me first.

To keep him quiet on Maddox, I had him wired as follows:

Washington, D. C.,
Mch. 14, 1865.

M. E. Martin,
c/o Burnett & Funkhouser,
New York.

"M. leaves here to-night, you can rest fully satisfied all is
right."

J. F. MANAHAN,
Willards Hotel.

Poor Manahan was asleep to all this use of his name, of course. Martin
did get anxious. He wrote me the following note and sent it to
Merchant's Hotel:

Mr. Shaffer:

Dear Sir.--Have despatch from Manahan that you will call and
see me here. Will be in at half past eleven to twelve, half
past twelve to one, and at half past one.

Either wait for me or leave your address.

Yours, &c.,
M. E. MARTIN.

I called but failed to find Martin, and later I received the following
from him:

Mr. Shaffer:

I waited for you all the early part of the day, at B & F's,
and then left a note for you, requesting you to leave your
address.

Am unwell; if it is important you should see me before
morning, please come up to my hotel, Gramercy Park House, if
not, please meet me at B & F's, nine to nine thirty, t-morrow
morning.

Yours truly,
MARTIN.

I met him in the morning, as appointed. He was hungry to meet me, just
as I wanted it.

I found Mr. Martin to be a man evidently well fitted for the job, in
appearance tall, rather lank, energetic and gentlemanly. We visited off
and on, nearly all day. He believed, from what I told him, that I and my
friends were financially interested through Manahan. He explained his
position as representing Mr. Trenholm, Secretary of the Confederate
Treasury. He told how he had formerly run cotton through the lines on
the Mississippi river.

Now that the tobacco had been seized, his plan was to press a claim upon
our government, representing the tobacco to belong to Union people. He
told me he had papers at his hotel which would corroborate him.

In the afternoon, nearly dark, we parted in the Howard House (then at
the corner of Maiden Lane and Broadway) with the understanding that I
was returning to Baltimore and Manahan, satisfied with his assurances.

My man (Mr. Kraft), who had been following me, to be handy if help was
needed, and who had been watching for the signal to make the arrest,
came to me hastily, thinking he might have missed the signal, but I
assured him it was all right