The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1877-03-29

N%MA NNA4fNt A. aNA WN3t ~ NAaNatAN
the hogse, come up whan your bellys
iali, aud III show il to you.
With thsi Tony goes down the WAY
be came and walks into the Kitchen,
where little girl was washing dishes. -
She gave him some bread and meat and
talked quite freely. To biz sstonisbneut
abe told him that The old man had lo,s Of
money In the house. She'd seen Il. she
told him that she lived Ia the village and
went hsme every night. lie mus, have
made favorable report, because Il
wasn't long after that when Bin ks,chum
who was the rIngleAder OF the river
gang, thought he'd take look at the
bouse. SO ap be goes, playipg the part
Of peddler, aud drops ths Deates, little
pack 10 front Of the pace when be sees
the sign. There IL was sure enough,
sicely lsItered in red on q white ground,
and inviting all burglars, house breakers,
sneak thieves and assAssins TO come aud
take what they could get. The house
stood a good ways back from the road,
and ss Bill went up the vide path be had
q good chance to take In The dwelling.
II was large brick house with high
stone foundation aud an iron stoop.
There wasn't 3 shutter, a pair of blinds
on the place. And II anybody had tried
to set it a 1re he wonld have given up
the job as 8 bad one.
kstchum got In through the window.
lie had lot OF things in bis pack that
tickled the fancy OF the girl, and he let
her amuse herself with them while be
ate sandwich which she had given him,
and asked her lot of sly questions. But
he couldn't get much out of her, simply
because she didn't know anything, so be
made up bis mind to interview the old
man and pokes about I'LL he got up stairs,
and was hailed over the bslusters: Well
now then, what do you want, hay?
Nish gloves, necktise, soaps sheep,
says ketchum, pushing up.
Didn't you read the warning to ped
dlers on the fence. Ain't you afraid OF
the dogs? shouted the old man.
Warnin'! says Bill, giving himself
away.
All right, sings out the old man, quick
CT than lightning. You're no peddler.
You want TO see my property. Come up.
I'll show 1t TO you.
Well, this stumped Bill good deal,
but he plucked up aud followed Calcott
into an upper room, keeping one eye
round him and taking in everything but
making great show OF trade.
This room, says Calcott, is where
sleep. There isn't any lock on the door,
and this room Ia where keep my money.
There's the safe-l never lock il. Here,
III show you what's In it--siand still
because when | pull the door open il
starts a telegraph machine, and three OF
the best men in the country start from
the sillagc-they're officers. With that
he jerked tho door open.
Bill wasa little nervous, and be could
not help showing it.
If any of your gang should csme at
night III put you up to trick--cut the
wires first they run across the road below
the big gate. Don't be nervous. Do
you see that!-iPs gold. Feel the weight
of it. These are diamonds. Can you
tell real spark when you see II? |
should say they were worth, in tue mark
ct, between $s0, 900 and $40, 900.
The old man kept up this kind of pat
ter, standing there in his old calico
wrapper, Bill Ketchum watching him
with one eye and wondering whether be
was insane or just the smartest man he'd
ever met. He lad sn idea that it was
just the easiest thing TO knock him over
as he stood there aud walk off with the
plunder. But that hint abont The tele-
graph stopped bin. Then the old man
showed him out, and when he got into
the ball be says: You're the first pedder
ever saw that carried revolver In his
breast pocket
Bill started little, for lie had ali idea
that CAlcott must have seen it,
Iio, no! says the old man; SO you have
got oneY
The last thing he said to him as he was
going down the steps was You're not
smart enough for this job, my man.
ketchum told his fellows that he was
never so clean winded in his life. felt
so mean when was coming away, says
be, that Ia half miud to reform and
cut the profession.
Well, not TO make The story too long,
the upshot Of Il was that ketchum,
fellow by the name Of Weller, and Jack
Frost put up the job 10 crack the old
mans place. Ketehum and Frost,
think, went into the business from
kind OF pride. They considered they had
been challenged and ii was point Of
honor to take the old man at his word.
They got up there one dark night in
Nay aud laid by till long sfler midnight.
Thea they got over the fence and snesked
up 10 The house. They we're all heavily
armed, and, ] forgot to say, were delayed
sometime looking for the telegraph wire,
which they couldn't end, Of course, there
not being any. Fancy their surprise
when, after crawling round the place for
a spot TO break 10, they found that the
front door was unlocked aud the bal
dark. 1t had been agreed that old Cal
colt should be shot at sight II be inter.
fered.
There was good deal Of anxiety 10
I q. laaA.n..a.-. II -. - -.