Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1893-10-11
THE HALF-SOVEREIGNS.

During the year IS, the moro
| prosperous parts Of Ireland were
| flooded with counterfeit coin. It was
we'll manufactured and passed readily.
| The evil became so great that even
the Dublin authorities were stirred
up, and l was sent, as a competent
detective, to ferret out the nest of
| coiners.
l had next to nothing to guide me-
l had but one solid fact, and that was
that the Punchestown races we-c
coming on, and my past experience
told me that bad money often circu-
| lated readily among the happy
] punters. Accordingly, thither l pro-
ceeded. ] spent four day; in the
vicinity, and got nothing for my
pains. | could not even lay my hands
OH a single piece of counterfeit coin
much less clap my paws on the Cul-
prits. Yet complaints had frequently
been made before my arrival that
bad money was being passed there.
began to grow discouraged, and
really thought l should be obl.ge
to return home without having
achieved any result. One day, l re-
ceiyed a letter from my wife request
| ing that l would send her some
money, as she was out of funds. /
went INTO the bank and asked for a
| draft, at the same time handing a
sum Of money to pay for it, in which
there were several half-sovereigns
The clerk pushed three of the half
| sovere.gus back To me.
Counterfeit, he said.
what said l, ''do you mean to
tell me those hall-soycrcigns are
counterfeit"
~ do"
| "Are YOU Ccrtain?'
Perfectly certain, They are re.
marGably well executed, but they arc
deficient IN weight. See for your
self"
And he placed one in the scales
against 4 genuine half-soycreigu on
the other side. The latter weighed
| down the former
This is the best executed coin
ever saw in my life" I exclaimed, cx-
amining them very closely. us all
the counterfeit coin in circulation
here Of the same character as thiS?"
ooh, dear no." replied the clerk,
at is not nearly so well done. These
are the work Of Ned Willett, the fl.
nous CoCkuey cOunterfeiter. | know
them well, for have handled "a great
many Of them in my time. Here j.
some Of the money that is in circula-
tion here" he added, taking several
| thick ones from 4 drawer "YOu see
the milling is not nearly as perfect as
Ned Willetts, although it is pretty
well done, too
compared the two and found that
he was right l Isupplied the place OF
tho three half sOycreIgus with good
coin, aud returned the former to my
| pocket again.
4 few days after this | received in
formation which caused me to take
journey to a village situated about
| four miles from PunchcstOwn. ! ar.
rived there at night, and took up my
quarters at the only tavern in the
place. 1t was wretched dwelling,
and kept by an old man and woman.
the suTliest couple | think it has ever
been my lot to meet. In answer to
my inquiry rs to whether could have
lodging there for the night, l noticed
that the host gave a peculiar look at
his wife, and after some whispering I
was informed, in the most ungraciOuS
manner possb bic, that 1 could have d
ted.
l have frequently, in the course oi.
my life, been obliged TO put up with
wretched accommodation, so did not
allow my equanimtty of temper to be
DESTROYED by the miserable fare set be-
fore me, and the still more miserable
sleeping apartments into which was
ushered after | had concluded my re-
past.
Presently l began to grow weary,
aHd throwing myself on my pallet |
was soon plunged into 4 deep slum-
Der. How long slept know not,
but l was awakened by dull sound,
which resembled some one hammer
ing in tie distance. I suppose it-was
the peculiaritY of the sound which
woke me, for it WAS byno means loud,
but conveyed to me the idea of some
one striking iron with d muffied ham
mer. / rose up from my bed and
went TO the window, the moon was
low in the western horizon, by which
fact l knew it must be near morning.
The sound l have referred to reached
zoe more distinctly than when IN the
back part Of the chamber 1t ap-
peared 10 come from some out-h0use4
which were situated about n hundred
yards distant from the house.
Now, | am naturally of an inquir-
ing mind, and this sound, occurring,
3s it did in the middle Of the nigat.
In such remote, ,out-of-the-way place,
piqued my curiosity, and l felt an ir-
resistible desire to go and discover the
cause Of it. This desire, as the sound
continued, grew upon me to such in-
senslty that | resolved to crafty it at
any price.
A few steps brought me into the
lower apartment, which l found en-
sirely deserted. / crept quietly tc
the door. and, unfas stening it without
making the slightest noise, was soon
n the moonlight
Not a Sui was visible, bat tia
1ound still continued, and grew more
Instinct as 1 approached the place
rom whence it proceeded. At last
| found myself before a long, low
building, through the crevlces oi
which l could perceive a lurid glare
ssuing. / stopped down and peered
.hrough the keyEole, and to my OK.
RENE surprise l saw half a dozen
strops-!ooking men, with their coata
sif ana sleeves turned 40, performing