Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-10-26
me old trade

eh?" IT,. .
~"Ah, mol" he replied, with deeply
drawn sigh. cts long story, and ]
can't tell it to you here in all this noise
and hustle. Let us go to quiet cab
aret."
agreed, and in our short walk I re-
volved in my mind all those circum-
stances, so dark and impenetrable in
their profound mystery, which had hap
peued years before. And I remembered
how our postman, Ludwig Kuhl, had
assisted me in the unavailinal search fo'
Soon we reached little cabaret
their name is legion in Antwerp-ir
one OF the back streets near the cathe
dral, and, with glass of his favorite
Boonjekamp in front of him, he seated
himself, and told me the following &C.
quel to the mysterious disappearance.
"You must remember me, friend" he
began, when I was in better condi-
ton than 70 see me now;" and he
scanned his #retched garments, shrug-
ging his shoulders with an impatient
air.
nodded acquiescence.
well" said he, you must also know
in your long experience of travel that
all classes of society on the continent,
and particularly in Vienna, have their
secret club. The Positions had theirs,
but it was subject to the rule of the
Chief Secret Society. In my younger
days, friend, I was induced, in an I'M
lucky moment, to enroll myself as a
member, and take the oaths of the
Secret Society of Positions. Bitterly
have I repented since, for it is to that
circumstance I owe my present deplor-
able state of mind and position"
"But what has that to do with the
mysterious case of his Excellency?" I
asked of him somewhat impatiently.
"Much more than you imagine or can
ever know, FRIEND" replied he senten-
tiously wagging his head. He paused
for a. moment. swell, tell you," con-
tinued he, though you must break my
story with your inquiring comments.
Firstly, then, you must know that I was
on the establishment of Herr Spultzen,
the carriage-master and stable-keeper
from whom his Excellency and the Hon
orable Eslngton hired his travelling
carriage and horses for his return Jour-
ney. It was known to the Chief Secret
Society that his Excellency was in pos
session of important papers, and it was
also known that he was on the point of
starting with them for England.
"The chief commander had impor-
tant reasons for obtaining these papers,
or copies of them, and Of one in par
ticular above all others, by fair means
or foul; and what the chief says is to
be done IS done invariably at any cost.
The committee had balloted for the
person who must execute their orders,
and their choice had fallen on me as
posti1lion, and the more likely to effect
successful result. By virtue of my
oath was bound to obey, or I should
have suffered a secret death, by assas-
sination probably. I need not tell you
roy instructions; but a dreadful fate
awaited you in the event of you or his
Excellency obstructing our wishes. In
every town through which we passed
there We're emissaries of the Chief So
ciety to assist me, SO great is it's organ
ization and when I received your in
structions to pull up at the next town,
which, if you remember, was ST.
knew the wishes of the chief COM
mander would be effectually carried
out. The landlord of the hotel you
stayed at and the head hostler were
known to me as members of the Chief
Society, and there were other residents
in the town also members whom did
not know. So you see, my friend, how
his Excelency and you were encom-
passed in a net from which there was
no escape" and he chuckled to himself
as he said it. "Now, you remember
how his Excellency was always engaged
in writing his dispatches and docu-
ments. Well, there was consequently
great difficulty in getting a view of the
papers without adopting foul means,
and time was of great Importance to
the chief commander"
"What!" I exclaimed, in great as
constituent, my hair almost on end with
the suddenness of the confession;
what! Do yor mean to tell me,
Carl Johann Roeckel, that you MUIR
dered his Excelency in cold blood?"
"Not exactly that, FRIEND" he quietly
replied. "When his Excellency went
for that short walk, the head hostler
also went for stroll in the same direc-
ton. A short distance from the town
the hostler met friend, also member
and they quickly bound and gagged his
Excellency, and carried him to the Gel
lar of the latter's house, where they
kept him secretly until after the excite
ment of the disappearance and search
had subsidized, when he was taken to Vi
emma in the involuntary disguise of
dangerous lunatic peasant, and after
ward" And he made significant
sign indicative of strangulation. The
papers we're distracted by the landlord,
and handed to me, and I in turn handed
them to the chief commander person
ally. Nothing was ever said about the
missing documents, if you recollect, be-
cause only one other person beside his
Excellency and the chief commander
knew of them, and he dared not say
what they were."
But how" asked I, ~was everything
kept so quietly, as the British Govern
ment made great stir over the matter,
and large rewards were offered?"
"Well," replied he, those to whom
the matter was referred were mostly
members of the Chief Society, which,
you must remember, numbered in it's
roll members of all ranks and stations.
"Yhe pair of overalls found in the
copse some days after the disappear
ance were purposely placed there to lead
and encourage the belief that his Excel:
lency had been robbed and Their rour.
dered."
~But you do not account for your
being here in Antwerp now," said I.