Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1886-06-30

|
on his luck, as usual.
"Not a nickel, my boy" said Colonel
Euler; "but. nevertheless, you must
come with me tomorrow and show them
70 Mr.. Thompson. Tomorrow \ my
well day, and I'm going up to Charles
ton to see about getting a shanty put up
for my folks to live in"
In Charleston next day Randolph was
taken by Colonel Euler TO Mr.. Thomp-
son, and introduced to that gentleman,
TO whom he told the story Of the shark
| and presented the box and its contents.
Mr.. Thompson eyed him sharply and
asked him II the whole story had been
told him. Colonel Euler vouched for
his kinsman, and the eX-secretary
opened the box, glanced at the cipher
dispatch, and turned very pale.
"Have either of you read thisP' nc
asked.
mo" said Randolph. II intended to
make out the cipher, but have not yet
had time.
Mr.. Thompson answered nothing, but
taking the drafts out of the box, applied
a match to the remaining papers and
watched them burn to ashes with sigh
of satisfaction. ''Pcrilous secrets, "
| young man." said he, ''and happy am l
to dispose of them thus. Not only repu-
| tations, but lives would have been
sacrificed had those matters become pub
| lie. Now, as to those certificatcs-they
are very probably worth nothing-but
you have done me a real service in this
matter, and more besides me, and if you
can get anything out of them and it
is worth trying, you are perfectly well
come to il all. The money belongs TO
nobody, strictly spcaking-for do not
consider that the late Confederacy had
any heirs-and il you can get hold OF it,
do So"
"What money is it, or was itp" asked
Colonel Euler.
II am going TO tell you," answered
Thompson, ''and it is remarkable in
stance of the hard fortune of war that
seemed to pursue tic Confederacy
throughout. You recollect the ster-
ling cotton loan we made during the
last year of the wharf.-the loan by which
our English brethren were made so
sick? That money was raised to pay
for ironclads, you know. The gun
boats were built - the Stoncwall was
one of them-but not delivered Di-
plomacy kept us from getting TO sea
with the Englsh-built ones, and it was
thought the same reason kept the French
built steamers from going to sea, but
that is not exactly the fact. We would
have succeeded in getting them out if
they had been fully paid for. We made
what we thought were ample arrange
ments for completing the payments
but they failed through ous persistent
bad luck. For instance, take the case
of these very certificates. Ii was nee
cssary for us to use all sorts of prccau-
tons in buying this sort Of goods to
protect the parties we dealt with, for we
knew the Yankees would throw every
mothers son of them into court.
Hence the money was deposited in vari-
Gus banks in the names Of private
persons, but so that it could not bc
drawn unless the certificates were in
dorscd in Il particular way. This
is a deposit, you see, of Gunter's
money payable to Brown on certain
terms-in other words, it is a Con-
fcderatc draft sent out by express mes
senger and payable when Endorsed by
the agent to whom sent. The agent
must indorse it in particular way, and
would not do so unless the messenger
brought certain credentials. This sys-
TEN of checks and balances was neces-
sary for our financial secretary, but i'm
this case, and several others like it, was
fatal to our plans.
tine messenger to whom this partic-
ular box was ntrustcd-young Ricaud,
L remember the very morning sent
him-was instructed to go to Whining
ton, cross to Bermuda in the blockade
runner Fannie, sail thence for London,
report to an agent there, and from him
get further orders. Ricaud, instead of
going on the Fannie. took another
steamer, the Cannot, for Nassau. The
Cannot was captured, Ricaud's dis
patch-boX went to feed the sharks and
Ricaud himself to rusticate Mt johnson $
Island. Meantime VIC, who knew of
the Fannic's safe voyage, were con-
graduating ourselves that our agent
was on the road to Bordeaux, and we
did not discover the truth until it was
too late to provide n remedy. This sort
Of thing happened several times, and
our French gunboats never got to sea-"
"Then those Bourdalesc still have our
money!" said Colonel Euler.
THAT remains to be seen. was Just
coming TO that point. This particular
deposit has never been checked out-of
that am sure. 1t was quite forgotten.
Ricaud never got South again tillJune,
1865, and then his little story was only
partly credited But whether Animas
Frcrcs will pay the money or not is
quite another matter, and depends upon
variety of circumstances which it is
useless to speculate about. AS ! said,
want our young friend here to try, and
/ hope he will succeed"
So saying, Mr.. Thompson took pen
and paper and wrote hurriedly. Here"
said he, 'is check for $500. You
must look upon it as your reward for
restoring to me those dangerous papers.
It will pay your expenses to Bordeaux
and back; so, if you can gain nothing
you will lose nothing. have Endorsed
these certificates with my name. Take
them and this note to London TO Mr..
Brown. He will tell you what further
can be done, if any thing. DO not
expect much, but at least try-fortune
may favor you; and l am sure you de-
serve il.
1t seemed, indeed, rs if Stanhopc
Randolph's good fortune had begun.
Taking leave of his friends, be came
over to London, found Mr.. Brown and
made such friend of that gentleman
that he undertook personally to look
after the matter which Mr.. Thompson
had recommended to him. The ex-
agent, whose Endorsement was needed,
happened mt the time to be in Nice, and
Mr.. Brown went thither with Randolph
and secured the requisite signatures.
Then he accompanied him TO Bour-
denux. Alas for the best laid schemes
OF mice and men! The firm of X. An
imas Freres was bankrupt and all their
assets and affairs in the hands of the
syndic. The elder brother of the firm
was dead, and there was but little hope
of getting any thing out of the surviving