Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1878-11-07

- Nv ,t-esaAAeiaCtlUu, Viii no QOubt ulti.
mately ne the means Of making your
OF course I intimated nv pleasure a
the honor, and was about to INQUIRE into
me nature OF the business, when the man.
ager went on: .s' :, -
= You have now been with US some
years, and we feel that we can place i'm.
plclt confidence in you; in fact, was
reauEs1ed g pick out confidential man
ana onei could depend upon, and I have
chosen you.' -,
l bowed, and murmured my thanks.
"Ihe nature of the business you would
De employed upon is this: In this town
IS hrm ofa ship-owners who are in the
aablt OF insuring their ships and cargoes
Tor extrea ely large sums, and lately they
nave been very unfortunate, or rather,
mould say, fortunate. Do you compre.
bend me2'' - - :
mot quite, sir"
why, within the last year they have
lost, IN mid-ocean, two ships and brig
and have received the insurance money
on them. We have lately received an in.
:lmat!on that, in the first place, the Car.
goes are not what they purport to be, and
Inat.the Gratis they have lost are not only
cid and worn out tubs that have beer
'old for breaking up, but also that in two
cases, at least, these ships have been scut
lied for the sake Of the insurance upon
the l." ;.
The last words the manager spoke near
~ In a whisper, and paused as if to give
me time to take in the enormity OF the
offence. Then he continued:
Nov we wish to discover them, if DOS
slble, IN the very act--as I may say, in
j1agrantc delseto," and he puffed out hi.
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
oe or not, and that. agent sir, will be
you,"
I was fully aware Of the dangerous
nature of the job offered me, but at the
same time had 80 little to care for thai
without hesitation I Immediately accept.
ed the duty.
very good, Douglas-very good" re.
marked the manager, evidently nue.
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 I will
see you again, and explain what the
nature of your duty will be. In the
meantime,' he added, as T was leaving
the room, '.be careful not to hint a word
of what I have mentioned to you"
OF course I promised to be silent, and
it would have; been better for me it 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 fym 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 must
DOT in 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 nv 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, I believe, who had first
raised their suspicions-and I was told
his name was Jack Allen.
Furthermore, he entered into particu-
'ars respecting remuneration, increase of
pay afterward, and managers place at
branch Office in case of nv conducting
the investigation to the satisfaction Of
the board.
After receiving my instructions and q
check for expenses, I babe the manager
good-by, for 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 suit of old clothes, made my
way down to the harbor. I had not much
difficulty in finding the Falcon. She was
nice looking brig, and appeared quite
new; at all events she was newly painted,
and that g much the same thing to q
landsman. A gangway-board stretched
across from the shore to her deck, and
walking across this, I was son on board.
A boy was busilY employed doing
nothing, and having asked to see the
captain, that party appeared On deck.
He was not bad-looking, but had that
loose, roliicking, shifty expression gener-
ally to be found with lack OF conscienti-
BUSINESS.
"Good. day, captain!' observed. II
hear you are bound for Port Louis, Maur
titus. IF that's so, could you manage tc
give poor fellow lift on the cheap2"
'On the cheap, eh2' replied he. taking
stock. of me up and down. "That de-
ponds. W"at do you call cheap?"
well, I've got little CON-" replied
But l can't afford those mail-boats-
they're too much altogether; besides,
want to keep trife, in case don't gel
the work Iexpect when. get out there.
swell. will. fve-and-twenty pounds
hurt your asked the captain.
feigned to be Mortified, and offered
| fifteen; but at length we arranged fo1
twenty pounds, and he was to find mt
in every thing, messing with him al
bis table.
Having effected this, I promised to be
on board by the Thursday evening, 70
she was to leave harbor on the Frida
morning.
BY the appointed time I was down al
! the port with my modest luggage, which
was soon transferred to little cabin ir
the Falcon that: was to occupy. The
captain was not on board when I joined
so took possession of my little bedroom
and, putting things to rights as we'll as ]
could, turned in, and went to sleep.
The next morning was aroused by {
sound of trampling overhead, heavy
ropes being thrown about, loud voices
swearing, and all tho usual accompapi
ments considered necessary by nautical
people to the proper clearing Of vassel
out of harbor. Vt a.. ;95s - 81. >-,.
In about twenty minutes the noise hac
succombed, and there was a gentle heav
ing motion; 80 I went on deck, and found
that we were at sea-tast leaving tht
mouth of bonny Dee behind, togethel
with the city Of granite. Then, at tht
captains invitation, accompanied hin
into the cabin to breakfast. He now IN
troduced me- to the first mate, who was t
mess with US. He was dark, surly look
ing fellow, whose appearance dislikee
atonce, even before he opened his mouth
And when he commenced to speak, hi
conversation confirmed my first impress
sions. He hardly ever spoke without al
oath or curse of some kind.
/ &c Well va'va 1oot pH oil cloor %ho%.