The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1916-10-06
Copyright by W. q. Chapman

that Special Agent Billy Gard OF the
United States department OF justice
trod the deck of the good German
ship Esmiranga and smoked many
Mexican cigarettes on that historic
morning in April, 1914, when she ap'
preached the port of Vera Cruz, load
ed to the gunwales with ammunition
for the Huertistas, and precipitated
the landing of American marines.
Also it is here first told that it was
the hand Of Billy Gard that lighted
the match that ignited the powder
that caused the explosion that kept
Yankee fighting men in Mexico for
many months and the big American
sister republics on the verge OF war.
For the action of the head of the gov
eminent of hundred million people,
the orders extended to the military,
the scuttling of battleships and trans
ports, were based upon mysteriously
received messages from this young rep
resentative of the United States, who
through a combination of chance and
design found himself strangely placed
III Inc CeuteI VI "OU VI Wv
stance.
1t had all started in a New York
hotel six months before. 1t was not
entirely out Of keeping with what was
to follow that huge and bewhiskered
Russian should have staged the pro-
logue of what was later to assume
something of the nature of an inter-
national farce. But it was such man,
registering himself as G. Egeloff,
pronouncing some of his Indifferent
English with the eXplosiveness OF
Russia and some of it with the lifting
softnes of Latin America, who created
a scene in a Manhattan hotel and
thus first introduced the whole mat
ter. He had arrived but moment
before, dusty, disheveled, empty hand
ed The room clerk had suggested
that it was the custom of the hotel
that guests without baggage should
pay in advance. Then had come the
explosion accompanied by oaths in
four languages.
The man with the whiskers called
upon all to witness that this indignity
had been placed upon him, G. Egeloff,
the representative of rulers of ma
tions, the bearer of credentials, the
possessor of enough money in his one
vest pocket to buy the hotel in ques-
ton and turn it into a barracks for
his poems.
Whereupon he produced from the
vest pocket in question a draft on
the Mexican treasury for the neat
sum of three million dollars in gold,
signed by none other than Victoriano
Huerta himself At which signal the
entire hotel staff salaamed profound
ly and the man who swore was es-
corted to the best suite and the house
detective telephoned to the special
agents of the department of justice.
Billy Gard was forthwith sent out
to determine the legitimacy of the
mission of this strange representative
of turbulent Mexico
In three days he knew that Egeloff
was in touch with those representa-
tives of the Huerta regime with whom
the department of justice was already
acquainted and whose activities GEN.
tered about a certain Mexican board
ing house just off Union square. He
also knew that the Russian had called
up from his hotel room certain manu-
facturers of munitions whose factories
were in Hartford and that representa-
tives of those firms had visited him.
Gard had drawn the conclusion that
the Russian was buying ammunition
for the Mexican government. Since
the United States was denying clear.
ance to ships with such cargoes de-
stined to either faction to the con-
troversy to the south, it was neces-
sary that all the facts be ascertained.
But it developed that the strong
current of the plans of the man from
Mexico ran through Valentines, that
oVtfitter of revolutionists and dealer
in secondhand and out-of-date war
material Valentines based his oper-
ations upon the principle that the dis
carded munitions of progressive ma.
lions are plenty good enough for use
in Latin-America and that the pur.
chase of all such, no matter how an
tiquated, offers a good opportunity
for profit. Hardly a warlike venture
in the tumultuous lands to the south
has run it's course within recent years
without leaning heavily upon Valen
tines.
Knowing this Gard was particular.
ly anxious to find out what was trans
piring within when, on a murky Sat
urday night, he followed the Russian
and three of his Mexican associates
through the narrow lanes of the low
er East side, beneath it's changing ele
waited, and to the side door of Valen
tines within which they disappeared
He had previously reconnoitered
the surroundings He knew that Val
entines had taken great care in guard
ing the privacy of his establishment
The dark back room in which his con
ferences were held had but one en-
trance which was from the main es
Enlistment. The areaway from
which it's single window looked facef
the wall of printing house. broker
by but three or four small window,
as is so often the case with thes,
blank surfaces. Gard had made not,
of the fact that one of these window,
was opposite and above that in tn,
back room of Valentines. He hat
gained admission to the printing hous
and had viewed the adjoining prem
Uses from this high window.
A single possibility presented itself
This was that Valentines might leav
his curtain up and that Jane Gate
mighf helm with the cana