Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1869-03-25

III 25, 1869. sssm.H
Of this most bitter winter, that the
adventure befell me which I pro-
pose to relate.
The town in question, although
not large one, was situated on the
line of railroad, and thus received
fair amount of travelling custom.
The hotel in which had established
myself was the best in the place,
kept by most portly host; and in
a style which redounded greatly to
his credit, as we'll as to the comfort
of his guests. These latter were a
jovial, fun-loving set, much given to
storytelling, singing, and mild
conviviality during the long winter
evenings. Very naturally, 1 had
become well acquainted with my
fellow -boarders, and knew them to
be honest and reputable men,
During my stay, however, their
number had been increased by the
arrival Of a young fellow from the
West, whose exact position in the
social world it was somewhat diff
cult to determine. He was a stout,
well built, but rather rough-looking
fellow, of free and easy manners,
and had evidently seen much of the
South and West, more especially
| the society to be met with on the
large rivers. He was familiar with
the habits, manners, and customs of
steamboat men, and had many of
> the peculiarities Of speech belong
ing to that class. The hotel being
2 we'll filled, he was assigned to a
room which already had three oc-
cupants.
The new conner soon fell into the
ways Of the house. and for season
"aH went merry as a marriage bell. y
Soon, however, rumors were whis-
pered about of the disappearance OF
I various small articles from the
room mentioned, and matters finally
eliminated in the breaking open OF
a carpet-bag and the forcible alb
straction therefrom of sundry arti
cles of wearing apparel.
This robbery, of course, greatly
B annoyed the landlord and his guests
It destroyed the mutual confidence
t which had hitherto prevailed, an6
t necessitated undue attention to
y locks and bolts. The fellow-o -occu
: pants of the strangers room spoke
S strongly against him; and, if my
I memory serves me rightly, ever
S vent so far as to accuse him openly
:. of the thefts.
S I had carefully refrained from
: giving any opinion regarding th'
II matter, partly from general disin
o clination to meddle in an unpleas
4 ant affair in which l could do nc
J, good, and partly from the fact tina
S there was really no legal proof o
e the guilt Of the accused. None o
n the missing articles had been seer
e in his possession, and the only
: grounds upon which the charg
e rested were: that the thefts hat
been committed after the induction
4 of the new conner into the room
:, and nothing Of the kind had eve
S taken place before. Suspicious tn
Il matter appeared; but. suspicion il
n not sufficient to insure conviction
: in a court of justice.
u On the morning when the las
n robbery was discovered, I ha'
y made, in answer to query, th
y very simple and non-committal re
. mark, that if the accused wer
e guilty, he should be, by all means
II arrested and punished. This oh
n servation, greatly distorted, as i
e almost invariably the case, was con
IS strued by the suspected persol
1t into direct accusation, and resulte
r in an unpleasant antagonism t.
u myself I was in due time inform
n ed that vengeance dire had bee
n threatened me, and personal chas
q tisement of an unlimited character
$ This was disagreeable prospect
r for, being small of stature, and i
d nowise combatively inclined, I wa
n averse to encountering man who's
II muscular development indicates
great strength, and who was said t.
= be something of an athlete.
e deemed it advisable to remain quiet
IL and let the affair die out, keepin
q close watch over my tongue, les
n some trivial remark, wrongful
e interpreted, should have the effec
q of bringing disastrous consequen
:, ces upon me.
e, Matters were in this condition 0
the memorable night to which
now come 1 had retired early
e fatigued by a long walk over th
l. yielding snow, in the face of a kee
: north easter, and had fallen into
S deep, dreamless sleep. 1t must hav
y lasted until past midnight; TO
'e when I became conscious of event
the house was all quiet; the las
lie roisterer had left the bar-room, an
IS no sound gave evidence of wakefu
h or waking humanity. The moo
+ shone bright and clear through th
Al opened blinds of my window; an
I'd the whole room was illumined b
IS the soft, mellow light, renderin
e distinctly visible objects in tn
n darkest corners; even bringin
l. into view the very figures upon tn
3 wallpaper. -.-----
1t Although not given to superst
4. tious fears, 1 felt awed by an III
IS defnable something which SCENE
to pervade the atmosphere, and b
I its very vagueness oppressed me
it The familiar articles of furniture i
y my room assumed strange, weir