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Show The Katydid Mine Swindle By an Ex-Operative of the Secret Service Captain Dickson's Own Story of Unearthing a Colossal Fraud . . - mmmmmmm s a hulk tho in- A Hpcctors of the W1, I post-office depart ment look nfter H M m. matters of fruudu-RMHipp fruudu-RMHipp lent uses of the rvrroB malls, snld Cnpt. I. JwtNK Dickson on a cer-tftjPiJ cer-tftjPiJ tnln occasion 1 'Wswr when I had Abjjin dropped In for a iWr quiet smoke and a Lps glass of sherry, but whon n case develops unusual dlfllcultlcs the sc-:rct-Bervlco department Is cnlled upon. This does not often happen, however, Tor there Is n lot of rivalry between these departments and not n little Jealousy. It Is only as n last resort that our branch of the machinery ma-chinery of government Is brought Into requisition, nnd not until tho post-otrico post-otrico Inspectors have failed utterly. A caso of this character occurred a few years ago In ono of the larger western cities. It was a mining-case a company backed by J50.000.000 capital stock nnd, to nil nppearnnces, It was a legitimate scheme. Among its directors direc-tors were four or live well-known western mining men, one I remember being an ox-United Stntes Bonator. It Advertised extensively In the newsna- II pers and by circulars. Orders for II stock were pouring Into the company In such large quaultlcs that It roll ro-ll quired two and three mall-wagons, II sometimes, to haul a single day's LI The advertising matter of the com- J puny, which operated under tho name 1 1 or tho Amalgamated Gold Syndicate, II' was cleverly written. H stuted that l the discoverers of tho mine wero two ji poor prospectors, without kith or kin re but with hearts overflowing with gen- J eroslty, -who, from tho two millions of Jj stock that each owned, derived a rov- t enuo greater than cither could spend J nnd, appreciating tho amictlons of tho poor and tho scant opportunities for tS a man of small means to find n safo nnd profltablo Investment for his sav- j! Ings, they nnd decided to share their s wealth and prosperity with their fol- m low men. W T10 C0,nl)nny Placed J2.000.000 of ' stock upon tho market each year, :-j $1,000,000 in Junuary and $l,00p,000 In ; July. It advertised that no ono person ' would bo allowed to subscrlbo for ; I mora than f 100 of each semi-annual I lssuo and that tho subscription-books would be closed as soon as the re- -.1 qulsltc million was subscribed. ' Tho post-ofllco department became j suspicious as soon ns tho advertise- VI H incnts begun to nppenr, and tho in- 'il spectors wero Immediately put upon jl tho case. They worked for six months ' J und found nothing thnt supported I this suspicion In tho slightest. On 'jl tho other hand, they established be- j youd doubt thnt tho mlno had been m discovered by two poor miners who i had no relatives living, so far as l could bo , determined; thnt they had 1 1 Induced capitalists to Invest $1,000,000 II in cash In tho venture, nnd had then I I organized and Incorporated tho Amal-1 Amal-1 1 gnmated Qold Syndicate with n paid ii up capital of $5,000,000, selling tho j I mine to the corporation far $4,000,000 cof stock. Tho mlno was called ''Tho II Katydid," and-' it had been worked for SI n time by tho corporation at n big "j I profit. Tho two miners, poor no long- im or 11,1(1 ' nfter n tlino conceived their 1 1 charltnbio scheme, nnd had put it 1 1 through much against tho wishes, of I the minority stockholders, who wero f,l powerless to prevent It. il Accordingly, tho capital stock hnd 1 1 been Increased from $5,000,000 to I $50,000,000 and tho charter authorized 1 1 $2,000,000 of tho Increased stock to j I be sold each year. 1 1 Tho company apparently did ovory- 1 1 thing that It advertised. It regularly II paid Its stockholders an nnnunl dlvl- 11 dend of 20 per cent. II Hudson, ono of tho miners, was president of tho conynmy, and In .7 1 charge of the offices maintained In vl tho western city, which I have, already 1 1 montlonod, while Mason, tho other , I of tho dlcoverers, was general mann- ' I ger and In control at tho mine, Hoth !l Hudson and Mason boro out tho char- , . actors thnt tho ndvortlsliifj matter of jl tho syndicate gavo to them. Thoy I dressed in rough, cheap clothing, B chowed tobacco, nnd Bhowod n dlsre- $ 1 B gurd for monoy that Is characteristic , B of men who havo worked hard all I tllelr "V0B n'u,nst nn advero fortune :B nnd who havo suddenly como Into I great wealth. In everything thoy acted tho parts of uncouth, uncdu- I cntod sons of tho soil. I At tho Katydid mlno, visitors woro M nl ways wolcomo. Thoy wero shown M ovor the properties with tho grcntcst I freedom, only ono placo, tho small il building whoro tho metal wns sopar-'I sopar-'I ated from tho amalgam, wns denied to I I them. Mason explained this by any- Ing that tho company possessed n j secret process for refining which ho II had discovered and which was known ! only to himself, to Hudson, and to Itelden, tho company's chemist. I This, in brief, was tho status of tho I caso when I was put ou It. It was I glvon to mo becauso I had been a I minor and pnapoctor nd jmd Btudled I geology and ssaylng. I After working a week on tho case I was satlBfleil that thn company was a fraud, but 1 readily saw that I had no cotnmon crooks to deal with. My llgurcs showed thnt tho mlno was producing less than $300, of ore a day, little more than enough to pay the expenses of operating, and certainly cer-tainly not enough to Biistaln the expensive ex-pensive omces In the city and pay tho fabulous dividends on tho stock. I didn't tnke a bit of stock in Mabon's clnlm of a secret process of refining. I know thnt was a fako outright, out-right, but I wanted confirmation of it, and tho only way to obtnln this was to get Inside the little building' at tho mine where Mason and Belderf slept and where tho separation of the gold from tho amalgam was effected. I had almost worked myself Into n fever over it when, ono night, I went up to my room at the little hotel of the mining camp after supper nnd sat down to rend myself to sleep. I lind bought a couple' of paper-back novels at tho drug-store, from lis rather limited lim-ited stock, and among them thero wns a copy of Victor Hugo's masterpiece. I had read tho book before, but it wr.s a favorite of mine nnd I hadn't much choice in tho matter of selection. I wns so wrought up over tho question of getting Into the reflnlng-plant that connected rending was out of the question, so I skipped about through tho book, rending n chapter here nnd H wns something nftor ten o'clock when I completed my Investigation, and I decided to explore the pipe without with-out further delay. I removed my shoes and hid them beneath a bowlder, looked to the cartridges In my revolver, re-volver, a -precaution I havo nlways tnken since n ccrtnin adventure down on the Itlo Ornndc. Then I cropt Into the pipe. It was cool nnd clammy and ns dark ns n dungeon. 1 had a llttlo pocket electric Hash-light, but was afraid to use it, as tho dlstanco to the rcduclng-plaut was less than 100 yards from the ravine. My progress wns slow and tlrcBomo. Nevertheless, In good time, I came to a point where tho plpo mado nn abrupt ab-rupt turn straight down, which convinced con-vinced mo thnt I was about at the end of my Journey- I rqnehed down the hole us fnr as my nrm would go, but couldn't touch bottom so, after listening tor a time nnd hearing nothing noth-ing more than a distant drip, drip of water which waB most lonesome, mysterious, mys-terious, nnd melancholy, I tore my pocket-handkerchief Into strips nnd weighted It with a cnrtrldgo so thnt I might sound the Inky depths below, I was sensible enough not to drop down into the pipe without mn'klng n reckoning, as I had lenrned this pre' cnutlon by sad experience. To my great relief the plummet struck bot tom about four feet down and I cautiously cau-tiously lowered myself, feet first, Into the w.oll. It was rather, close quarters, but I managed to feel about mo In every direction, di-rection, nnd to my dismay found thnt nt this point tho plpo divided into halt n dozen smaller onos, nono of them over bIx Inches ln diameter. This was a sad blow to iny hopes and I felt almost al-most defented, so great was my chagrin. There was nothing to do but clamber back to tho straight Btrotch of tho plpo, whoro 1 paused a moment to think. It was so dark that I couldn't see my thand before me, so I thought It safo to take out my .pocket-lamp and examine my surroundings. Flashing it ovorhoad, I was overjoyed to see that tho bend In tho plpo wns arranged ar-ranged with n circular door which was hold down by a spring catch which fastened benenth a flange, I released this, and was rejoiced to feel tho door movo upward when 1 pushed agalnBt It. It was nn opening large enough to permit, a man's body to pass through it, und I suppdBo It must have been arranged so that tho plpo could bo cleaned out it it should become clogged with leaves or trash. At uny rate it offered tho much sought on-trnnco on-trnnco to tho building, for when I pushed tho tdp upwards a fow Inches and peered out beneath It I could seo the faint ruya pf the perfect moon re- fleeted upon the bare, brick 'walls of tho building. With great caution 1 raised the lid upright nnd crawled out of tho opening. I wag Indeed within the mysterious building. In my excitement at this discovery I released my hold of tho upright lid nnd It foil to with a metallic metal-lic report that sounded, to my tense senses, llko tho boom of a const-do-fense gun. The next Instant I heard a Voice, which 1 recognized ns Mason's, excitedly excit-edly bellowing: "Who's that," he demnnded. "Hey, Heldcn," ho continued, "something's broke loose." I didn't know 'what to do, so grent was my surprlso at my own rash act and Its consequences. 1 could hear Maiden sleepily call back something that I could not mnko out nnd Mason reply, Then thero wns a crcnklng of springs nnd two dull thuds as the men sprang from their beds. It was a ticklish situation, situa-tion, and I certainly thought tho Jig was up. Luckily, neither of tho men had a match and I could hear them swearing luridly over this fact, the rattle of n tin lantern punctuating their profanity. This gavo mo nn opportunity op-portunity to tako a hasty survey of my surroundings. I sprang from my perch nBtrlde tho big plpo to tho concrete con-crete floor six feet bolow nnd scrambled scram-bled beneath n long tnble that stood at one side of tho room, Thero was Just enough moonlight sitting through tho dirty. Iron barred windows to give me a bare Idea of my situation. Tho building wns 30 or 40 foot In length nnd I was near the farther end from the room whero I could hear tho men stumbling about In tho darkness and swearing like troopers. On ovory hand wero tables and boxes nnd machinery ma-chinery nnd washing-troughs. Not a second too soon had I concealed myself, my-self, for scarcely had I reached tho wt '8ict 'arm fcc. a bit thero until I enmo to tho adven-turo adven-turo of Jean Valjgnn In tho Paris sowors. In nn instnnt I was tingling In ovory nervo, for I had found tho solution of my problem, although it was both foolhardy and beset with tho gravest dangers. Tho reducing plant was in a low-sot building, ndjolning tho stamp mill, and tho wnter supply was conveyed to it from a dam Bomo dlstnnco up tho canyon through an Iron plpo two foot in dlnmoter. Tho water Btipply was limited, nnd nt night tho flow was shut off, leaving tho plpo quite empty. I had obsorved tho plpo In my ram-bllngs ram-bllngs nbout tho neighborhood of tho mlno but had nover thought of It as a posslblo entrance to tho building until I r'd ot 1,10 hunted Jcnn Valjenn taking to tho sowers llko a rot to escape his implncablo foo. Possibly Pos-sibly I never should have thought of it If, I had not chanced to buy tho ten cent book nt tho drug-atoro. This is but an instance of tho Influonco on our lives of seemingly trivial things. Tossing the book upon the floor I hastened out tntq tho night nnd made with all speed for tho big plpo. Tho water loft tho reservoir In a slulco-way slulco-way ot concroto and ran for somo 200 yards In a trough ot tho samo material mate-rial until Us courso crossod n deop, narrow gulch) which mado tho plpo necessary, This wns to bo my point of entranco, ns from hero on to the mill tho plpo was continuous. deep shadow of tho tnblo when I heard a door grato on Its hinges and tho fcoblo rays ot u lantorn Illuminated Illumin-ated a fow cubic foot of spaco about the lanky legs ot tho rnw-bonod miner. With my heart going nbout 200 beats n minute, I "crouched beneath tho table, gripping my rovolvor nnd very much In doubt nbout what I should do If I wero discovered, which seemed a certainty. Of courso I could havo shot both men and made my oscapo through tho llumoplpe, but thoro was nothing to Justify this conduct. con-duct. Thus far I had nothing but sus picion against tho twq men, and such nn act would havo boon nothing loss than murder. I decidod to let matters shapo thomsolvos nnd only endeavor to keep out of sight. The men blundored about tho room for awhllo, tho lantorn rnthor handl-caplng handl-caplng than aiding them In their search. I could hoar every word they said and the uneasiness thoy showed j was certainly a suspicious circumstance. circum-stance. Finally thoy stopped a abort dlstnnco dls-tnnco from my placo of concenlmont. I could boo their feot, about which tho lantern's light concentrated, and thoy woro facing away from mo, whjch gnvo mo n llttlo moro hopo ot escaping. es-caping. llehlen was speaking. "I toll you," ho said, "It waa something some-thing toll. It wa'u't anything olso bf- cause I know every door Is locked. 1 seen to 'cm myself before wo turned In just ns I does every night." "That don't matter," retorted Mason with warmth, "wo can't tako chancos, and wo must find what mado tho noise If we havo to look all night. Nothing could have foil It It hadn't been pushed over and It takes something some-thing live to push things over. I Imlnt liked the wny that stranger has been poking nround hero lntcly. I've had my suspicions of htm all tho time, and I enmo near ns anything tnklng 6 pot shot nt htm thnt day I found him hid out behind n bowlder watching the mouth ot the mlno through his spyglass." spy-glass." "Why didn't you," queried Uolden In a sneering tone. "I'd a dono It, If I hnd been tho ono to And him, What's tho matter with you Is you don't want to do a thing but copper your shnro of tho swag nnd play Bafo all the time. Wish I'd 'a' found him. Ho'd boon wolf feed In less'n no time." "Well, tnlnt no uso fussing about It now," replied Mason. "I'm glnd 1 didn't shoot him, for It would hnva brought n lot of detectives and government gov-ernment men nbout hero and would havo spoiled our game right off. "Well, lot's go back to bed," yawned Uolden, Ignoring tho tnunt. "Not until wo'vo found- what made that noise," nnswerod Mason, "You wait hero until I got the headlight from tho olllco. This blamed lantern ain't worth shucks." "All right," grumbled Belden, and Mason went towards tho door, swinging swing-ing tho lantern' ns ho wnlkcd. I hnd heard enough to justify mo In arresting tho men and In going to any length to accomplish It. MnBon would not bo gone long, I well know, bo 1 decided to capturo Heldcn beforo his partner returned. 1 stealthily crawled from under the table, my stocking feet making nc nolso upon the concrete floor, nnd warily nppronched the unconscious Heldcn. I could just mnko out his bulk, whoro he stood In a dark por-, por-, tton of thb building, nnd 1 could heat tho rustling of his clothing. ' He scratched 'a match and I held my brcnth. Ftortuno favored mo. He was lighting a corn-cob pipe, his back fair ly to me. Llko a shadow 1 glided to ward him and with n quick, sure stroke brought rny heavy revolve! down upon the back of hla neck with a sickening, crunching Impact. Ho foil without a groan and lay llko ono dead. Nevertheless, I took tho precaution to slip a pair of handcuffi upon his wrbts, and then I sprang townrds thel.door through which I could seo tho light of Mason's lantern ndvanclng. I was- not a second toe soon As Mason crossed the threshold I struck him a heavy blow upon the head and ho went down like an ox In tho BhamblcB. I handcuffed him and picked up his lantorn. Next, I packed tho unconscious men into tho room whero thoy slept and deposited them upon the bed, aftei which I set about restoring thorn tc consciousness. This room opened Into tho ofllco whoro waB situated the vault. After somo llttlo time Mason groaned nnd sat upright. "Well, pardner," was hla crestfallen greeting, whon ho hnd looked mo over care'fully, "I guess you hold the trump-cards. trump-cards. What do you mean to do next?". Ho showed no resentment and seemed, nt flrst, to think thnt I wns a bandit. 1 showed him my badge which had an electrical effect upon him. In my brief acquaintance with htm I marked him aa a man who would confess ovorythlng nnd endeavor to escape punishment by Implicating his confederates, so I explained to him aa much of my suspicions ns seemed expedtont nnd made soveral guesses. This qulto overpowered htm, and after It ho was aH pliant as wax In my hands. Ho confessed everything nnd opened tho big vault for mo and showed mo tho books ot thb company I hnd expected to havo somo difficulty with him nnd to havo to do more bluffing than proved necessary, bul he did everything In his power to help me. Ho snld that ho, Uclden, nnd Hudson Hud-son had turned tho trick without aa slstnnce. They had conceived the gigantic fraud when the mlno begat I to fall, and had experienced little, dir Acuity In putting It Into offect. On tho Ano showing tho mine had mado at flrst, thoy succeed! d In gottlng $1,000, 000 Invested In It, nftor whlcli thej had Incorporated and bogun to aoll stock. Thoy took tho monoy they received re-ceived for stock nnd converted It Into gold coin, which thoy shipped to the mlno, whoro It wbb melted down, run Into bars, shipped back to the city, and sold ns bullion, a part of It going to pay dividends. I had suspected this when I hnd the quantitative nimlyBls of ono of theli bars of gold mado, for It had showed tho porcontngo of amalgam that h used In gold coins. Tho last shipment of gold coin waB In tho time-lock safe, which wouldn't open until eight o'clock next morning, so I made n hasty examination of tho books and then trussod my two prUonera up like turkeys whllo I wont to rouso the marshal. Ho waB an Intelligent Irish man, who had knocked about tho world a good deal, and it didn't tnka long to explain tho situation to him. Ho accompanied mo back to tho mine, after I had wired Instructions for Hudson's Hud-son's nrreat, and relieved mo of my charges. I spont tho night going over tho books nnd examining the records In tho vault, and by morning I had everything every-thing I wnnted to lay bare ono of tho most colosBal swindles ovor nttempted. (Copyright, 1909, by W. a, Chapman.) (Copyright in Great Britain.) sacnrr-T .-: arxjsjrar -t5,,','-" ' |