Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1880-06-25

through 10 Littleton. | told him |
should go through if the thing could
possibly be done, He said he was very
anxious TO so. and rs he had no baggage
| told him to jump in and make HIM
self rs comfortable rs possible. was
gathering up my lines when the hoStler
came up and asked me if knew that
one Of my horses had cut himself bad
| ", Jumped out and went with him
found that one Of the animals had got
a deep cork cut on the off foot. gave
such directions rs | considered neceS-
Sery, and was about To turn away when
the hoStlcr remarked that he thought |
came alone. told him did
Then where did YOU get that paSSen-
ser?' said he.
He lust got in,' answered
'Siot III from where
Il don't know.
We'll new" said the hoStler, that's
kind of curious. There amt been no
such man nj the house. and know
there amt been none at any of the
neighborS.
Lets have look ut his face, said |,
we can get that much At amy rate. 20
you go back with me, and when get
into the pung just hold your lantern SO
the light will shine into his face
He did rs | wished. and AS | stepped
into the pung got fair view of such
portions of my passengers face rs were
not mutiicd up, | saw a short, thick
frame, full, hard features. and could
almost see that there was 4 heavy beard
under the chin. thought of the man
whom the postmaster had described to
me; but did not think seriously upon
it until had started, Perhaps had
gone half Il mile when | noticed that
the mail bag wasn't in It's place under
my feet.
"Halloo." says |, holding up my
horses little. where's my mai2'
My passenger sat ON Il seat behind
NE, and turned towards him.
Here is y bag Of some kind that
Slipped back under my feet he said,
giving it kick rs though he would
shove it forward.
just at this moment my horses lum-
hered into deep snow-drift, and | was
forced to get out and tread down the
snow in front of them. and lead them
1
through it.
This took me all Of fifteen minutes;
and when | got III again ! pulled the
mail bag forward and got my feet upon
it. As | was doing this saw the man
taking something from his lap, beneath
the buffalo and put il into his breast
pocket. This thought was pistol.
had caught II gleam of Il barrel i'll the
starlight, and when | had time to reflect
| knew | could not be mistaken.
About this time | began to think
somewhat seriously. From what | had
heard and seen, | soon made up my
mind that the individual behind me not
only wanted to rob me of my mail, but
was prepared to rob me of my life II
resisted him he would shoot me- and
perhaps he meant to perform that de-
lectable operation ut any rate. While
| was bordering the horses plunged into
another deep snow drift, and was
again forced to get out and tread down
the snow before them. | asked my
passenger if he wouldn't help me. but
he didn't feel very WE'LL and wouldn't
try; so | worked MI alone, and was all
/
team through the drifts.
When | got into the sleigh again,
began to feel for the mail bag with my
feet. found it were had left it, but
when attempted to withdraw my foot
discovered it had become fast in some
thing-I thought it was the buffalo, and
tried to kick it clear; but the more |
kicked the more closely it held. |
reached down my hand, and after feel
ing about n few moments, | found that
my foot was in the mail bag. felt
again, and found my hand in among
the packages Of letters and papers.
ran my fingers over the edges of the
opening, and became assured that the
stout leather had been cut with knife.
Hero was Il discovery | began to
wish | had taken little more fore
thought before leaving Danbury; but rs
! knew making such wishes was only a
waste Of time, quickly gave it up. and
began to consider what | had better do
under existing circumstances. ! wasn't
long III making up my mind upon a
few essential points First the man be-
| hind me was u villain; second, he had
cut open the mail bag and robbed il Of
some valuable mattcr--he must have
known the money letters by their size
and shape; third, he meant to leave the
stage on the first opportunity; and
fourthly, he was prepared to shoot me
if attempted to arrest or detain him.
resolved these things in my mind,
and pretty soon thought Of u course to
pursue. knew that to get my hands
safely upon the rascal must take him
WHOLLY unawares, and this ! could not
fdo while he was behind me, for his
eyes were upon me all the timc--so
must resort to stratagem. Only u little
distance ahead was house, and an old
farmer named Longee lived there. and
directly before il huge snow bank
stretched across the road, through
which track had been cleared with
shovels.
As We approached the cot, | saw =
light in the front room, as ] felt conf
dent should, for the old man generally
sat up until the stage went by ! drove
on, and when nearly opposite the build
ing, stood up, as ] had frequently done
4. IL. 4 IL.