The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1912-05-30

+,,or in 1869 preparing to make last figh
Co., tho longcoveted crown of Spain. His chic
agont had bought all of the arms and ammuni
tion he could pay for from Kynoch & Co.. o.
pirmingham. and had contracted with Nickel
O. Son for their delivery the northern coasl
of Snain. They had lost one cargo|through the
watchfulness of a Spanish warship, and nae
nearly come to grief with another.
The Pretender's agent then proposed ina
non Carlos pay for the arms when they were
delivered instead of at the factory, as before
Old man Nickel was considering this propose
tion when met him, and he told me apoul
- offer we had come to know and understand
aocb other a bit and it was agreed that NlcKel
should buy the arms while would furnlsh 1n'
shin and deliver them.
II was stipulated that the first consignment
should be delivered to Don Carlos hlmseH AZ
his headquarters near Bilbao.
Only a small and light-draft ship could get VI
the river, and did not care TO try IL VIII els
T,eckwith. SO | chartered smaller steamer
rbich greatly resembled the Santa Marta, q
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 OIL land
repainted my ship and made some shgn'
changes until she looked almost exactly lke
the Santa Marta :,
We cot over the bar at Bilbao with very lit
file to spare under our keel and went on up the
river to the appointed place. A pand Oh Typ
sies-Gitanos- camped close by and ID
tan minutes they were all over the ship
Among them was singularly beautiful girl &c
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
I consented she told me, among lot or otheI
things that / 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. Atter
short wait | was tremendously ushered into
the august presence of the Pretender He
greeted me with frigid formality in contradic
ton to the warm welcome l had expected, as
due a 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 discreetly 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 course is not to be thought of. On the
other hand, by paying for this cargo you will
establish your credit more firmly than ever
est but very WISE"
This argument appeared to convince him
and with smile as though he had really beer
only joking, he summoned a venerable Jew
evidently his treasurer who looked like the
original Of all pictures Of Shylock and ordered
him to pay me G2SOOO the amount called for
by the manifest. The Jew returned in a 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 l undoubtedly had. He then con
fessed that he thought we were Gin for it," Six
cavalrymen, he said, had started down the
trail not long before | left Don Carlos tent
and he believed they had been sent out to
waylay, rob and probably murder us in the
deep canyon into which the ravine from the
. camp turned.
In flash / 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 a man to form foolish fancies or become
unduly alarmed about anything. And none of
us was armed
We had turned corner that put us out of
sight of the camp, when I saw dark face
peering 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 Gitano 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, unguded, would have been hope
lessly lost in ten minutes.
She led US over hill and across wide de-
preston and then over another much higher
mountain. There was not SO much as a sug
gestion of path and it hard going yet
none of us complained. She brought us OUT to
the trail at the point where had made our
first turn into the foothills From there it was
a 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 the last box was on
the bank We got under way Greatly to my
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
any. xxraxy 10 dor,