The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1880-01-15
FAIRLY CAUGHT.

stone. Many years ago, soon after L
had learned my business, the firT in
whose employ l was undertook the erec-
ton of a gentleman's mansion, and |
was sent TO execute the ornamental
work. The village near to which the
mansion was built was on the shore of
an estuary of the Bay of Morecambe,
not far from market-town whose name
l need not give. As my work would keep
me from home for several weeks, a good
lodging was most desirable thing; but
although / tried to get accommodation
in n private house, l failed, and was
forced to lodge in the village inn, the
Lord Admiral.
Among those who were in the habit of
frequenting the aforesaid hostelry was
man of singular habits and odd temper.
His home was about a mile from the
village, on the side of q lane leading to
a couple of farms. His house, like HIM
self, was a queer one. Originally it had
been built for the storage of corn, the
produce of fields at a distance from the
farmstead. Somehow it had ceased to be
needed for that purpose; so its owner
turned it into a dwelling-house, and as
such it was now occupied by the afore-
said strange man. 1t was divided into
three apartments on the ground-6oor,
one of which, a very large one, was set
apart and used as kind of museum, its
occupant being a suffer of birds and
small uuadrupeds. When he had no
work of this sort for other persons, he
worked for stock, and this large room
was his warehouse.
He was a man of ill-temper and loose
habits, and for some time had borne a
dubious character. When people were
asked why he was suspected, they could
not give satisfactory reply. =" lie
lives" they would say, g without doing
work equal to his expenditure, which
looks bad" As l got to know him,
found that he had an unamiable tenn
per; was morose, sour, and at times
passionate. He was also fond of dis
play, given to betting. and, like all such,
led a loose, uneven life, oftener loiter-
ing about than at work. So l did not
wonder that well meaning people did
not like him.
He mostly came on wet nights to the
Lord Admiral As we became acquaint-
ed, ne invited me TO look over his col
lection of birds and quadrupeds. / was
pleased with what / saw. He had, in
deed, good collection, and, as well as
| could Judge, had done his work well
He had also good assortment of but
terllies and moths; and, in a corner
close to the ceiling, had what he called
a butterfly breeding-box, which he sale
belonged to his son, young man of my
own age, also given to bird-stufins
amusements.
But was most taken up with two ami
mails which differed from the rest. One
was a beautiful dog, and the other
IslSttS aGtltroe-a lamb with the rudi
ments of a fifth leg, and some other alb
ul har RAfs GfI
gotten The old man said he had stuffed
both for their original owners, who haC
somehow failed TO take them away
They were placed at one end of tht
room, one in each corner, away from
the window, and close to the wall, where
except in strong daylight, they could no
be easily seen. The connection of thes,
particulars with my story will be seen il
the sequel.
l had been in the village about 81,
weeks, when the neighborhood wa
aroused and alarmed one morning b,
the report of the robbery of jeweler'
shop in the market-town already re
ferred to, that had been effected durin;
the preceding night. Much valuabl
property had been taken. This rObber-
had been effected in such way as lie,
TO the belief that a gang of practicet
thieves had done it. The prevailin,
question was, - Do the robbers liv
among US, or have they come from
distancePn This query was still goin,
from mouth to mouth when we wer
startled, astounded indeed, by the re
port of a second robbery of the sam
promises, and on the night following b
the breaking into and purloining of
provision warehouse in our own village
Were | writing fiction, would not hav
made the robbers pay so soon a secont
visit To the jewelers., rs such an &c
would have been deemed preposterous
but | am relating what really occurred
and SO am forced to say what l hav
said.
The iewe1er had been so taken up b
efforts To find out the thieves and rt
gam his first loss that he had not place
additional guard over what was left
besides, he was sure, he said, tn;
thieves would not think of reYisitin
him for q long time. As for the pre-
vision dealer, he said in my hearing thi
he had no fear of his place being ei
tered, as he believed robbers woald M
care to touch property so bulky and I
such Inferior value as his. But he ha
reckoned without his host; for he ha
lost hne ham, a large lot of tea,
deal OF spices, few boxes of cigar
and indeed portion of most of WIN;
he dealt in. The excitement and alarl
occasioned by these robberies were gre;
and widespread
Two patches of detectives, one fro
Lancaster and the other from Kenda
came TO our village to see what the
could find out. They were not short