Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1869-06-16
A STRANGE CASE.
How Presentiment Averfed n Terri.
BILE Crime. r : e..


From the Detroit Free Press, 7tb.
On Tuesday evening last, Bernard Rolfe
a German farmer, residing about min,
miles from this city, on the Pontiac road
/ had business with a hardware firm n,
/ Woodward avenue. He had German n
/ borer in his employ named Henry ArtIes
and him Mr.. Rolfe left at home, busy Will
/ the team, and procured PASSAGE in wifi
a neighbor. 1t was about five O'clock il
! the afternoon when Rolfe left his home
and, as It was understood that the 1lei6b.
Dor wepld not return before the next dov
the family, consisting of wife and three
small boys, knew that they wonld be alont
with the hired man for the night. Artles
was comparative stranger to them all
having been at work for two weeks onlw.
He was q quiet and peaeeabie appearing
man, and spent his leisure hours by him
self, never indulging in conversation when
not directly appealed to. Still, neither
Rolfe nor wife found fault, or ever had oc-
caslon to suspect that the laborer was 9TH
er than what he seemed
On hls arrival in the city, Mr.. RoIfe par
TALLY concluded his business with the mer-
chants, and engaged lodgings at a hotel on
Larned street. About nine O'Clock in the
evening, while seated in the office smoking.
Mr. Rolfe relates that he began to trembIe
and felt nervous-shocks, which SO increased
that IN short time he could scarcely hold
his pipe between his teeth. He walked
several times across the room, went into
the open air, but the feeling did not In the
least pass away. His thoughts kept recur-
ring to the laborer at home, and he called
to mind the features of Artles, and the
hitherto unsuspicious fact that he had sew
eral times caught him peering about the
sleeping room, where a bureau was stand
ing that contained the hard-earned dollars
that were to go toward putting an addition
on the house as soon as few more
could be added to them At ten
o'clock Rolfe decided to 90 home. He
was laughed at by his neighbor. who told
him that the feeling was the first symp-
toms of chill fever; Rolfe would 90 home
next day and find everything had passed off
peacefully. Rolfe hesitated for some time.
but at last started for home ON foot, prom
lslng to return IN the morning on horse
back IN time to secure the balance of his
things before the neighbor should be want
ing to return home He reached home
about midnight, awakened his wife, and to
her expressions of astonishment, could say
nothing only that he felt that he ought to
pied that he had performed the farm
''chores" as usual, remained about the
house for while, and then informed her
that, the night being warm, he would
sleep IN the barn. Rolfe passed through
to the kitchen, where he found window
up that looked directly on the barn ward.
His wife was certain that she had shut all
the windows on retiring As they stood
for q moment looking out, they saw the
barn door swing open, and Artles lead out
one OF the horses. As they watched, he
led the horse through the gate, and going
to the 'front.' they saw that he had tied the
animal by the door-yard gate. Rolfe inn
medIately opened the door and walked
down to the gate. He was within ten feet
OF Arttes when the latter espied him, and
giving utterance to an oath of angry
aston1shment, Immediately fed down the
road. Rolfe pursued him for some
forty or fifty rods, and then gave up the
chase. On returning to the horse-block.
the gleam Of steel caught his eye, and he
picked from it an ugly-looking naked sheath
knife. The open window, the pretense of
sleeping in the barn, the horse and knife.
all went to prove to Mr.. Rolfe that Artles
was villain, and intended to have robbed
the house, even if he had not made deadly
use of the murderous knife. The facts are
gwen exactly as narrated by Mr.. Rolfe
himself, and the reader is free to Judge of
the truth OF absurdity of the preSentimeEt.
On Friday, Artles had not returned to the
nelghborhood, neither had the slightest
clue to his whereabouts been discovered.