The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-06-08

agent had bought all OIL the arms ana ammuul
ton he could pay for from Kynoch & Co., OF
Birmingham, and had contracted with Nickel
Z, Son for their delivery on the northern coast
Of Spain They had lost one cargo through the
watchfulness of Spanish Warship and mad
nearly come to grief with another.
The Pretenders agent then proposed tnat
Don Carlos pay for the arms when they were
delivered, instead Of at the factory, as before
Old man Nickel was considering this PROPOSE
ton when I met him, and he told me aDout
1t. after we had come to know and understand
each other bit, and it was agreed that NicKeli
should buy the arms while would FURNISH 'ne
ship and deliver them.
II was stipulated that the first consignment
should be delivered to Don Carlos hmseH ~
his headquarters near Bilbao
Only small and lght-draft ship could get up
the river, and did not care to try 1t win the
Ieckwith, so I chartered smaller steamer
which greatly resembled the Santa Marta,
Spanish coastwise ship. To avoid suspicion
the rifles and cartridges were shipped to Ant
werp and picked them up there.
AS soon as we were out of sight or land
repainted my ship and made some slight
changes until she looked almost exactly IKE
the sf1sa Marta. =.
We ut over the bar at Bilbao with very lit
tie tos 5are under our keel and went on up the
river 10 the appointed place. band or Gyp'
-Gitanos-were camped close by, ana IN
ten minutes they were all over the snip.
Among them was singularly beautiful girl TO
whom I was strangely drawn. She followed
me around the ship, which did not annoy me
at all, and insisted on telling my fortune. When
consented she told me- among a lot OF other
things that I would be paid large sum OF
money in the mountains and assassinated.
The Carlist camp was located well up in the
mountains, nearly twelve miles away After q
81 short wait was tremendously ushered into
1.-The august presence Of the Pretender. He
greeted me with frigid formality in contradic-
ton to the warm welcome had expected, as
due savior of the Carlist cause, and his first
words, spoken In fair English, were curt
statement that he had no money but would pay
for my cargo through his London agent within
two months.
pointed out to him, as discreet1y as posi-
Bile, what the result of such a course would be.
Failure to keep the agreement made by your
agent would destroy your excellent credit with
all dealers in revolutionary supplies, and that,
of coIhtse, is not to be thought of. On the
otherlraAnd, by paying for this cargo you will
estabIhh your credit more firmly than ever.
I know that your majesty Is not only very hon
est, but very wise"
This argument appeared to convince him
and, with a smile as though he had really been
only joking, he summoned venerable Jew,
evidently his treasurer, who looked like the
original of all pictures of Shylock, and ordered
him to pay me e2S,000, the amount called for
by the manifest The Jew returned In few
minutes with the exact amount With the
transaction completed Don Carlos dramatically
waved me out.
The officer who had piloted us to the camp
suggested that we could find our way back to
the ship without any trouble, as the trail was
clearly defined, and we started back alone
Before we had gone twenty steps Brown, my
sailing master, asked whether had been paid
In cash. pointed to my bullying pockets and
told him I undoubtedly had. He then con.
fessed that he thought we were Gin for it." Six
cava1rymen, he said, had started down the
trail not long before I left Don Carlos tent,
and he believed they had been sent out to
way1ay, rob and probably murder us in the
deep canyon into which the ravine from tha
camp turned.
In flash I recalled the prediction of the
Gypsy girl I laughed at myself for the spasm
of something like fear that came into my mind.
yet was undeniably nervous for Brown was
not man to form foolish fancies or become
unduly alarmed about anything. And none of
us was armed.
We had turned corner that put us ont of
sight OF. the camp, when I saw dark face
peerlng at us through the underbrush that mat
ted the trail on both sides. At the first glance
the face looked like nothing but one of the
troopers we had been talking about. but in an
instant recognized the tSitano girl who had
told my fortune and begged me not to go into
the mountains. She beckoned to us and with
out saying word, plunged off into deep woods
in which we, unguided, would have been hone.
lessly lost In ten minutes.
She led over hill and across a wide lie.
preston and then over another much higher
mountain There was not SO much as sug-
gesuon OF path and it was hard going, yet
none of us complained She brought us ont IN
the trail at the point where we had made orr
first turn into the foothills. From there 1t was
straight road to the ship with no fear of am
buscade or attack
The rest of the cargo was jerked out with
all speed and as soon as the last box was on
the bank We got under way. Greatly to INV
surprise we were not even hailed by the fort
at the mouth of the river, where had looked
for some serious business, and we Continued
happily on our way to Londoa