New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1878-11-13

"nIlO.
Years passed on. My uncle died, and
and lett the wealth he had accumulated
to his wife's family.
With a new head to the firm there
came new rules, regulations and staff,
and had to find fresh occupation.
Fortunately, without being long out of
employment, obtained situation in an
insurance company's Office, wher, I man.
aged to get along very we'll, liking my
superiors, and being liked by them.
One morning as was making an en-
try in my ledger, tie manager passed nay
desk, and beckoRed me to follow him.
| did so into his private office, where he
told me to seat myself. Having shut the
door, taken up position in front of the
fire, and lifted his coat-tails, he began:
II have called you in here to offer you
rather hazardous piece of business,
which, however, if you fulfil properly end
to our satisfaction, will no aoubt ulti-
mately be the means of making your
fortune"
OF course [ intimated my pleasure at
the honor, and was about to inquire into
the nature of the business, when the man.
ager went on:
"You have now been with us some
years, and we feel that we can place i'm
plicit confidence in you; in fact, I was
requested to pick out confidential man.
and one I could depend upon, and have
chosen YOU"
| bowed, and murmured my thanks.
"The nature of the business you would
be employed upon is this: In this town
is firm Of ship-owners who are in the
habit of insuring their ships and cargoes
tor extre ely large sums, and lately they
have been very unfortunate, or rather, I
should say, fortunate Do you compre-
bend me?"
Not quite, SIR"
"Why, within the last wear they have
lost, in mid-ocean, two ships and a brig.
and have received the insurance money
On them. We have lately received an in
timation that, in the first place, the car
goes are not what they purport to be, and
that the crafts they have lost are not only
cid and worn out tubs that have been
SOLD for breaking up, but also that in two
cases, at least, these ships have been scut.
tied for the sake OF the insurance upon
the~1.''
The last words the manager spoke near
ly in whisper, and paused as if to give
me time to take in the enormity Of the
offence. Then he continued:
"Now we wish to discover them, if pos
slble, III the very act--as I may say, in
1aagrante delicto," and he pulled out his
cheeks and looked very managerial
indeed. Consequently, we have decided
upon sending an agent in their next craft,
in order to discover whether these reports
be or not, and that agent, sir, will be
you,"
I was fully aware Of the dangerous
nature of hejob offered me, but at the
same time l had so little to care for that
without hesitation I Immediately accept
ed the duty.
"Very good, Douglas-very goodm re-
marked the manager, evidently much
pleased. II am glad to see that I have
not been disappointed or mistaken in my
estimate of your character. You can now
return to your work, and latter on will
see you again, and explain what the
nature of your duty will be. In the
meantime" he added, as was leaving
the room, ''be careful not to hint word
of what I have mentioned to YOU"
OF course promised to be silent, and
it would have been better for me if every
one else had been as silent as my self on
the subject
A day or two passed, and then the man
ager informed me that the time had come.
The firm previously alluded to had in
sured brig named the Falcon, bound to
Mauritius with an assorted cargo.
He then went on to tell me that I must
obt in a passage in the Falcon under the
plea of being unable to pay the fare in
the ordinary mail-boat; and then, once
on board, was to keep my eyes open,
and write daily diary of every thing
that occurred, particularly if at all Of a
suspicious nature.
One of the seamen, it appeared, had al.
so been engaged by the insurance COM
pany-the one, believe, who had first
raised their suspicious and 1 was told
his name was Jack Allen.
Furthermore, he entered into particu-
lars respecting remuneration, increase of
pay afterward, and a managers place at
q branch Office in case of my conducting
the investigation to the satisfaction Of
the board.
| After receiving my instructions and q
check for expenses, babe the manager
good by, for I was not to return to the
office. for fear Of arousing suspicion, and
took departure. Having obtained change
for the check, went to my lodging, and
putting on a suit of old clothes, made my
| way down to the harbor. mad not much