The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-06-21
The Forged Bank Note.
CONCLUDED.

Il n chu tell WubJ " uhy may DIiiB
forth Before those few months had
elapsed Dibden had got hold of their
secret. OF course he stormed and ravcd
the more, as he felt his power was
ebbing fast. He tried persuasion, re-
proaches, threats-but to no purpose {;
Georges determination was fixed, and
the anger of his employer knew no
bounds.
"At this juncture circumstance oc-
Cured which completely changed the
aspect of affairs. One day, immediate
ly after an interview with Dibden, and
while George was still good deal en-
cited by what had passed between them,
a stranger came up to the counter and
asked to be favored with change for a
ten pound note. He was respectable
looking gentleman, well advanced in
years and as George was the only one
of the clerks who happened to be in the
counting. house at the time, he attended
to him. In the office cash-box there
were two five pound notes and two or
three halfsovereigns and as the stran-
ger was anxious to have half of his mon
ey in gold, and there was not enough
in the box, George opened his desk, and
took therefrom five sovereigns which he
had that morning placed there with
which to pay his landlady. Putting one
of the five pound notes into his desk in
the place of the sovereigns, he handed
the latter, along with the other five
pound note to the stranger, who there
upon thanked him courteously and
withdrew. The ten pound note which
he had received in return George placed
in the cash. box without bestowing upon
it any particular examination, but went
on with his work, still meditating over
the rather sharp words he had had with
Mr.. Dibden.
" Nothing happened of any conse-
quence till later on in the day, when
message was received from the bank that
a ten. pound note which Mr.. Dibden had
sent to he lodged there along with some
other moneys was forged one. The
note in question was that which George
Hamilton had received from the elderly
gentleman, in the course of the morning
and which Mr.. Dibden had himself
taken from the cash-box and forwarded
to the bank. The message was brought
by private detective in the employ
ment of the bank ; and no sooner was
Mr.. Dibden made aware of what had
occurred than he charged George Ham
ilton with having placed the note there.
George admitted that he had taken two
tive-pound notes from the cash-box,
and put in their place the ten pound
note in question but he maintained he
had given them in change for the ten
pound note to a gentleman who came
in. This was his explanation when
taken before the magistrates. On the
other hand, Dibden swore that he found
one of the pound notes in Georges
desk. This George accounted for by
saying that the person who had left the
forged note asked him to let him have
five pounds in gold; and that that sum
not being in the cash-box, he changed
one of the five pound notes for five SOW
ereigns of his own. AS against this,
however, one of the junior clerks stated
that, on the morning of the occurrence,
he had asked George for the loan of a
sovereign, who replied. "I'd lend it
with pleasure, my dear fellow, but 1
have not a siXpence to swear by"
- In answer to this, George said that
he absolutely had at that moment five
sovereigns put away in his desk to pay
his landlady and that he felt justified
in saying that he had not a sixpence, as
he considered that the money so appro-
priated to pay just debt was not at his
disposal"
1.-The magistrates asked him if he
fancied the person who got the change
had given the forged note innocently or
fraudulently. That was of course i'm
possible to say but George thought in
nocently. Having heard all the evil
dence; after careful consultation, they
came to the conclusion that they must
commit him for trial; but they would
accept bail. Strange to say the Dibdens
went bail to the full amount--I believe
myself, with the hope that.he would
break it, by quitting the country.
Z" must tell you, however, that be-
fore any proceedings were commenced,
young Dibden coarsely offered to Clara
not to prosecute if she accepted his pro-
posal of marriage. To this she indig-
nantly replied that she knew Mr.. Ham,
ilton was innocent, and they knew it
too and that if he were not she would
~ oo.,a him