The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1897-05-13

Gut II p u w
!. ! ] !. !. ! q 4 / i / /" !: !: ! !: !: !
e., American friend,
'%n;.se,iaaSM and calling his at.
tMmA. %A tention toa guinea
Af: gHIY that hung from his
GGy @ W watch chain, said :
@SA.S&M "What do you
ySNYp~ find on that?"
SS The other ex.
amined the coin closely, and upon
enc side of the medallion saw en-
graved in exceedingly small but dis
tinct letters this inscription, "Write
P. o. Box 1001, London"
Looking at his host he said: "What
does that mean9 Is there a story con-
pected with it?"
The Englishman laughed.
eyes, q story in five chapters. Come
here;" and he led the way into his
library. ''There are the chapters, "
he continued, opening desk and pro-
ducing Ave envelopes, each containing
Q letter ''and I am going to ask you
to read them, for I am sure they will
interest you. Before you begin,
however, l will give you the preface
to the tale, or otherwise you would
not understand it. In 1876, when 1
was but a boy, I was sent to Australia
to look after my fathers sheep busi-
ness. Much OF the time was obliged
to be in the bush, and when there the
hours often hung heavily upon my
hands. One frightfully hot Sunday 1
lay gasping for air under thorn tree
near my cabin when I noticed some
thing glittering in the dust OF the
roadway not twenty yards distant.
After specializing upon what it might
be for perhaps an hour. / mustered
sufficient energy to rise from my ham
mock and investigate. 1t was this
coin, but without the inscription you
have noted. Returning to my siesta
I began to wonder how it came there,
for not soul had passed that way for
more than q month, except my own
men and neither they nor had any
gold. My wonder grew upon itself
until at last it occurred to me how
strange story such piece of money
could tell If it could relate its adven-
lures, and from that idea it was but 9
step 10 the inscription and a trial OF
my fantastic notion.
The first time I visited Sydney, I
took the coin to jeweler and had him
engrave it as you have seen. put
the London P. O. box on, for London
is known the world around, and 100l
is and always has been my box,
whether in Australia or at home. No
sooner was the gold prepared than I
started it on its iourneyings; for l
paid it to the very jeweler who marked
it. Now you may read the letters"
"But, said his friend, show does it
come that you have the guinea now,
if you parted with it twenty years ago
in Australia
"Ah." replied the other, with a
smile, ''that may be termed the sequel
to the story of the lettera Read those
and then will add that also"
The first was written upon heavy
paper, in Spanish with the following
translation attached:
Il. 8. N. sloop Of War, Infanta.
MELBOURNE, Mch. 9th, 1880.
Respected sir-I have recently received
an English gold piece which bears the fol-
LOWING words: "Write P. o. Box 1001, Lon
don" The same was paid to me some days
since by Malay fruit trader while we were
at Batavia, Java. Not observing the engray-
ing until the Malay had left the ship am
unable to state where he obtained the money.
We are about TO leave for Barcelona, and
should have opportunity to visit London
during my stay ashore shall do myself the
honor to personally exhibit the wandering
guinea to Box 1001.
with great respect, am, Sir,
XAvIos CARDENzA,
Lieut.. n. s. N. n.
sThis comes next" said the Eng.
lishman; "you may wonder at its date,
and vet you can probably imagine the
tragedy that intervenes;" and he
handed a rather dingy sheet to the
The writing was coarse and un-
formed but evidently in mans hand.
in the German language translated as
follows:
PRETORIA, TRANsvAAL, s. A,
June 18th, 1882.
I have In my possession a guinea, attached
TO q piece OF gold chain, which think was
a watch chain. It is marked Write p O..
Box 1901, London, and so I do. I have had
the coin some three months and received It
from a Namaqua native with whom I was
trading for ivory on the Molopo River. He
was chief and wore the thing around his
neck. We were together several days, and
when I saw the gold piece was a guinea I
was curious enough to ask him where he got
II. he said one of his men took 1t in war
from an Angra, or West Coast man. l pre-
sumo that fellow got 1t from some wreck or
oven from some dead or dying sailor on the
shore. II the piece is Of any particular value
as a keepsake will send II to London upon
request. Write me here.
STEIN HuFELAND.
/ The American looked up.
"Poor Cardenza Evidently his ship
was lost and the savages robbed his
body"
The Englishman bowed.
''When I received this letter I made
search through the marine records. for
J was then at home, and found that in
May, 1880, the Spanish sioop of war
=