The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1865-10-17
A TmRlLLING ADVENTURE.
rroA rur plAKr o. ! DrTrcrnr.


readily. The evil At last became 30 grea,
that The United States authorities request.
ed lba, a skiliiul detective might be sent
10 ferret out the mes, Of coiaen. ! Was
liked uron 10 perform the duty.
bad nothing 10 guide me. The fact,
however. that Chicago sas the city where
ihr coin Was most abundant, led me 10
suspect THAI the mandatory was some
where in Is limits. IL was therefore. to
The capital of the West | first proceeded.
/ spent i've weeks 10 that city without
gaining the slightest clue IL the counter
ieiters.
began to grow discouraged, aud real
~ thought should be obliged TO return
home without having achieved any result.
One day | received letter from my vile
requesting me 10 send bone some money,
as she was out Of funds. went into u
bank aud asked for drain, at the same
time handing sum Of money 20 ray for
il ii which there we're several halt dol
lars. The clerk pushed three Of the half
dollars back 10 me saying,
Counterfeit
'Whst, ssid !, DO you mean 10 tell me
those hall dollars are counterfeit
Il do
Are you certain "
Perfectly certain. They are remsrka-
bly, well executed but are deficient in
weight. See Tor YOURSELF
And he placed one OF them in the bal
ance against a genuine half dollar aud
the latter brought up the former.
That is the best counterfeit coin ] ever
saw in my life, exclaimed, examining
them very closely. is all the counterfeit
money in circulation here Of the same
cha acter AS this
Oh, dear, no, replied the clerk, 1t is
not nearly ns well done. These are the
work of tile famous New York counter.
ieiter, Ned WiIett, know them well, for
have handled great deal OF il in my
time. Here is some Of the money that is
in circulation here, lie added, taking sew
erai hall dollars from the drawer. You
se,. the milling is moi 80 well done as
Ned Wiileti's, although it is pretty well
done, too
! compafed The two and found TINT he
Was light. | supplied The place OF The
three counterfeits with good coin, ard re-
turned the former 10 my pocket.
A few days after Ibis received infor
nation which caused me to take a journey
TO u small village about thirty miles from
Chicago. ] arrived there ut night aud
',ok up my quarters in the only tatern in
the place. Ii was wretcbed dwelling,
aid kept by an old man and woman, The
surlst couple ! think il has ever been my
lot 10 meet. In answer TO my inquiry as
TO whether could have lodgings Ibere for
the night noticed that the host gave a
% cuIiar look at his wife, and after some
whis2erings | was informed in the most
ungracious manner possible, that | coud
have bed.
have frequently, in tue course Of my
life been obliged to put up with wretched
accommodations, so | did not allow my
,quanimity Of temper TO be ruilled by the
miserable fare set before me, and the still
more miserable sleeping apartment, into
which was ushered after had cOnclud.
ed my repast.
The chamber was OF small size, and wa:
certainly we'll ventilated. Tor ! could see
the stare peeping through the roof. The
bed was simply bag of straw thrown into
one corner Of the room, without sheets OF
coverings Of any kind. This last fact
however, was not of much consequence
as il was summer time aud oppressiyely
/ hot.
4 stood more than an hour gazing ou
Of the opening which served for a window
Before me was spread an immense prarie
4 the limits Of which could not see. The
tavern il which | had taken up my abod,
appeared 10 be isolated from all othel
dwellings,, save the croak Of the tree fro;
and the hum OF the locust not sounC
reached my ear. 1t was besutiiu
moonlight niglt--so bright that | coulC
see to read the smallest print.
Al last | began te grow weary, an,
throwing myself on my pallet, was soor
plunged ~ deep sluinber. How long
! slept know moi, but ! was awakened b,
dull sound, which resembled some on,
hanuering in the distance. suppose j
~ss the peculiarity OF the sound whicl
awoke me, Tor II was by no means loud
but conveyed TO me the idea Of some on,
striking iron with mufled hammer.
rose from my bed and went to the window
the moon was low in the western horison
by which fact / knew that il must be nea
morning. The sound bad before refer
red 10 reached n,e more distinctly thar
when ia ID, back part Of the chamber
Il Appeared 10 come from some outlousei
which were situated hundred yards iron
the house.
Now ! am naturally Of an inqairing
aiud ami this sound. occurring as il did
ii Tie middle Of ihe night. in such re
mote, out Of the Nay place, piqued my
curiosity and feli an iirepres.ibie desir,
T. 20 out and discover lhe cause Of i,.-
The desire, AS tie sound continued, grew
upon me With such intensity that ! re.
solved TO crafty il al any price.
put on my boots, the only articles oi
attire ! had discarded, ard cautiously
opened The door Of my chamber and
noiselessly descended The rickeiy staircase
few steps brought me into The lower
apartment, which found entirely desert.