The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1855-02-07

y "At nine o'clock, by the Camden ant
r Amboy line"
t "The money shall be ready" said
o J" Give me your note on demand for fiv'
: hundred dollars with interest, and viii
: raise the cash for you"
He quickly drew up the note, tarrieC
/ with me over night and crossed over tC
Jersey City with him next morning Al
half past eight after placing in his
; hands the money he wanted. Pooc Ned
, he seemed happy enough when L finally
shook his honest hand at parting, with
the prospect before him of being able
/ soon to extrieate himself and Dufonte
from present jeopardy.
; At Baltimore, very little had yet been
said about the trouble. Ned Willetts
had been away two days, and the sus-
picions against him had been increased
, from his continued absence. Dufonte
was sullen and quiet las usually for he
was always an uneommunicative man,
and nobody thought of hin, as being
privy to this double dealing; but Will
etts returned at last in safety. a.,
His first interview, after reaching
home, was with Cornelia, whom he satisf-
ed clearly of his entire innocence OF the
suspicious that existed against him,
though it was passing strange to her
mind how the jewels could be found with
in his room, while it was locked up and
he had the key, unless. he carried them
there in some way. As to the forged
check, she knew nothing of it. But
leaving her, he repaired to his employers
at once, where he proposed to lay the
whole case open to them, and beg them
to accept remuneration for the pucuniary
loss, and hush the matter up, under the
peculiar circumstances. But he arrived
too late
The forged check had that day been
traced out, and Dufonte was directly
implicated, greatly to the relief of Ned's
employers, who conided in his integrity
to the very last moment, Notwithstanding
the circumstances were so decided against
him. He laid his plans open to his en-
| ployers at once, explained to them the
delicate position he Suddenly found him
self placed in, and offered them the
money to cover all their loss; but they
would not accept it, nor would they
think of taking a sum from Willetts at
any rate, knowing as they did how i'll he
could afford to submit to this sacrifice.
Besides this, it was out of their power
to enter into any such arrangement with
out subjecting themselves to the charge
of aiding in compounding a felony, since
the officers of the law had taken the
subject in hand, and were then searching
for Dufonte, who had been quietly warn
ed by Willetts that trouble was brewing
for him, and unless he could make a bold
stand, he had much better be out Of the
way.
Dufonte was an Englisbman, as the
event proved, and had married in this
country. He was man without prin-
ciple, cunning, shrewd and speculative
and he had contrived thus far, by hook
or crook, to keep his head above water,
and educate his only child Cornelia,
whom he never informed regarding his
business or prospects he was tempted
in an ungarded moment to procure the
check from Ned's file, and afterwards
counterfeited it; and when the oportuni-
" offered him to seize the little box of
jewels at Willetts' store he added that
wrong to his first serious error. lie did
not expect to be trapped, but finding
himself cornered, he entered the book
keepers rooms by means of skeleton
key, and left the larger portion of the
gems in Willets' bureau (were they were
afterwards found,) in the belief that he
could manage the ugly affair best at
least, and could better afford to. assume
the peril that awaited him We have
already seen how Ned, in his generosity |
of heart, made returns for this con-
templated injury. Had it been in his
power, he would have saved Dufonte at
heavy cost to himself; but this was i'm
possible now.
Returning home again, he sought |
Cornelia, and found her busily engaged |
in packing up trunk;of clothing. He |
instantly urged her to take the earliest |
mears to communicate with her father,
if possible, and beseech him to fly with /
out delay. He then explained every
thing to his afianced, and showed her |
that this course alone could serve to |
avoid future disgrace. He placed in
her hands three hundred dollars, and /
bade her pay it over to Dufonte, lest he
should lack ready means with which to
escape, and he reassured COrnelia that
she should be.duly cared for, meantime,
and that he would marry her very short
ly, thus placing her beyond the reach of
present care or harm. Cornelia found
her father secretly as they had agreed
upon,) within the next two hours, when
she paid him the money and parted with
him amid the deepest grief. But there
was no other way. The officers were
after him, the laws had bssn'grossly yio-
lated, and he knew it He fled to Eng
land forthwith, and saved himself and
his child the pain and disgrace that must
surely have attended his arrest and con-
viction of his two crimes
Two months after this, carriage
halted at the door of my lodgings in
New York, and there stepped out from
it young gentleman whom 1 instantly
as my friend Ned, who was
by sweet looking girl at
tired as fashionable bride. saw the
sequel instantly. He handed her into
our house, and presensed her to me as
his wife. It was Cornelia Dufonte.-
They had been married three days pre-
Viously, in Baltimore, aud were now on
a wedding tour towards Niagara. She
was magnificent woman, truly, aud l
was not surprised that Ned should have
been thus attracted to her. He called !
me aside, paid me FIVE hundred dollars,
md two months interest; took up his ,
note, and left me few minutes after,
FOR one of the North River boats; he
was then bound to Albany. aer
The robbery and forgery were finally
suffered to be forgotten. Ned informed
-. a,orlovarz 1boK kbara r1asno do,,ht '