Mr. Hill had kept a list of his notes in Chandler's handwriting, which Chandler was anxious to recover when he got back, in order, as he said, to stop payment of them at the banks. His real object was to alter the numbers of three notes of Hoare's, all of which he wished to cash and use, and he effected this by having a fresh list made out in which these notes were given new and false numbers. Thus the notes with the real numbers would not be stopped on presentation. He did it cleverly, changing 102 to 112, 195 to 159, 196 to 190, variations so slight as to pass unnoticed by Mr. Hill when the list as copied was returned to him. These three notes were cashed and eventually traced back to Chandler. Further, it was clearly proved that he had got those notes at Hoare's in exchange for the £200 note, for that note presently came back to Hoare's through a gentleman who had received it in part payment for a captain's commission of dragoons, and it was then seen that it had been originally received from Chandler.
While Mr. Wise was engaged in these inquiries the trial of Chandler's case against the Hundred came on at Abingdon assizes in June, and a verdict was given in his favour for £975, chiefly because Mr. Hill was associated with the mortgage, and he was held a person of good repute. But a point of law was reserved, for Chandler had omitted to give a full description of the notes, as required by statute, when advertising his loss.
But now Chandler disappeared. He thought the point of law would go against him; that the mortgagee would press for the return of the £500 which he had recovered from the Hundred; that his master, Mr. Hill, had now strong doubts of his good faith. The first of these fears was verified; on argument of the point of law the Abingdon verdict was set aside. There was good cause for Chandler's other fears also. News now came of the great bulk of the other notes; they reached the bank from Amsterdam through brokers named Solomons, who had bought them from one "John Smith," a person answering to the description of Chandler, who in signing the receipt "wrote his name as if it had been wrote with a skewer." The indefatigable Mr. Wise presently found that Chandler had been in Holland with a trader named Casson, and then unearthed Casson himself.