The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-09-01

examine the handkerchief minutelv
to the light. - W
y, if you suspect the handkerchief
use your own by all means. 1t is n NAT.
ter of indifference to me-,
foor Young man! How eagerly he
caught at the offer, made the exchange
ana Knotted his own snowy cambric
lightly around the Professors knee!
lnen the knot was sealed in due course
Inere!' exclaimed the knowing one.
with glance full of confident triumph
towards the audience s'I will bet Won
sovereign that you don't get that off
without untying the knots or slipninc +
down over your foot.''
%, am here to coniure, not to bet.,,
replied the entertainer. Still. on tb;s
occasion, since You propose it, don't
nlna wagering sovereign with YOU,
provided tho rest of the company do
not object to such a transaction, and the
sovereign be applied to the funds OF the
hospital in aid of which am here to-
night y
Agreed mem. con.
:. The conditions are clearly stated
and understood ARE they not? / am
TO remove the handkerchief from
my leg, leaving the knots and seal
intact, and keeping my foot fairly on
the floor the whole time. You have
tied and sealed it yourself, and will re-
cognlze your own unaItered knot and
unbroken seal. Furthermore. the hand
kercblef is your own.'
'.Yes; that is so,'' said the uncon-
scious wretch.
:" Then." replied the conjurer coolly.
:" lend me your penknife or a pair of
scissors and will speedily disencumber
myself without breaking either knot or
sealp'
A great forgery having been commit
ted, whereby a bank was robbed of thir.
ty thousand pounds, the culprit srlc-
ceeded in getting safely out of England.
and escaped to the Argentine Republic.
where there was no extradition treaty.
Hae was believed to have taken the
whole OF the plumber with him, as his
wife-who was narrowly watched-cer-
tainly held no portion of it, and no let
ter addressed to him had passed through
the postofiee; SO private detective of
great reputation was employed by the
bank authorities to go out to the River
Plate, and endeavor either to recover
the money or to lure the forger into a
position where he might be captured.
This detective was an educated man.
and well fitted to carry out the role he
assumed-that of Major R, travel
ing for his health, and intending to paw
a short visit to Buenos Ayres before
proceeding to Valparaiso and Peru.
Unlimited powers, official and unofficial,
were conferred on him; he was supplied
with letters of introduction to the lead
ing people in the Republic; and of
course there was to be no question of
expense. Thus furnished, he set out.
On arrival in Buenos Ayres, he dis
covered that his man had gone some
leagues up country. Following up the
track, he found him living in apparent
great poverty, employed as a shepherd
by an English estauciero, to whom the
would-be Major R. happened to have
a letter of Introduction. In this way,
he had no difficulty in making acquaint-
ance with his intended prey gradually
and casually. to avert suspicion. One
day he asked him openly whether his
position in life had not been very differ
ent from that in which he found him. as
his speech and manners were those of
gentleman; and after little hesitation.
the shepherd confessed that such was
The ease presently telling a plausible
tale of misfortunes in business, etc. Pro-
Tossing pity for him, the kind-hearted
Major lent him money and took him
back into the city, where he entertained
him at one of the best hotels as his
guest, having mentioned to him conf
ientialiy that he wished to invest a |
sum in land out there, and |
promising to install him as manager Of |
The estate. All this time, the thief was
to be carrying the money
hidden about his person; and it was to |
ievise some strategy for obtaining this I
with certainty and safety, that the de-
5ective postponed the ttenouenae5n of the |
plot 80 long. At length, when he had
excluded every other possible place of I
and seemed to have won |
he mans entire confidence, he went to /
he Captain of the British man-of-war I
ying there, and revealed himself in his /
> S"AA tlesA DS1CA T--AoA AOOCuys 5tutII,
lad the least inkling of the truth-and +
,ogethcr they arranged very nice little
rap. The officers of the gunboat were
% give grand picnic, followed by a
lance on board; and all the best people
n Buenos Ayres were invited-Maior
B and his friend among the rest.
The '..friend was delighted at the pros
,ect and drew largely on the Major for
he wherewithal to present befitting
plendor of appearance on the eventfnl
lay. As they strolled down to the
wharf together arm-in- arm, you may
,e sure that Major Rs heart beat
Ugh with the triumph already in his
,rasp one of the cleverest captures
yer planned by an emissary Of Scot
and Yard. Hiring a boat, they soon
rrived alongside the man-of-war, where
he poop was already crowded with
aides. s.sss
Jump up,o said the Major, as the
Anyway ladder was lowered: we're
ust in time.n
ssWell, no, Mr.. c. = returned the
orger, calling the detective by his real +
anne. :" don think 1 Il 60 on board;
ut I'll stay here in the boat and listen
9 the music while you 60 up and