Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 09.pdf/99

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MYSTERIOUS FINDING OF LOST PAPERS. BY JUDGE J. W. ALBERTSON. SOME four or five years ago, I was em ployed by a shooting club located on Currituck Sound to fix in my memory the bounds of the lands belonging to the club, in order to prevent trespasses and to prose cute offenders in that line. The club owned a large area, made up of many small tracts which were consolidated into one. The title to these various tracts rested on grants from the Lords Proprietors of North Caro lina, grants from the State, deeds from sheriffs under execution sales, deeds from commissioners appointed under decrees in judicial sales, and private conveyances from various grantors. They were all recorded, but the tracing of the various links in the chain of title to make it complete involved, in each separate parcel, a work of much time, labor and expense. There were about one hundred deeds and muniments of title in all. These papers were given into my keeping by the president of the club, who lived in Boston, with the charge to keep them safely, as their loss would cause much embarrassment in the event of a suit. I took them to my office, made an index of each one, with the book and page of the records on which they appeared, and placed them in a compartment of my safe in which was no other paper. A short time after wards, the local superintendent of the club wrote for me to go to the clubhouse to prosecute a trespasser whom he had ar rested under a warrant, the day of trial being fixed. I did not go myself, but sent my partner to try the case. Thinking that some of the deeds might be necessary in the trial, and not knowing what particular one might be called for, I gave him the whole bundle. I carefully wrapped the papers up and tied them securely. I directed my part

ner to deliver them to the superintendent, with instructions to place them in a desk in the clubhouse in which they had formerly been kept, and to keep the desk securely and constantly locked. I sent them back, because it was more convenient to have them on the spot in the event of their being needed on other trials, and also to prevent the loss of any of them in fre quently carrying them about. My partner tried and won the case, which, from its na ture, did not require any proof of title, but of possession only. No deed was used, and he told me that he delivered the bundle of deeds to the superintendent with my instruc tions as to the place of deposit and for care in keeping them. A short time after this, the superintendent died, and another one was appointed who had been in the employment of the club for several years, lived at the clubhouse and was familiar with all its appointments and property and with the habits of its members, most of whom were residents of Boston and New York City. Some time after the change of superintendents, the president wrote me to send him the deeds, saying that he wished to investigate some points in the boundaries and title. I informed him of my having given them to the superintendent that died. Upon inquiry and search the deeds could not be found. My partner again told me that they were delivered to the man. I saw my partner place the papers in his satchel, and leave our office for the train on which he went to the trial. He knew their value and there was no reason why he should be neglectful of their care. The family of the dead superintendent had left the clubhouse and it was some time before I could find them. After locating their residence, I wrote