The Rider of the Black Horse/Chapter 25
CHAPTER XXV
THE COUNTERFEIT MONEY
Before him, kneeling upon the floor of the barn, in front of a low chest or bin, Robert perceived an old man. So engrossed had the man been in his own work, or so quiet had been Robert's approach, that the young express had stepped upon the floor before the other man had been made aware of his coming. An expression of consternation and fear swept over the man's face when he saw that he was discovered, and with a quick motion of his arm he swept something from the top of the chest into his pocket. Quick as was his action, Robert had seen what it was that the man was striving to conceal, and for a moment he hardly dared to trust the evidence of his own eyes, for it was money which the stranger had been examining, and a large roll of bills had been evidently in his possession.
Surprised as Robert was by the unexpected sight, the expression on his face did not change as he led his horse into the barn, and the old man quickly arose and faced him. Robert could see the manifest fear of the man, and the little eyes and crafty manner at once aroused his suspicions. His first thought had been that the man was indeed fortunate to be the possessor of any money, for the article was exceedingly scarce, as he himself had good reason to know, and even the strange place which the stranger had selected for counting his possessions did not at first make him suspect that anything was wrong. But the moment the man arose and faced him, his expression as well as his manner at once convinced Robert Dorlon that something was amiss. Still, he strove by his own manner to conceal his suspicions, and as he stopped on the barn floor he quietly gazed at the old man, who confronted him.
"Good-day, young sir," said the old man, with a nervous laugh that was more like a cackle than an expression of pleasure at the meeting.
"Good-day, sir," responded Robert respectfully, as he quietly returned the look which was given him. Whoever this man was or whatever he might be, he was assured that he himself had nothing to fear from him at the time.
"He, he," tittered the man. "You are an early bird."
Robert did not feel that any response to the assertion was required, so he did not reply.
"Who might you be, young man? Are you?"—The man stopped abruptly and evidently was waiting for Robert to declare who he was and to explain his presence there at that early hour. But Robert had been taught caution, and was convinced that if he replied when he was spoken to he was properly fulfilling the popular requirement of the times.
"Do you come from the fort?" demanded the man.
"No, sir."
"Ah!" responded the old man, with evident relief. "I might have known," he added, as he glanced at Robert's garb,—a glance which Robert himself almost unconsciously followed,—and a smile crept over his face as he took in his somewhat startling appearance in the cut and tattered garments.
"Did you happen to meet with any parties?" inquired the old man. "If you did not come from the fort, doubtless you came from the opposite direction."
"Yes, sir."
"From New York?" inquired the old man quickly.
"I should hardly like to tell you just where I came from," replied Robert, smiling as he spoke.
"I see, I see," responded the old man quickly. "It is well to be cautious in days like these. I was expecting some one this morning. I wonder if you can be the man."
"I stopped here to get some breakfast. I saw a friend of mine in front of the house. Is it your house?" he added.
"Yes, sir. Yes, sir. The house is mine. The Notts have been unfortunate, and my wife insisted that they should come here. I do not altogether approve. Still one must be hospitable. You did not tell me where you came from."
"No, sir," laughed Robert good-naturedly. The old man was a puzzle to him, but if his oddities were all that he had to fear, he need not be alarmed, he assured himself. "If you can give me some breakfast I 'll pay you for it," he added.
"Did you see what I was doing when you came into the barn?"
"Yes, sir."
"What was it?"
"You were counting money."
"You have a keen eye. Do you like money?" he demanded abruptly.
"I might like it. I 've never had the chance to try," said Robert, with a laugh.
"And you would like the chance?"
"Yes, sir." Robert was becoming interested now, and already his suspicion of the man was assuming a more definite form.
"Ah, yes. Are you going to the fort?"
"I may stop there."
"If I should pay you well for stopping on your way there, would you do me a favor?"
"I fear I shall not be able to stop. I must push on up the river"—
"It will require no time. It can all be done in a minute."
What is it?"
"You are to leave this at the house of Josh Taggart. Do you know him?"
Robert could perceive that the old man was deeply interested in his reply, and his own suspicions were becoming stronger. The very name "Josh," though a dozen men might claim it, was strongly suggestive.
"Is he with Claud Brown?" he demanded sharply.
"Ah. You do know him, then."
"I have met him."
"Then it may be that I need say no more. Have you had any dealings with him?" The old man's voice dropped and his little eyes seemed to Robert almost to come together, so intense was the expression in them.
"Yes, sir." He decided to try to lead the man on, and it might be that he would learn something which it would be well for the men at Fort Montgomery to know.
"Did he pay you well?"
"Yes, sir, he paid me well," replied Robert warmly.
"You have the 'word,' I see. It is wonderful how many are in this scheme."
"Yes, sir."
"This, then, is what I want you to leave at Josh's house. You may not find him there, but you can give it to his wife. She is a wise woman, and will understand what to do." As he spoke the old man held forth a clipping from a newspaper, and, wondering, Robert took it and read the following:—
"Persons going into the other colonies may be supplied with any number of counterfeited Congress notes for the price per ream. They are so neatly and exactly executed that there is no risk in getting them off, it being almost impossible to discover that they are not genuine. This has been proved by bills to a very large amount which have been successfully circulated. Inquire for Q. E. D. at the coffee house from eleven p.m. to four a.m. during the present month." [1]
Robert Dorlon did not change his position while he read the clipping twice through carefully. The first feeling of rage at the treacherous, dishonest man before him gave place to a calmer mind as he endeavored to think out what was best to be done. Of the dastardly work of the counterfeiters, of the false notes scattered throughout the country, he was aware, and he knew too of the sufferings of the people and the straits to which the leaders were put by the action of the unprincipled men who were taking advantage of the weakness of the colonies, not only for their own profit, but also increasing the suffering of the people who were deceived by them and induced to give up their produce or possessions for the worthless paper that was being scattered everywhere. And here was one of the men, who, while pretending to be a friend of the colonies, was engaged in the nefarious work of scattering and using the counterfeit paper money, which it was said was being provided by the bushel in New York and placed where it was most likely to accomplish that for which it had been made.
Somehow he had himself stumbled upon the "word" which served as a password among the trusty, but what it was that he had said he was unable to recall or to conjecture. He resolved to be cautious, and perhaps he might be able to learn more, though he was sincerely troubled by the fact that Hannah and her mother were staying in the house of this man.
"You want me to leave this at Josh's house?" inquired Robert at last.
"Yes, sir, yes. I did n't know at first whether I could trust you or not, but just as soon as you said what you did, then I knew you were one of us, too. Let me show you," and, with trembling fingers, the old man drew forth from his coat a package of bills—doubtless the very ones he had been counting when Robert had surprised him—and held them forth. "Here are eighty-eight Connecticut forty-shilling bills, and here is one of thirty dollars in Continental currency. They are n't so good as some, for they 're a bit pale; but most o' the Connecticut bills are done on copper, and not even George Washington himself could tell 'em from those in his own pocket. I 'll give you one o' these for your trouble, that is, if you want it. Probably, though, you 've got a good supply on hand yourself."
"I don't look it," replied Robert, gazing ruefully at his torn clothing. He had decided now what he would do, and with his mind once made up, was preparing to carry his plan into action. "Yes, I 'll take it. If I just give that piece of paper to Josh he 'll know what to do with it, will he?"
"Yes, sir, yes. He 'll know; or, if he does n't know, there are those with him who will know."
"You get most of your money, then, from some of Claudius Brown's men, don't you?"
"S-s-s-h!" said the man warningly, glancing timidly about him as he spoke.
"Could I get some at his house?"
"I don't know. I don't know anything about it. All you have to do is to leave that bit o' paper at Josh's. Better put up your horse now and come up to the house for something to eat. You say Hannah told you she was getting you some breakfast?"
"Yes, sir."
As Robert began to lead his horse to the stall, he looked up quickly when he heard the voice of Hannah herself.
"It was breakfast, young man, not dinner, I promised to get you."
"It's too bad, Hannah," laughed Robert. "I did n't know I was so late. I was so interested in what this man—Mr."—
"Mr. Beach?"
"Yes, in what Mr. Beach was saying, that I did not know it was noon yet."
"It is n't, but it will be soon."
"I 'll feed my horse and come right up."
"I'm going to wait for you, this time. Mr. Beach," she added, as she turned to the old man, "will you please tell mother that we are ready and she can put the breakfast on the table?"
"Yes, miss, yes."
As the old man departed from the barn, Hannah turned quickly to Robert and said, "There! I 've got rid of him! What has he been saying to you, Robert?"
"He's been saying a good many things. He"—
"He's a bad man, Robert! I know he is. I don't know that any good men are left except my father and Joe and the boys."
"My! What is it, Hannah?" Robert had stepped from the stall where he had placed his faithful horse, and as he looked down into Hannah's face his anger appeared for some reason to be as great as her own.
"Oh, he has n't hurt me He would n't dare to!" and the girl's eyes snapped as she spoke. "But I just know he's been doing things no friend of ours would ever do. Last night he and a man were talking for hours, I should say, out by the well."
"Could you hear them?"
"I could n't hear what they said, but I could see the man who was there. He was the biggest man I ever saw"—
"Josh!" interrupted Robert sharply.
"I saw the big man give him something that looked like a lot of money. You see, it was moonlight, and I could see everything they did. I don't know why my father had us come here! I despise this man, but my father thinks it is safer for us here, so I suppose we 'll stay. Oh, dear, I wish we were back in our own home and there wasn't any war."
"But you 're not back in your own home and there is war, Hannah," said Robert soberly. "We can't run from it, you know."
"Who is talking about running, I'd like to know? I'd have you to understand, Mr. Dorlon, that I'm not, if that's what you mean! Oh, dear me!" she suddenly exclaimed, "there comes the man now!"
And glancing out of the door Robert was alarmed as he beheld the huge Josh himself approaching the barn.
- ↑ An exact reproduction of an advertisement as it appeared in a Tory paper in the year 1777.