The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1898-11-03

Soon we reached little cabaret =
their name is legion in Antwerp-in
one of the back streets, near the ca
thedral. and. with a glass of his ia
vorite Boonjekamy in front of him,
he seated himself and told me the
following sequel to the mysterious
disappearance
You must remember me, friend
he began, when | was in a better
condition than you see me now;" and
he scanned his wIetcbed garments
Struggling his shoulders with al i'm
patient air.
L nodded acquiesceDse.
"Well," said he, you must alsc
know in your own experience of ira
vel that all classes of society on the
continent and particularly in Vienna,
have their secret club. The Postil-
lions had theirs, but it was subject to
the rule of the Secret Society. In
my younger days. friend, l was in
duced in an unlucky moment to en-,
roll myself As member and take the
oaths of the Secret Society of Postil
lions. Bitterly have ] repented since,
for it is to that circumstance | owe
my present deplorable state of mind
and position"
But what has that TO do with the
mysterious case of his Excellency ?"
| asked Of him, somewhat impatient
ly.
Much more than yon imagine or
can ever know: friend" replied he
sententiously wagging his head. He
paused for a moment. "Well, I'll tell
you," continued he, though you must
break my story with your inquiring
comments. Firstly, then. you must
know that | was on the establishment
of Herr Sprltzen, the carriage mas
ter and stable keeper from whom his
Excellency the Honorable EsliDgton
hired his travelling carriage and horse
for his return journey. 1t was known
to the Chief Secret Society that his
Excellency was in possession Of i'm
portant papers, and it was also known
that he was on the point of starting
with them for England
The chief commander had impor-
tant reasons for obtaining these pa
pers, or copies of them, by fair means
or foul; and what the chief says is to be
done, is done at any cost. The com,
mittee had balloted for the person
who must execute their orders, and
their choice had fallen on me as postil
Ion, and the more likely to effect
successful result By virtue of my
oath was bound to obey, or should
have suffered secret death, by as
sassination probably. l need not tell
you my instructions; but a dreadful
fate awaited you in the event of you
or his Excellency obstructing our
wishes. In every town through which
we passed there were emisSaries of
the Chief Society to assist me, so
great is its organization and when !
received your instructions to pull up
at the next town, which, if you re
member, was s., | knew the
wishes of the chief commander would
be etfectually carried ont. The land
lord of the hotel you stayed at and
the head hostler were known to me
as members of the Chief Society and
there were other residents in the
town also members, whom l did not
know. So you see, my friend, how
his Excellency and yon were encom
passed In net from which there was
no escape" and he chuckled to him
self rs he said it. Now, you remem-
Der how his Excellency was always Ell
gagged in writing his dispatches and
documents. Well, there was cOnse
quently great difficulty in getting a
view of the papers without adopting
foul means, and time was of great i'm
portance to the chief commander"
"Whatn' | exclaimed, in great as
tonishment. my hair almost on end
with the suddeness of the confession;
what do you mean to tell me that
you murdered his Excellency in cold
bloodW
Not exactly that, friend" he quiet
ly replied. when his Excellency
went for that short walk, the head
hostler also went for a stroll in the
same dire ction. A short distance
from the town the hostler met friend,
also q member, and they quickly bound
and gagged his Excellency, and car
ried him to the latter's house, where
they kept him secretly until after the
excitement of the disappearance and
search had subsided, when be WAS ia
ken 30 Vienna in the involuntary dis
guise of dangerous lunatic peasant
and afterward --" And he made
a significant sign indicative of stran
OI1iot,nn SIhn H.,
ed by the landlord and handed 70 me,
and | in turn handed them 70 the
chief commander personally. Moth
ing was ever said about the missing
documents, if you recollect, because
only one other person beside his Ex
cellency and the chief commander
knew of them, and he dared not say
what they were'
But how asked |, was everything
kept so quietly, as the British Gov
eminent made great stir over the
ed?"
well" replied he, "those to whom
the matter was referred were mostly
members of the chief Society, which,
you must remember, numbered in its
rolls members of all ranks and sta
tIOus.
The pair of overslls found in the
copse some days after the disappear
ance were purposely placed there to
lead and encourage the belief that
his Excellency had been robbed and
then murdered"
But you do not account for your
being in Antwerp now," said l.
well, friend contiL Lued he, and
he drew himself close to me and
spoke in very low tone, well, the
chief commander, in consequence of
the stir made by both the British and
our Government, and fearing disclos-
ures Oh account of the large reward
offered, took effective steps to prevent
it by ordering the death of those con
cerned in the tragedy. The landlord
of the hotel, however, suddenly de-