The Portland daily press., 1875-01-23
mo, sir" said the man.

mo, Slr,'' said the man. +
"Then, YOU shall be-"
The application for the constables change
of duty was doubtless made, for he disap-
peared from his accustomed patrol.
During the next day or two Baseton be-
came loquacious on the subject, and in con-
versation with Mr.. Glisser, who took very
kindly interest in the matter, owned that he
had changed his opinion about the manner OF
the robberies. He was convinced, he said.
that if the thief came by night, he would
have been caught long before, out that every
body was on the wrong scent, and that the
thefts were really committed in the hustle of
closing for the evening, and then, not being
found out till the morning, it was naturally
supposed that the thief came in the night
Mr.. Glisser was very much struck by this
view, which he commended highly. and
urged increased vigilance about the time
spoken Of q
While this was going on, there had been
no fresh depredations from the counters, ana
Constable Lowciffe had been absent from
duty, although no one seemed TO have no
ticed it. When the visitors departed at the
close of the day, all the interior of the build
ing became depressing enough as the light
| faded away, and there were no places more
spectral in their aspect than those where
| clustered most closely the white statues,
which were plentifully sprinkled about.
| NVnlDDS. v CuuSGS, DdCCuuSCS, dEu ApUliOos
| Grecian hunters, scriptural and NEUROLOGICAL
| figures, all looked equally ghostly in their
dim white, when the twilight or night had
fallen upon them. So, in the gray of the
morning, all the statuary looked mystic and
| unearthly enough as the stony figures looked
down from their pedestals; but none looked
more sepulchral than did tall sheeted fig
ure which occupied a pedestal slightly
screened-come from which direction the
la, NJrrNc
| This figure might have been taken in the dis
lance, and in the dim light, for Jewish
priest, or Druid, or anything of the kind;
but had any one come near enough to inspect,
it would have been seen that the long robe
was of linen, not stone, and that the face was
less that of an ancient hero than modern
one. And what was rather strange, this par
ticular PEDESTAL was empty all day, and only
occupied at night. 30.
Standing at this particular spot, any one
| could see in every direction for consdera-
BILE distance, and there was scarcely any hid
ing place near; the Druid on his pedestal had
| no doubt reckoned on these facts having great
| weight with the marauder. Several nights
had gone by, and no discovery made, yet Ned
Lowclife crept silently to his selected sta
ton, and assuming his disguise as the
shrouded statue, patiently watched all
| through the darkness; so patiently, that no
| imagined that he differed from the effigies
around. 7tlz sr@--fs
1t was yet comparatively early in his watch
| on a certain night, and young moon threw
| just sufficient light here and there to make
| everything more uncertain than usual, when
Lowclife, finding himself little cramped
from standing so long in one position, pre-
pared to make one OF the guarded shifts he
was forced 20 indulge in during the evening;
| hut % plunnOaod aarotI1l1y tO draw
one leg behind the other, be stopped. rolled
his eyes eagerly round, and then remained
so motionless he scarcely breathed. With
step almost noiseless-but not quite so for
such listeners ears-a man glided round
the angle of counter close by, and stand
ing close by Lowcliffe, paused, stopped,
looked along the floor in every direction,
then sat upon an adjacent pedestal, and
leaning against the legs OF a Hercules, lis
tened. Ii the process of perspiration were not
wholly silent one, Aowcliffe would bave been
betrayed, for the cold beads came upon his
| forehead, as he saw how near he was to dis
| covery. The man was sitting on the very
next pedestal, block which almost touched
his own. There he waited quietly for while
not very long, but long enough to assure him
| self that no patrol was coming that way; then
| he rose, and in a few steps was at the nearest
| counter, and had tried key in the lock; one
| or two attempts failed, but at last a door
| opened, and his head and shoulders were lost
| to sight; he reappeared with small box,
| which he placed on the ground before him,
and then tried one Or two keys. Again the
| lock yielded, the lid was thrown back, and
| few articles were rapidly transferred to the
| mans pocket.
| Some object, however, seemed unknown tc
him, and he held it up against the dim light,
endeavoring to make out what it was. To his
| horror, one of the statues sprang from its ped
| estal toward him. 1t was instantaneous, but
| the fash was enough; the figure all in white
| moved, and leaped upon him; then, with a
| fearful yell, which rang from end to end of
| the building, the thief fell in fit upon the
| floor. Alarmed by the scream, two or three
| officers were speedily at the spot, and turin
| ing on their lanterns, were nearly as much
astonished in their turn to see white-sheet-
ed figure standing by the side of man in
| commissions.
When their momentarv Surprlseshad ceased
upon their discovering who the sheeted figure
was, they proceeded to unfasten the PROSTATE
mans scarf and collar, sprinked him with
water, and lifted him from the ground; his
struggles ceased, and few long breaths an
nounced that he was looming to-" fftt Fl
81 don't know him. said one of the con-
stables. lu4 - -5sg
81 do, thoughw exclaimed Lowcliffe.
''Well of all the parties as 1 could have sup
| pc sed, / never could have supposed him.
| Why, its that blessed Gisser-from the stall
next to old Baselton; a fellow that looks as if
butter wouldn't melt in his mouth"
''Where am T?-who are you?" said the
| miserable culprit.
ooh, we're particular friends of yours" re-
| turned the officer. s-t1 81
"But saw saw one of those things
move,'' said the man, looking timidly round
with dreadful shudder. Lowclffe had strip
ped off his white raiment by this time, and SO
did not shock the wretched Glisser's eyes.
1--WE will tell you all about that in the
morning." said the constable. 'What you
have got to do is to come along with u.s."
II was so-he had to "come along" and Ell
rectly the exhibitors and their staff mustered
| in the building, the intelligence few like
breaking into the stalls at nights. y
1t was shock to large circle OF his ac-
quaintances and admirers, who could hardly
believe it, and when, on his lodgings being
searched, the bulk of all the articles missing
from the counters was found, the thing
seemed more incredible still. Mr.. Baselton
was especially astonished, because he had
made quite confidant of the young man,
and had the modification of remembering
how he himself had revealed to Mr.. G!isser
the various plans for detecting the thief; and
that, if it had not been for Lowcliffe insisting
on the ruse of attributing the piltering to the
afternoon instead of the night he probably
would have put the young man on his guard
against the scheme which had proved success
full He recovered his watch and other arti-
c,es, paid his hundred pounds cheerfully, and
gained reputation with the force" for the
extreme readiness with which he put his
name down to their subscriptions for deserv-
ing objects.
Mr.. Glisser's proved very bad case, and
he was lost to sight for some years after the
date of the Exhibition of 1S62.-Ch0mber's
Journal. IT