Plymouth banner. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1852-1855, 1854-02-09

fiends who have punched your reverence.
"Oh!" groaned the Priest. this is al
that Master Thiers doing. All! my gold
and my silver. and my fine clothes"
And he beat his breast. and hobblet
home at such rate that the girl though
he had lost his wits all at once
Now when the Squire came TO hea,
how it had gone with the Priest. and
how he had been along the narrow way
and in,o purga,ory. he laughed ill he had
well nigh split his sides. But when the
Master Thief came and asked for hi:
daughter, as he had promised. the Squire
put him off again. and said
"You must do one masterpiece better
still. that l may see plainly what you
are fit for. Now | have twelve horse.
in my stable. and on them I will put
twelve grooms, one on each. If you are
so good a thief as TO steal the horses from
under them, will see what l can do for
you"
Very we'll. dare say can do it," said
the Master Thief; "but shall | really have
your daughter if cant"
Yes. if you can. I'll do my best for
you" said the Squire.
So the Master Thief set off to shop.
and bought brandy enough to fill two
pocket TASKS. and into one of them he
put sleepy drink, but into the other
only brandy. After he had hired eleven
men to lie in wait at night. behind the
Squire's stable yard; and last Of all. for
fair words and good bit of money. he
borrowed ragged gown and cloak from
an old woman; and so, with staff in his
hand and bundle at his back. he limped
off. as evening drew on. towards the
Squire's stable. Just as he got there.
they were watering the horses for the
night. and had their hands full of work.
What the devil do yon want?' said
one of the grooms to the old woman.
"Oh! oh! hutetu! it is so bitter cold"
said she. and shivered and shook. and
made wry faces. "Hutetu ii is so cold.
poor wretch may easily freeze TO DEATH;
and with that she fell to shivering and
shaking again.
"Oh for the love Of Heaven, can get
leave to stay here awhile. and sit inside
of the sta BILE door,
Go TO the devil with your leave said
one. Pack yourself off this minute. for
if the Squire sets his eye on you he'll
lead US pretty dance
"Oh! the poor old bag of bones.' said
another. who seemed to take pity on her.
the old hag may sit inside and welcome;
such a one as she can do no HARM"
And the rest said. some she should
stay. and some she shouldn't; but while
they were quarreling and minding the
horses, she crept further and further into
the stable. till at last she sat herself
down behind the door; and when she had
got so far, no one gave any more heed to
her.
AS the night wore on, the men found
it rather cold work to sit so still and
quiet Oh horseback.
'Hu,etu! it is SO devilish cold said
one. and beat his arms crcsswise.
Yes. that il is, sale another. i freeze
so that my teeth chatter
III one only had quid to chew said a
third.
4
or two; SO they shared il between them.
though il wasn't much after al. that each
got; and so they chewe and spat, and
spat and chewed. This helped them
some what. but in a little while they
were just as bad as ever.
'Hutetu!' said one, and shivered and
shook.
'Huteiu!' said the old woman, and
shivered so that every tooth in her head
chartered. Then she pulled out the flask
with brandy in 1t. and her hand shook SO
that the spirits splashed about in the
flask. and then she took such gulp, that
il went bop in her throat.
.Wha; is that you've go, in your flask.
old gir?' said one of the grooms.
oh! it's only drop of brandy, old
man. said she.
Brandy! Well, l never! Do let me
have dropH screa med the whole twelve,
one after another.
oh! but it is such little Drop mum
bled the old woman; it will not even
wet your mouths around.' But they must
and would have il; there was no help for
1t; and so she pulled out the flask with
the sleeping drink in it. and put it to the
first mans lips; then she shook no more,
but guided the flask SO that each of them
got what BE wanted. and the twelfth had
not done drinking before the Grst had
snored. Then the Master Thief threw off
his beggar's rags. and took one groom af-
ter the other so softly off their horses
and set them astride on the beams be-
tween the stalls. and so he called his
eleven men. and rode off with the Squire's
twelve horses.
But when the Squire 60, up in the
morning and went to look after his
grooms. they had just begun to come to;
aud some of them fell to squirting the