Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1869-08-26
EE&,sHd HIasELf
A Midnight Adventure.

who had moved to C county, of which
be was NOW sleriG. G.--AsI had not seen m.
we->> since hsr ma rriage, I concluded t.
ma1H Il convenient to stay With her on,
tnight while ON my wayto Jacksop. =,
\ E@osfLthe morning Of the second day are,
leaving home, / reached the home of m,
friends in the town of $ NY niece
Mrs. NJ, was delighted 10 see me; and. afte
the ordinary salutations were over she re
lquested me to stable and feei my horse, a,
Mr.. NJ was asabseHtfrofn horne. Immediate
ly complied, for the comfort of my horse il
alway my first care. Having made Bob
as comfortable as horse flesh could reastnf
ably wish toTbe, returned tuthe house
where a hastily prepared supper was al
ready Waiting me. { Those Who have fIa ridder
all day over rough country, without stop
ping for ''the inner comforts" can under
stand how readily f'iispatched the delicious
; light bread, cold sweet milk and rich yellow
butter, together with good things '.tos
? tedious to mention" that my tidy ittll
niece had set before me. In the course o.
the evening, which passed. pleasantly and
/. tnpidly,I learned that Mr.. NJ had let
home on the same morning that bssd1Ak
mine, and that he would be gone two DAYS
longer. This regretted, as l very much
wished to see him. L promised myself,
however, that'I would stop again on my
return, when the sheriff would be at home.
Before xstisiag- -for the Night, Airs. Nj. con-
tided to me that there was a. large sum OF
money IN my bed-chanber, mostly in gold,
of which her husband, as collector of the
county, had charge, aud with which he was
10 start tor je fesoEScitys in afew days;
let any one stay in the house during his
absence. laughingly replied that the no
tice came too hate, rs had already Taken
up my quarters, but that would stand
| guard over the money-bags till morning.
With that took a:candle and retired to my
lroon.f ! JANa - -
/ took out my two pistols, laid them on
the table by my bedside, and undressed for
bed. The possibility of danger, however,
strongly impressed my mind. The great
risk of so large a sum of money being
guarded by only helpless woman i'm.
pressed my mind more and more the long
er thought about it. i became SO rest
less that arose from my bed, relighted
my candle, examined my pistols to see that
they We're dry, reprinted and recapped the
tubes, and having placed them under my
pillow in such position that could grasp
them at a moments warning, Il again re-
tired to my bed, almost disposed to laugh
at my folly. Soon fell asleep How long
| slept L don't know. / slept long enough
for my mind to indulge in one of those
strange, mysterious freaks that We call
dreaming. Three men seemed TO enter by
force. heard the screams of my neiee.
heard tire robbers demand the money, heard
them advancing up the stairway, and saw
the bright flash of lights as, with candle IN
hand, they entered my chamber. During
oil / X
knew that if / could shake off this ter
rible spell that bound me l could
save all; hut my body refused obedience to
my will not hand, not'a finger could
move. The robber, for there now seemed
to be but one in my chamber, instead of
approaching the chest containing the
money, walked directly toward my bed. ]
wonder that the agony that then suffered
didn't turn my head gray at once. The
robber who approached me seemed to be
MN of gigantic stature, and in features
more terrible than anything my mind could !
imagine. He seemed clad in a loose flow
ing robe, pared at the neck, in his left !
hand he held what seemed TO be flaming
torch, and IN his right a strange-looking !
weapon of huge size. As he almostreach-
ed my bedside, by protracted and terrible |
effort l broke the spell that bound ME- and |
in a moment was awake. Instead OF my |
grim, gigantic visstant With his flaming |
torch and huge blunderbuss, a little woman, i
none other than my niece, stood before me. \
with her long white gown reaching almost |
to the floor, the very counterpart Of that |
worn by my imaginary robber. In her left I
hand she held a candle, in her right the !
key of the money chest. In short, she was }
the giant of my dream; and my excited |
Qfr1n had fa.3
woman into frightful monster. -
In moment / was myself again. aud a /
significant motion of my niece's head and |
hand imposed silence. / was not little /
puzzled. What could it mean? didn't re- /
main long In uncertainty, for my niece dis 4
closed in a whisper that three men had en-
tered the house, and ordered her, at the |
peril OF her life, to deliver them all the |
money IN her possession. 81
Danger frequently quickens our wits, and |
In this case think it had that effect with |
me. / had it all in moment Snatchine
up an apron that CHANGED to be living i'm the |
chair by my bedside, I directed Mrs, M. to
tie it aroun 4 her body, and in this to place
the money, Then cooking one Of my pis.t
tolls, / pla ed it in her right hand, and di- /
rected he' to hold the apron IN her left, and
with the pistol firmly held in her right, and |
concealed in the folds of her apron, she |
was to descend, and to whichever Of the |
robbers came forward to receive the money |
sne was to give thecontents of the pistol. /
/ was to follow carefully down the stairs,
and conceal myself behind the stair door /
until she fired; then L was to spring out of l
my hiding place, and with my remaining
pistol, give a salute to one of thereniaining 7
two, leaving the disposition of the third !
one to be determinedty by the ACKNOWLEDGES
In far less time than ittakest to tell it, this
plan was carried into execution. The few
moments that elapsed after reached the
loot OF the stairs before / was signaled to
the scene OF action, seemed almost endless.
Would the little woman have nerve enough +
to fire Z That was the rub. So intense was
my excitement, that / feared the Violent
beating OF my heart would betray my pres
ence. A few seconds, however, answered the L
question. A stunning report told me that
Mrs. M. had done her part, and sipnaled me II
to do mine As ! leaped from nv place oil
was Just in time to see the
forms of two men rushing out of the door.
discharged my pistol at the flying forms,
but, so far as ever heard, without effect.
Mis- NJ had made better shot, and had
secured her game. The wounded man lay
upon the floor, groanIng hideously, appar-
emily unconscious of the glittering coins
that lay In strange profusion all around him.
Poor scoundrel! he had go. far more than
be had bargained for. On examination /
found that he had received a very severe,
but didn't think mortal wound. But the
part of my story is yet to be told.
When stripped of his disguise, our robber {
turned out to be no other than the veritable
sheriff himself, arrested in the execution of
= deep scheme of rascality by the hand of
AIS oWn Wife, ..yal l.
The whole matter was now explained.
NJ had conceived plan of robiing himself
Of of Large amount of money belonging to
the state, and, with this nice sum, he
would remove to parts unknown, and enjoy
plans of mice and men ''gang aft aelee.
NJ. recovered. moved to Oregon, and for :
aught 1 know, is still living Of one thing
feei certain, namely: that he win never
again try to rob himself as long as his wife
stands guard s-.l7ll :
e.