La Junta tribune., 1900-04-18
/ DIPLOMATIC
ADVENTURE.
w
How an EfTart Was Made to OBJ
tain Possession OF AN Inpor-
tAnt Letter and tho Re-
suit Thereof.
.++SS


clothed In evening dress. approached
me and said in n low tone:
Have the honor OF addressing Mr.
Godfrey vauce.''
He handed me letter, saying alb
| ruptly: BE good enough to read this
letter. II will serve to Introduce me.
The communication was from Count
Antonio Delarocoa OF Milan. whom
had aided some months before by car
rying or for him famous Greek
statue from an English country house.
1t was very brief and merely said:
sr-This letter will introduce to you my good
friend. Herr Fritz Mpskovits, who is anxious for
you to undertak. Tor him diicult mission.
have told him that you are the one man In Eng
land who hope TO carry out such a work with
success. and. wishing you all good fortune, be-
lieye me- yours DELARoccA
We left the exhibition grounds at
once. going TO my abode.
"In the first place. my good sir. he
exclaimed. talking In an excited Under
/ tone-"in the first place must tell you
that this business is difficult almost TO
the point Of impossibillty. Friday morn
I1s utNt ASuhk At'N
hoitz will cause to be posted or post
with his own hand Mt the pillar box
facing his house In Percy street, May
fair. n certain letter addressed to the
Berlin foreign office. Ii Is absolutely
vital to me and to the cause represent
that that letter should never reach its
destination. and am commissioned to
pay $4,000 to the man who will hand
that letter to me intact-exactly as he
finds IT,"
lis not 3 n. III. rather an unusual
hour for the dispatch of diplomatic
communicntionsT
Most certainly II is. but the count
Is not like other men. For the past
four years-in fact. since he first came
to the embassy--he has been In the
habit OF posting this document between
3 and 4 o'clock Friday mornings"
II presume thas the obvious and old
fashioned method OF obtaining the let
ter by force IL out OF the question
Otherwise we might waylay the per-
son posting the letter. ovcrpower him
and depart with the document"
"Useless. quite useless. for II would
simply mean that the outrage would
De uISCONPTtI ubtuoSt anu
then the contents OF the letter would
be teiegrnphcd to Berlin. defeating our
plans most entirely. No; the essence
Of the whole affair. my good sir. is that
the letter should be removed and hand
ed to me without the embassy people
having the slightest knowledge Of the
fact"
Next morning went to Percy street,
Mayfair. to survey the ambassadors
house. Thirty-one Percy street. the
mansion in question. WAS dun look
ing, gray abode exactly similar to the
other houses In the street. Facing the
house on the other side of the street
was pillar box-the receptacle. 1t
seemed, where the count was 10 the
habit Of posting his communications to
Berlin.
Had the pillar box been receptacle
easily shifted the matter would have
been as easy as smoking cigarette.
| for we should simply have had to d.
vert the policeman on the beat away
| from the street by means OF fictitious
drunken disturbance. and then we
| could have driven up In van and
carted the bOx away. But I must think
Of something else.
And then Of a sudden there flashed
| upon me an Idea coming whence
knew not. hut II seemed to me that
voice spoke in my ear. and this Is
| what II said:
"Substitute another pillar box on the
opposite side Of the street. Placnrd
| the genuine box with notice saying
| that II IL temporarily disnsed and that
letters are to he posted opposite. Clear
| the streets OF the police by means OF
a row and wait with van at the cor
| ner Of the street till the document is
posted SwOop down. collar the box
and drive OF"
Jumped into cab and drove to q
certain hostelry In the East End where
| / knew should find plenty Of my pals.
who for few dollars would throw
themselves into any adventure Of the
kind.
| In few words conveyed to them
what wanted done. Two of the men.
burly fellows. known ms Jim Thursday
| and Bill East. were to devote their
powers to quarreling and getting run
| in" mt the corner Of Percy street. while
another two were to keep watch AT the
corners Of the street. The remaining
man. Tom Rogers was to assist me in
depositing the pillar box and removing
| It when the time came.
Then a new difijculty arose. How
| was the pillar box to be obtained?
"What II to be done about getting .
box r asked the men. There was 81.
lence for q moment. and then East,
scratching his head. said grufiiy:
| TRY old Bennett, the Iron found
| ef in Goodge street, wot got I've
| years' stretch for passin flash coin.
'E's out on ticket now and is up to
maxim fancy pillar box as soon -
wink at yer"