His arguments were pointed with specie, we doing the punctuation, and with a little bargaining he told us what he knew.

This turned out to be simple but important.

He had received a letter from Mr.de Ville of London, telling him to receive, if possible before sunrise so as to avoid customs, a box which would arrive at Galatz in the Czarina Catherine.
This he was to give in charge to a certain Petrof Skinsky, who dealt with the Slovaks who traded down the river to the port.

He had been paid for his work by an English bank note, which had been duly cashed for gold at the Danube International Bank.

When Skinsky had come to him, he had taken him to the ship and handed over the box, so as to save porterage.