_We note your late and liberal response to our proposal. We
shall not be outdone in the honorable discharge of obligations.
At precisely eight (8) o'clock on the morning of July sixth
(6th) the payment of ransom and delivery of captives will take
place within one mile of Washington's homestead, Mt. Vernon.
The government vessel with ransom and proper officials on board
will remain in near sight of Mt. Vernon. At our signal (which
shall consist of four Japanese day rockets, each representing a
flaming sword) whether hurled from land or water, the officers
of the government will steam toward the place of delivery.
Guards will fall back immediately upon the discharge of
whistling bombs until the ransom and the ransomed meet. The
Presidential party will bear a flag, vertically striped black
and crimson. On its centre will be a gold half-eagle. Payment
must be made as follows: There must be eighty (80) leathern
bags, each containing one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000)
in gold; the amount of ransom being eight million dollars
($8,000,000) for four weeks' board at one million dollars
($1,000,000) a week apiece. This money must be paid and its
genuineness certificated upon the honor of the United States by
the Secretaries of State and of the Treasury. If there is any
suspicion of infidelity on the part of the nation, the
President and his wife will be held for another month on the
same terms. Should we be betrayed in the trust which we have
reposed in the American people, on the 6th of July, at, or
previous to the time of delivery, the distinguished hostages
will immediately be put permanently beyond reach of hope._
Unscrupulous and stern was the message, yet tinged with a spurious color
of honor that demanded the true blue in return. It was the consensus of
opinion that it would be madness to attempt arrest during the
culminative ceremonies. The required gold was transferred from the
treasury vaults to the new and swift cruiser _Washington_.
Final arrangements were made for giving the imprisoned couple the most
glorious reception which ingenuity and patriotism could devise.
Reporters by hundreds bivouacked on the grounds of Mt. Vernon on the
night of the fifth. Gunboats, steamers, yachts and sail of every
description congregated to the scene of the surrender. The land teemed
with sight-seers and soldiers with stacked arms. In the midst of all
this apparent disorder, Inspector Byrnes, on his own responsibility, had
his thousand trained men, who patrolled every foot of ground within five
miles of the historic site, and who had surveyed every inch of water
from the mouth of the Potomac to the city of Washington. He had hoped to
retrieve his fame by a successful capture at the eleventh hour.
At last, though it seemed a century in coming, the morning of the sixth
of July broke solemnly upon Mt. Vernon. The revered site was flanked on
all sides by seething, excited, hopeful humanity such as these historic
shores had never before witnessed. The official command had been to
abstain from all noise and confusion on land or water from the time of
the sunrise gun.
The cannon boomed from the new navy. Then came the hush. The last hours
of waiting were spent in maddening inactivity, in strained repose. From
what quarter would the ominous signal be seen? Who would catch the first
glimpse of the boldest and most successful gang of malefactors that this
country had ever produced?