Litchfield enquirer., 1860-12-06
1fli5fe!lo,,p.
THE SMITHS, OF sMITHvILLE,

AND THEIR ADyENTURE WITH RoBBER
 BY PAuI. CKEYToH.
 The Spitl.s of Sn,vllr, had for a long time been very much annoyed by the dcrre- 1atiuus of some unknown individual, whose confused ideas concerning the rights Of prop erty led to tke frequent abstraction of divers goods ard chatte's from tke premises of the said Smiths, in furtive and mysterious mnnner Bags of wlea, and oats vanished from the granary, polk from the cellar, and corn from the crib; ill one night a sheep that had just been slaughtered coolly trotted off, and ol. another occasion several gallons of maple syrup cvapor"ted in a night time.-- Milking stools went of on three legs and one morning Mir. Smiths best nxc was found to have "cut sticks" Log chains became rattlesnakrs and crept of; iron wedges made splits in the Smith property boots walked away and the "juck" rode off the "saw horse"
 Vain were all the efforts of the elder and younger Smith to discover the mystery of these disappearapccs, and to entrap the of- fender. Despairing of bringing him to jus tice, the Smiths found they could do noth-
  tae safety of their property. Accordingly they built new granary, with strong wallis, a narrow grated window, and heavy oakeu door, to which was attached formidable paddock. The prisou-like portion of the barn was built sufficiently large to allow the Smiths to lock up with the grain a great deal of portable property, such as was most likely to tempt the cupidity of thieves.
 After the granary was finished, month passed, during which time the depredations of the robber or the robbers was confined to the orchards and hen roost. when, late on Sunday evening, the elder Smith, as he was sitting tipped against the kitchen wall, smok- ing his pipe, preparatory to retiring, be- thought him that he had neglected to lock the grsnary before leaving the barn. This was ly no means Q singular circumstance, considering that the granary was usually locked by the younger Smith, who had that night "gone a courting."
 It was a moonlight evening, and Mir. Smith, on approaching the barn, was con s!derably startled at seeing the door aiar.- Certain of having shut the door an hour previous, Mr. Smith thought of robbers.- His suspicious were confirmed when, on a nearer approach, he plainly heard a move ment iu the barn. Too cautious to endan- ger his life by boldly attacking the robber, Mr. Smith, with considerable trepIdat'on, resolved to watch his movements and dis cover who he was.
 Looking through crack on the east side of the barn, he saw dim ghost-like figure glide across the floor towards the granary. A happy thought entered Mr. Smiths brain. Stealing into the barn he crept silently along by the now, until near the granary when ciup!-he shut the door, adjusted the pad lock, turned the key, and was of as if for
 .t was impossible to say what made MT. Smith tremble so. It mi ght have been the smotherlng cry of alarm that issued from the ganary walls, in way fully calculated to awaken superstitious fear. But Mr Smith never owned he was as white as ghost, or as white as they are supposed to be-.
 "What is the matter2" cried Mrs. Smith
 "Pve caught the robberp' ejaculated Smith in a breath. He is locked up i, the granary. Give me my bocts!"
 "Why-what--what are you goin, to do2"
 q "Get help! Hesa desperate fellow, an' twill be dangerous to meddle with hin alonew
 It is impossible to describe the excitemen of Mir. and Mrs. Smith on that memorabl occasion. The latter took it upon herself t load the old musket while husband went fo tbe neighbprs.