Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-04-02

PLEASE to get up, Mr.. Powers,'' said
one of them, in cool, civil way; Hplease
TO put on that dressing-gown and those
slippers You shall not be harmed in the
least if you will only be quiet and obey
directions" | got up and pat on dress.
ing-gown and slippers. Then one of the
men caught my arms, drew them behind
and manacied them; another gagged me
with one of nv own silk handkerchiefs
and thus rendered harmless, I was led
downstairs, where my household, in va
rious stages of night-attire, gagged and
tied back to back, were awaiting me in
the dining.room I was put into an arm.
chair, and fastened to it by feet and hands.
then was left alone to stare about me
Maddened, desperate though l was. when
l discovered that the sixth of the prison
ers was johnson, the detective, Irecog.
nized him with a keen sense of the ridic.
ulous. and only wished that Betts-whom
l was mentally matchmaking with
curses not loud but deep-were in his
place, and tasting some of our humilia.
ton
Besides the three masked men who had
mastered me and brought me down, there
were five others in the dining-room. Two
were left as sentinels over us, and the rest
at once fell to work in way that meant
business. a small, active man motioned
toward the sideboard. 1t was wheeled
aside, and, stepping forward, he pressed
the sliding panel and disclosed the closet
where the silver in daily use was kent
and the shelves were at once stripped and
the contents piled on the table.
The bedrooms upstairs were next visit
ed, the locks of drawers and wardrobes
wrenched apart, and the contents thrown
pell-mell on the floor for the chief expert
to decide on what should be carried off.
The upper rooms Quilted, they came down
with their spoils, which they piled high
before tour eyes on the table, and then.
leaving US again alone with our sentinels
they went through the entry into my libra.
ry.
1t was dark hour. I leaned back nv
head and closed my eyes, and felt that
fate was cruel to me. Only one consola-
ton illumined the blackness of nv de-
spair-my wife had carried her Jewels to
town with her, and was spared the HUI
initiation of telling her [ had lost them
for her through my idiotic faith in Belts.
There was long silence now, which was
followed by three muffled explosions that
shook the house like an earthquake, and
almost simultaneously was heard the noise
of a scuff1e, and opened my eyes to see
the room filled with policemen, and hear
pistol-shOps exchanged, while our two
sentinels were thrown down, disarmed,
and pinioned before my eyes.
In less time than it taxes me to describe
it the situation had been reversed, and
now Belts, the detective, appeared in the
door at the head of his posse of men, who
brought in eight Of the captured burglars,
two of them wounded and bleeding pro-
fusely, while the rest showed signs of
having maintained stout resistance; all
had lost their masks in the melee, and
disclosed sullen and brutal visages.
"How are you, Mr.. Powers?" inquired
Belts, coming forward and releasing me.
y" | hope you're not hurt. / beg your par
don for taking possession Of your house
in this way"
"Why did you make me think I was
safe for tonight Betts?''
Because" he replied, with a shrug
+" discovered you were just little upset
at the prospect, and I felt afraid Of you
He ran his eye over the group beside me,
and when he saw Johnson he grinned, and
going up to him knocked his manacles
off. You're pretty detective, you are"
said he, to be caught and tied up by the
very fellows you were in waiting for!"
"Betts," / gasped, suddenly, "You
haven't got the little one.'
He gave tigerish cry, and glared from
one to the other of his prisoners.
you are sure there was another?"
No doubt of It." returned; "any one
of these fellows is four inches taller than
the leader of the gang"
In another moment he had set picked
men at work searching both house and
grounds; but he never succeeded in find
ing even trace of the eleventh of the
party Of burglars. Nor even after the
conviction and heavy sentence of the
other ten would any one of them confess
the secret of their leadership. | had
easily identified NJ. and Madame De Stur-
ges-both swarthy and robust French
men-among them, but in spite of all my
efforts neither one could be induced even
to acknowledged they had ever heard of
such a person as Marie, or that they had
ever masqueraded under the respectable
disguise of her employers.
But when the SHOWS melted off in the
spring one little silent witness came to
light, and told his pitiful story against
her; it was the dog Jingle, found dead in
the shrubbery, his throat cut and his
frozen eyes still upturned in reproachful
agony.-Harper's Baaar.