Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1890-12-31
A CLEVER RuSE.

During the wear 1913 the West was
flooded with counterfeit coin. 1t was
SO well manufactured that it passed
readily. The evil at last became so
great that the United States authorities
requested a Skillful detective might
be sent to ferret out the nest of coin
ers / was fixed upon to perform the
duty.
had nothing To guide me. The
fact. however, that Chicago was the
city where the counterfeit coin was
most abundant led me TO suspect that
the mandatory night be somewhere
within its limits 1t was, therefore,
10 the capital Of the West that | first
proceeded. ! 81 ent five weeks in that
beautiful city, but without gaining the
slightest clew to the counterfeitels.
! began to grow discouraged, and
really thought | should be obliged To
return home without having achieved
any result. One day | received let
ter from my wife requesting that [
would send her some money, as she
was out of funds. | went into bank
and asked for draft, at the same time
handing a sum of money to pay forit.
in which there were several half
dollars. The clerk pushed three Of the
half dollars back to me.
Counterfeit said he.
What,n said /, do you mean to
tell me those half dollars are counter
felt z"
Il do.'
Are you certain ?''
Perfectly certain. They are re-
marllably well executed, but they are
deficient in weight. See for yourselfo
And lie placed one of them in the
sca'cs against genuine half dollar ON
the other side. The latter weighed
down the former.
That is the best executed counter
felt coin ever saw in my life.n ex-
claimed, examining them closely. Is
all the counterfeit money in circulation
here of the same character as this ~
20, dear, nc" replied the clerk, it
is not nearly so well done These are
the work of Ned Willett, the famous
New York counteIfeiter.
Il know them well, for | have
banded a great deal in my time.
Here is some of the money that is in
circulation here" he added, taking
several half dollars from drawer.
" You see the milling is not nearly as
perfect as Ned Willett's, although it is
pretty well done. too'
| compared the two together and
found that he was right | supplied
the place of the three counterfeit half
dollars with good coin. and returned
the former to my pocket again.
A few days after this | received in
formation which caused me TO take a
journey to a village situated about
thirty miles from Chicago. | arrived
there at night and took up my quarters
at the only tavern in the place. 1t was
a wretched dwelling, and kept by an
old man and woman, the surliest
couple | think it has been my lot to
meet. In answer to my inquiry as to
whether | could have lodging there for
the u 'ht, / noticed that the host gave
a pei .aiar look at his wife, and after
some whispering | was informed in the
most ungraeious manner possible that
| could have a bed
/ have frequently, in the course of
my life. been obliged to put up with
wretched accommodation, so / did not
allow my equanimity of temper to be
destroyed by the miserable fare set
before me, and the still more miserable
sleeping apartment into which | was
ushered after | had concluded my
repast.
The chamber was small in size, and
was certainly well ventilated, for I
could see the stars peeping through the
roof. The bed simply bag of straw
thrown into one corner of the room,
without sheets or covering of any kind.
This last fact, however, was not of
much consequence, as it was summer
time and oppressively hot.
| stood for more than an hour gazing
out of the opening which served for a
window. Before me was spread an
immense prairie, the limit of which l
could not see. The tavern in which I
had taken up my abode apneared to be
isolatel from all other dwellings, and
save the croak Of the tree frog and the
hum of the locust, not sound reached
my ears. 1t was beautiful moonlight
night, and so bright that could see to
read the smallest print
At last began to grow weary, and
throwing myself on my pallet | was
soon plunged into a deep slumber.
How long | slept / know not, but was
awakened by a dull sound, which re-
sembled some one hammering in the
distance. / suppose it was the pc
culiarity of the sound which woke me,
for it was by no means loud, but con-
yeyed to me the idea of some one
striking iron with a mufiied hammer.
! rose up from my bed and went to
the window the moon was low in the
western horizon, by which fact / knew
that it must be near morning. The
sound / referred to reached me moro
distinctly than when in the back part
of the chamber. It appeared to come
from some outhouses which were
situated about 100 yards from the
house.
Now, am naturally of an inquiring
mind. and this sound, occurring as it
did in the middle of the night, in such
a remote, out-of-the-way place, piqued
my curiosity, and I felt an irresistible
desire to 20 out and discover the cause
of it. This desire. as the sound con-
tinued. grew upon me with such inten-
sity that / resolved to crafty it at once.
| put on my boots, the only articles
of attire / had discarded, and cauti-
ously opening the door of my chamber,
noiselesSly descended the rickety stair
case. A few steps brought me into
the lower apartment, which I found
entirely deserted.
/ crept quietly to the door, and un-
fastening it without making the
slightest noise was soon in the moon
light.
Not soul was visible, but the sound
gtill continued. and grew more distinct
as / approached the place from whence