"PER PIGEONGRAM."

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10239, 7 January 1899, Page 3

"PER PIGEONGRAM."

Bt J. A. Pmu , , writtcx pop. the " Susdat Timks,' AND RKPRISTBD IS "TIMES TALS3." Ten miles back in the Coromatidel Ranges and connected with the township by means of a track which incorporated most of the objectionable features incidental to bush travel in Maoriland, was the mining lease of the Hibemia and Holy Joe Amalgamated Gold Mining Con.pany, Limited. The whole surroundings of the mine, the columnar kauri trees, festooned with rata vine, the sweet odour of the flowering tawhara and the resinous scent of the miro berries, the bell-like note of the parsonbird and the hoarse "gaw-gaw" of tho monster parrot mingling with the musical plashing of a. hundred waterfalls, suggested rather a haunt of Diana than the nianburgle.l entrance to a treasure-trove of Pluto.

Down in the gully belovr the mullock tips which marked the two drives was the crushing battery; but on the particular afternoon of which 1 write the water wheel turned idly and awakemed no response from the Titanic stamps within. The battery had. in fact, been "hung up" for a month, as the rich*shoot of ore in the first level had been wrought out, and no more quartz would be available until the reef had been leached at the 1-jwer level. This was being pushed on as fast as hammer and gad and brawny Cornish arms could pierce the sandstone.

Two men stood at the door of the little battery office One was speaking. . A somewhat remarkable personality! Short, sturdy, and bow-legged he was, his chin adorned with a shaggy grey "goatee," an appenc?iigr. oddly out of keeping with, an absolutely unfuri owtd face, and a head so destitute of hair that extreme juvenility, rather than senile baldness, was suggested. He was the chief director of the mine, and the listener was the mining manager. "Straight fair an' square mmm, is all v;ry well in its way, William John Tregonning—ell very well in its way. But, William John Tregonning, that's if a man is satisfied wi' half profits. I allow that you can. work the mine alright. You know all about - stopin', an' croes-cuttin , , an' all that, an , you can judge ore as good's any man on the peninsula, but, be the Earl of Hell's ridin' boots, what do you know about ths market cud of the .menagerie? What do you know about 'futures'? What do you knov about 'corners'?" And Ezra Beciton [ihsx, was the name of the baldheaded oracle) paused for want of breath, or, possibly, for lack of further illustrations.

Tregonning, a burly type of the Cornish mining "captain,'' dutifully admitted that in these lecondito matters his experience wm deficient, but hoped that "Muster Benton would :ihvivs find him ready to obey orders and hold his tongue.'

"I don't held with no swindlin', William Jcftm continued Benton, his remarks being partly addressed to bis companion and partly an introspective soliloquy : "I'd sooner be crushed under the balancebob of the Big. Pump than steal a specimens, an' as for takin' points about miners' rights or jumpin',. of any of them marsupialities. I reckon it's beneath Ezra Benton. But, William John Tregonning, you can bet your shirt, or any part or parcel of it, that' when a chance comes along to make a bit out of the market, as well as out of the mine—which chance we'll have soon as dammit—Ezraßenton's going to be right there!"

Tregonning reflectively kneaded the ball of clay at bis candle end, and said a little brusquely: "Well, Muster Benton, p'raps ye'H tell mc what ye be driving at. We ought to cut the reef in the low level this night shift. Looks like the skin o' the hangin'wall in the,face now. Am I to break into the quartz or not?" "An' let the shift come off and' tell all their cobbers in town whether its eggs or young"un'e? Not likely!" quoth Benton eeitedly. * "That neTi goin , to be

broken snto in tie daytime, an* early in the daytime, when there's a nuricot; and that reefs goin* to ba broken into by two men only, William John Tregonning anil Ezra Benton. As soon as the men tap quartz find 'em a job somewhere else. Til be hero first thing in tJio mornin , with tie pigeons. My brother Wesley trill be the only man in town to get tho straight) griffin, an' he buys or sells just as tio tittle bird tells him—which. liUla bird will bo one of my prize stock at Antwerp carrier pigeons, William John Tregoaniiig. Little bird! litUo bird! ain't bad, ain't bad." and Mr Benton chuckled at bis conceit.

When the twain separated for the night Tregonning had agreed to poof his substantial interest in the Hibemia and Holy Jdo Amalgamated Gold-Mining Co., Limited, with that of tha still larger interest of Mr Ezra Beaton "If slio be a duffer," rejected Tregonaing, "I won't be stuck wi' my shares like a drill in a fitcherod hole!"

Down in the township that self-same afternoon the plank aide - walks vrero thronged with a perspiring mass of humanity in a perpetual simmar of excitement. The sole topic of conversation was the prospect of the low level of the Hibernia striking the golden shoot. Holders at a higher .figure than the market-price fervently hoped so, of course, while those who had oversold An the chauee of a goldless lode, offered silent supplications to their private deity that the reef should be cut at a point whore <t would, be useless for any other purpose but that of macad&misaiton. All knew that the problem would be answered in a day or so—-perha.pt in a few hours—and no one felt it safe to leave "the Corner," as the principal centre of the exchange of shares was called.

The old, hard-faced speculators endured tho strain with a simulation of | stoicism, but it was pitiable to watch the unconcealed anxiety of hundreds who had "touched Hibornias just for a flutter," and who hail been dragged into the maelstrom of the boom against that valuable monitor known as one's ''batter judgment." Nominally the shares stood at 50s, but there was little buying or selling;. Tho chances of a rise or fall seemed about equally divided, and there was plenty of excited talk but very littlo business.

"Panicky.' remarked broker George Tattain t-o "Centipede" Wakefi&ld—also on the Stock Exchange. "Terrible," said the other, who owed his norn de bourse to the fact that his first "rise" was made out of a lucky speculation in the Xantippe mine—and really the pronunciation >v;ii-Hi't a very bad s:mt a.t v : — that is for t'he populace of a Maoriland frontier town.

"Terrible," he sighed. "I ain't slept for three niehts over my dollop. I've got 3000 scrip hidebiblcd m my pocket now, an' I've half a mhid to quit 'em, even losin , a sprat a share on 'em."

"I'm worse than you," sympathised Wakefield. "I bought a thousand at tpo quid, forward delivery. If they don't ge* the gold my noxt oddites will bo Frisco. That sly old fox Beaton has introduced carrier pigeons into the game, and that psalm-singing brother of his. Wesley, will get the news before tuiyonc else. Old Ezra's plul&nderin' after the girl ait Broomfreld's pub, where he keeps hie horse, and she told mc that he's got a basket full of pigeons round there to send news with. Blue ones with big wattles."

"Well, all carrier pigeons that ever I see are blue with big'watcies,'' remarked Tattanham, snappily. "They're just as much alike as two lumps of mullock or two women in the dark."

"Is that so?" said "Centipede." "My boy jhas. got some pigeons—Antwerps he calls em—now if they're the same as oarriers—" "They are!'just the same," said the other. "Then Tattam, I've got an idea!" jubilated Wakefield. "A glorious idea! Strike mc paralytic! But we'll work it together: Come into my office and I'll get it off my chest."

The adjournment was made, and a long whispered conversation took place between the pair, punctured with many holf-sDio* - thered chuckles of delight from Tattam, and mudh monitory cursing from Wakefield. "Good-night, old man," aaid the "Centipede," at last, "the birds will be at Broomfield's pub. for you at six in the morning* You know just? what to do." Nest rooming early Ezra, Benton vrtui superintenuing tine saddling of his boree at the rear of BloomfiekTs pub., ait the foot ■of the ranges, when Tatfewn entered the bar with a small wooden box under his arm. Qn the counter wae a basket left there temporarily by Beaton, the cooing from wbick gave plain indication of its contents. There was not another soui in tbo bar but the barmaid, and Tattam briskly ordered "overproof rum please," a liquid to procure which be knew would necessitate the young womaa leaving the bar xor a minute,or bo. ~ During her absence Tattam expertly changed the pigeons in Beaton's basket lor a brace of birds from the dove-cot of Wakefield junior, and homed to the domicile of the astute "Centipede." Six hours later "Centipede" Wakefield . strotted into hie confederate's office, and - without eaying a. word, laid on the table . . before him a tiny soap of tissue paper feeing the following message in Eire Bectoa's almost microscopic caligrapky: —-' "DearWedey,— "The Lord hath been good to us. Broke into reef at 9 a.nx Specimen stone from. well to wall. Best thing since the Caledonian. Put deeds, scrip, and everything into bank for security, and buy till the b—. cows 'come home. Tattam ibis some, and - Turtle, and Hennelley, and Take 'em all down.—EZRA." . Tattam, whose besetting sin was impulsiveness, grabbed his cheque-book and made a bolt for the street door. "The "Centipede" throttled him and pushed "him roughly back to his seat. " You d-—- fool 1 If I hadn't stopped you you'd have given the snap away by beefin' out fcJiat you were buyin' 'Bernias at any price. You're a nice sort of a mate to have in Jk joint of this sort." Mr Tattam straightened his necktie and expressed contrition. "Now> listen tome," said the "Centi-' pede," "we've got the right office on. the . wrong birds An' of course we could go - out and buy and treble our money beforeright, even Duying at 325. But we've gojn' to bear them shares down till we can get 'em at a quid a hatful." "How?" asked Tattam, blankly. "Well, we're goin' to send 'Dear Wesley* the wrong office on the right pigeon—one - of these birds that you collared this morn- ■ in' is goin , to request 'Dear Wesley , to steal a few minutes from his sugar an" sand mixin' to unload Ezra's shares. I've got the numbers of their scrip, and as soon . „ as Gellion aud Hennelley and the rest, begin to come round with them I'll just say whose shares they are.. But before we send this off to 'Dear Wesley' you may as well pop .out and sell all we've got now, immediate delivery. Then we can sit and listen to the music." , Well, the forged message waa winged off' j; on its errand of destruction. Anon, above the din of the market rose -j" the cries of 'sellers, , Bernias 27s 6d." Then ' a loud-voiced "bull" shouted, ''Here, Fll — give 255," but this weß-meant effort to block • the fall poved. unavailing, as a chorus of fifty panic-stricken holders yelled, "Done," - !or "Here's 1000." Down came the shares . by half-crowns and crowns at a jump until at last frenzied holders were rushing about ' offering their stock at, aay price. ! Mr Wesley Beaton had -cleared his - brother's interests before the panic had eat full sway, and felt it his duty to his neighbour to announce to all and euddry the purport of his brother's supposititious message. Messieurs "Centipede" Wakefield and George Tattam, it is needless to say, came into the market when it was at ita lowest, ._ and before nightfall they owned nearly three-quarters of a ■ mine which in the ensaing twelve months paid £70,000 in _." dividends, and is still going strong. • '<» • • * ■ • What Ezra Benton said that night when he got back to town is quite unfit for publication. - ■-.■•■• * * ' • * '"' , The Hon. George Tattam is now a member of the Upper House, and when Sir . Archibald Wakefield received his K.C.M.G. he instructed his.secretary to get him one -- - of fliem there coats of arms fixed up, and . to-make 'em shove a pigeon on one side and a centipede on the other. Whereat people who are not in the know greatly marveL \,-,,-