returned and found her valuable deposit had been removed as previously
stated.

The fact of their removal being made known to the brotherhood, they
thought some base person had robbed the lady of her important charge.
This opinion prevailed with the fraternity generally. Not so with the
two hundred grandees. Their opinion assumed the character of their
former suspicions, while their suspicions were converted into fact. They
were now fully convinced that the colonel contemplated the destruction
of their order, and was intent upon keeping the papers in his own
power: that he had even entered upon the act of defeating the very
purpose they had in view, in bringing those papers to the city. At this
time the city was crowded with the members of this secret society, and
private rewards were offered by the two hundred or that portion of this
band then in the city, for the recovery of the papers. These rewards
made a great stir, especially with the officers of all parties, both
those for and against the colonel. Taylor was a mark to be shot at by
about seven-eighths of the band, and the remaining one-eighth was ready
to go to the highest bidder, to do service for him who would give the
highest wages. He found means to secure the friendship of the latter,
many of whom were considered quite respectable men, and were never
suspected by the brotherhood of any thing dishonourable. The head men
constituted still another party. Thus these villains were divided into
three factions. These were the friends of Taylor, known as Taylorites,
and the supporters of Brown, called Brownites. These only were publicly
known; while the third party, embracing the royal grandees, were
actively engaged in disengaging themselves from the coils which they
supposed had been deliberately laid for their destruction. They showed,
by their efforts, they had more at stake than all the rest. Though their
movements were not publicly recognised, yet they had every influence