ARTHUR
76

"'If he dies, and if his bill cannot be recovered, but to ensure this, at least, will serve to defend his character. As long as his fate is unknown, his fame will be loaded with the most glaring allegations., and, if these bills are ever paid in London, these charges appear to be justified. If he had been robbed, the robber would have immediately secured the payment, and Maurice's family could not have concluded unreasonably that the robber was Watson himself. ' Many other accounts were added by the stranger, to show the extent of the evil that flowed from his brother's death, and the loss of the letters he carried.

"I was very confused," Wortley continued, "what advice or advice should be given to this person. Keysler, as you know, died early from pestilence; but Keysler was the only resident in the city who had any acquaintance with Williams. When mentioning the propriety of preventing the sale of these banknotes in America, with some public notice, he told me that this caution had been taken earlier; and now I remember seeing an ad, I remember seeing an ad, where the banknotes have been declared lost or stolen in this city, and a thousand dollar gift is offered to anyone who must return them.This warning has been issued in September, the, in all the trading cities from Portsmouth to Savannah, but did not produce satisfaction.

"I accompanied Williams to the mayor's office, in the hope of finding in his trial records, over the past six months, some traces of Watson; but neither these records nor the judge's memories gave us any satisfaction. Watson's friends have drawn similarly, descriptions of the man and the fugitive's clothing, accounts of the events that accompanied his disappearance, and of the letters he had, and of the, by the way the letters were secured.it was published in Southern newspapers, and had just been reprinted in our own newspapers. Since the previous notice did not result in anything, this second way was deemed necessary to use.

"After some reflection, it occurred to me that it might be appropriate to renew the efforts Williams had made to trace his friend's footsteps until the time of his last departure. He had pursued Watson to Thetford; but Thetford himself had not been seen, and he had been content with the obscure information of his scribe. Thetford and his family, including his scribe, have been killed, and it looks like the source of this information has dried up. However, it is possible that the old Thetford may have some knowledge of his nephew's transactions, with which some light may be given to this obscurity. Therefore I called out to him, but it turned out that he was completely incapable of giving me the light that I was

expect. My mention of the package Watson brought to Thetford, containing documents relating to the capture of a particular ship, reminds him of the wounds he received from Welbeck, he said, and get him excited to renew his threat and accusations on the poor man. After somewhat running out of this rhetoric, he went on to tell me what the connection was between the memory of his injuries and the capture of this ship.

"This ship and its cargo are actually Welbeck's. They have been delivered to a good market, and have been secured with adequate insurance. The value of this ship and the cargo, and the validity of the police, he said, had been careful to make sure through his two nephews, one of whom went out supercargo. This had formed an inducement to lend three banknotes to Welbeck, in exchange for three other notes, all of which included a fair interest of five percent. per month on his own loans. For the payment of these banknotes, he had absolutely no reliance, as the world had foolishly imagined, on the luxury and secret funds of Welbeck. This was an illusion that was too disgusting to have any influence on him. He was too old as a bird to be trapped into a net with such a husk . No; his nephew, the supercargo, would of course receive the proceeds of the journey, and so much of this proceeds to pay his debts, he had obtained the authority of the owner to intercept his journey from his nephew's pocket to Welbeck's pocket. In the event of a loss, he has obtained similar security over the policy. Jamieson's legal proceedings are the same as his own, and no affair he has ever committed seems freer from harm than this. Their calculations, however, though plausible, were defeated. The ship was taken and condemned, for a reason that rendered the insurance ineffective.

"I do not give time to reflect on this network of blackmail and fraud, and on the chain of events that so often confound devious stratagems. The names Welbeck and Watson are thus linked together, and fill my mind with restlessness and suspicion. Welbeck is able to overcome any weakness. It's possible that an interview between these people took place, and that the fugitive somehow played a role in Watson's fate. These thoughts were mentioned to Williams, who by Welbeck's name was thrown into the most severe distraction. Upon discovering that one of these names has been living in this city, and that he has proven to be a criminal, he instantly admits to the bleakest premonition .

"'What! (i said,) are you going to stab or shoot him?

"'No. I was not born to a murderer. I would denounce him in terms such as when angry might suggest, and then challenge him to a meeting, from which he or I should not part with life. I will allow time for him to come to terms with Heaven, and for me to blow up his reputation on earth, and to make such provisions for the possibility of my death as determined by duty and wisdom.

"'Now, no one is more likely than Welbeck and my brother have met. Thetford will of course mention his name and interest in the captured ship, and hence the abode of the hated creatures of this city will be known . "It didn't happen without dire consequences. I was worried that in that meeting we should take into account the loss of my brother."

"This is a new light given to Welbeck's character, and new food is given to my suspicions. There is no conclusion more plausible than that which Williams has drawn; but how should it be ascertained? Walter Thetford, or some of his family, may have been witnesses of something, which, adding to our previous knowledge, may have strengthened or extended that clue, of which one end seems now to be in our hands; but Thetford's father-in-law was the only one of his family, who, with a seasonal flight from the city, had escaped from a pestilence.For him, who still lives in the countryside, I am improving with all the speed, he said, accompanied by Williams.

The old man, being reminded, by various circumstances, of the events of that important period, in the end, it is possible to relate that he has been present at the meeting that took place between Watson and his son Walter, when certain parcels were sent by former, relatives, as he understood it quickly, he said, to curse the ship where Thomas Thetford went supercargo. He had noticed some of the stranger's emotions, caused by his son mentioning the concerns Welbeck had on the ship He also remembered the stranger declaring his intention of visiting Welbeck, who had been on board, and ask Walter to give him directions to his house.

"'The next morning at the breakfast table, ' the old man continued, 'I told him about yesterday's incident, and asked my son how Welbeck had delivered the news about the disappearance of his ship. as a rich man, he had to bear such a trivial loss. But there was something very strange in his behavior," said my son, "when I mentioned the name of the captain who carried the letters; and, when I mentioned the captain's plan to visit him, he said, he looked at me, for a moment, as if he was frightened, and then, grabbing his hat, ran out of the house furiously.that was all my son said on the occasion; but, as I have heard since then, it was on that night that Welbeck escaped from his creditors.'