistrate thought for a moment. "I will come with you myself," he said at last. "Have ready six men to accompany us," he commanded; and a few minutes later we were on our way to Mustapha's shop.

The wretched man gave a start and turned very pale when he saw us, but endeavouring to put a bold face upon it, he came bowing and cringing towards us, smiling and wringing his hands.

"What an honour to my poor house!" he exclaimed. "How unworthy am I to receive such august guests!"

"We've come to see if you have any more crystals like the one I bought of you to-day, Mustapha," I said.

"Alas! honoured patron, none!" cried Mustapha in a relieved voice, thinking that he now knew the object of our visit.

"Think—think, Mustapha," said I. "Have you no piece of clear glass that could be used in its place?"