Dr. Peet was responsible for managing the fund that was raised by the citizens of the United States to pay the ransom for Miss Stone. This fund amounted to $65,000. Dr. House, a respected figure in Macedonia, was chosen by Mr. Leishman to negotiate with the brigands because of the high trust the people of Macedonia had in him. Mr. Gargiulo was selected for his deep knowledge of the local customs and his experience with both the natives and the officials in Turkey. He was well-equipped to deal with the different parties involved Sarafoff’s Suspected Involvement in the Kidnapping.
The Mission to Communicate with the Brigands
Mr. Leishman invited Dr. House, Mr. Gargiulo, and Dr. Peet to take charge of the situation. They went straight to the place where Miss Stone had been captured.
On January 18th, Dr. House successfully made contact with Miss Stone from a town called Razlog. She wrote that she was in good health and was treated kindly. She also assured that the earlier reports about her condition and about Mrs. Tsilka were false. However, the brigands insisted that they would not release Miss Stone unless they received the full ransom amount of $65,000, which they knew had been raised by donations and was in the hands of the missionaries in Constantinople. The brigands were aware of the exact amount raised and would not negotiate for anything less.
The Brigands’ Demands and the Precedent
The brigands had been in constant communication with their associates in Sofia and other places. These associates kept the brigands updated on the activities of the United States government, the efforts of Mr. Dickinson, and news stories related to the kidnapping. They were also aware of the ransom money that had been raised Daily Tours Sofia.
They refused to release Miss Stone until the full $65,000 ransom was paid. Mr. Leishman looked into previous cases of kidnapping and found that this demand for upfront payment was standard practice. In all similar cases, the brigands had acted honorably and had fulfilled their part of the agreement once the ransom was paid.
One notable example was the case of Colonel Singe, an Englishman who was kidnapped several years ago. His captors demanded $60,000 in ransom and also required that his wife and daughter be held as hostages. The money and the hostages were delivered to a representative of the bandits at a pre-arranged location. The hostages were kept in seclusion until the agreed-upon time, and when they left, they were safely able to return home. If they had tried to leave earlier or make contact with anyone, they would have been shot. However, once the bandits received the money, they kept their promise and released Colonel Singe.
Miss Stone’s captors followed a similar pattern to previous kidnappers in other cases. They demanded full payment of the ransom before releasing their prisoners. After looking into past cases, Mr. Leishman saw that this was a common practice, where kidnappers had honored the deals made once the ransom was paid. Dr. House, Mr. Gargiulo, and Dr. Peet were determined to secure Miss Stone’s release by meeting the demands of the brigands, guided by the established precedents of similar ransom negotiations.
