The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1881-08-27

+" Theren' exclaimed the knowing one,
with glance full of confident triumph
towards the audience. s. will bet you
a sovereign that you don't get that off
withoutuntying the knots or slipping it
down over your foot"
80, am here to conjure, not to bet,"
replied the entertainer. 'Still, on this
occasion, since you propose it, l don't
mind wagering sovereign with you,
provided the 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
Agreed mem. con.
1.-The conditions are clearly stated
and understood-are they notp / 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-
cognize your own unaltered knot and
unbroken seal. Furthermore, the hand
kercbief is your own"
eyes; that is so," said the uncon-
scious wretch.
'Then," replied the conjurer coolly,
"lend me your penknife or pair of
scissors and will speedily disencumber
myself without breaking either knot or
sealr'
A great forgery having been commit
ted, whereby bank was robbed of thir-
ty thousand pounds, the culprit sue
ceeded in getting safely out of England,
and escaped to the Argentine Republic,
where there was no extradition treaty.
He 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 postofiice; so a private detective of
great reputation was employed by the
bank authorities to 60 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 we'll fitted to carry out the role he
assumed-that of Major R, travel
ing for his health, and intending to pay
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 shepherd
by an English estanciero, to whom the
would-be Major R happened to have
letter of introduction. In this way,
he had no difficulty in making acquaint-
ance with his intended geographically
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 we're those of a
gentleman; and after little hesitation,
the shepherd confessed that such was
the case-presently telling a plausible
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
dentially that he wished to invest a
considerable sum in land out there, and
promising to install him as manager of
the estate. All this time, the thief was
supposed to be carrying the money
hidden about his person; and it was to
devise some strategy for obtaining this
with certainty and safety, that the de-
tective postponed the den0uenlent of the
plot so long. At length, when he had
excluded every other possible place of
concealment. and seemed to have won
the mans entire confidence, he went to
the Captain of the British man-of-war
lying there, and revealed himself in his
own character-for nobody, till then,
had the least inkling of the truth-and
together they arranged very nice little
trap. The officers of the gunboat were
to give grand picnic, followed by
dance on board; and all the best people
in Buenos Ayres were invited-Maior
R and his friend among the rest.
The ''friend was delighted at the pros
pect and drew largely on. the Major for
the wherewithal to present betting
splendor of appearance on the eventful
day. As they strolled down to the
wharf together arm-in-arm. you may
be sure that Major Rs heart beat
high with the triumph already in his
grasp-one of the cIeverest captures
ever planned by an emissary Of Scot
land Yard. Hiring boat, they soon
arrived alongside the man-of-war, where
the poop was already crowded with
ladies.
s'Jump up." said the Major, as the
gangway ladder was lowered: "we're
just in time"
.sWell, no, Mr.. c." returned the
forger, calling the detective by his real
name. II don't think I'll go on board;
but I'll stay here in the boat and listen
to the music while you go up and
dancer'
If the officer did not feel sold at that
moment, no man ever did. The best of
it was, the audacious robber had not
one penny of his booty with him, and