River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1912-07-04

Of having NOurse take my place.
what do you say, Nourse to changing
places with and letting yourself be arrest
ed, IL it comes to that?"
II had been thinking of that very thing"
he replied. II don't care much what hap
pens to me, but | am not exactly hungry for
a long term in Pentridge. If this thing is
no worse than you say 1t is, though, I'll swap
places with you and see it through for two
hundred pounds"
l accepted his terms without argument.
AS soon as we reached Longwood We ex-
changed clothing, even down to under
wear, socks and shoes.
We had just finished dinner and were sitting
alone in the hotel office, rehearsing the part
Nourse was to play, when a sergeant and two
officers who had got track of us at Seymour,
rode up on horseback.
The orders of the officers called for the
rest Of only man. SO was not interfered
with. did not return to Melbourne on the
same train with them the next morning but
went down by the one that followed it. The
first thing heard was that Joe, who had taken
Albury, and was on his way back, in charge
of an officer, to join Leigh and my counterfeit
presentment behind the bars.
I at once engaged Purvis the best barrister
ia Australia to defend them, and later en-
ployed Giiot & Snowden, another high-class
firm, to assist him.
Nourse was as game as hornet and played
his part well.
The trial was held before Judge Williams
and resulted in conviction. had expected
no other verdict, for, with the option-of-pur-
chase clause missing from the charter, 1t was
a clear case.
Noursa and Wilson were sentenced to seven
years and Leigh to three and one-half years
in Pentridge Prison. With the time deducted
Sc five md
three months for Nourse and Joe and less than
three years for Leigh. When the case as
sumed 8 more serious aspect than / had be-
leved ii would when l bargained with Nourse
to take my place sent word to him that
would pay him well if he would play the
string out" and as soon / left the town
deposited S., 900 which to be paid to him
when he was released / spent some time and
considerable money in effort to secure a
pardon for my companions but when I found
that was impossible l returned to England
with promise to be back in Australia by the
time their terms expired.
With my return to London III the early eigh-
ties the old lure of the West Indies, with their
continuous riot of revolutions, came over me
so strongly that | could not hold out against
it, nor did | try.
l was much interested in reports which
reached me- through contraband channels, that
a new revolution shaping up in Costa Rica
and that there was a prospect OF trouble IN
Hayti and even in Venezuela
I took the first ship for Halifax and went
from there to st. John, New Brunswick where
I bought the fore-andaft schooner George ".
Richards I took her to Bridgeport, Connecti-
cut. where loaded up with old Sharps and
Remington rifles and lot of ammunition and,
after burying them under sixty tons OF coal,
sailed for Venezuela to see what was going
on in Guzmans absence
1 found that General Alcantara was acting
as dummy President, while Guzman was en-
joying himself in Europe, and soon satlsned
myself. from remarks dropped by his friends
in response to my guarded inquiries, that he
was ambitious to become the ruler OF Vene-
zuea in fact as we'll as in name.
The movement to overthrow Guzman was,
in fact taking definite form, and | sold part
of my arms to Alcantara's friends.
Guzman had heard of what was going on
and as l subsequently learned, he returned
to Venezuela a few months later, before the