River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-05-27


to explain the stoppage to the pretty
young girl whom | considered myself
sort offs protector, but, as said, she
was at the very opposite end of the
train, and was in haste now. There
must have been good laugh in several
of the carriages when the cause of our
stoppage got whispered about.
Ii seemed to me that the train was
taken into custody as soon as it was
stopped there.
"Oi course you have the carriage
doors all locked, and I'll go down with
you while you open them one by one.
My men are in possession OF the plat
form"
This was said to me by Davis "a de-
tective officer whom / knew pretty we'll
by now, having had good bit to do
with him about this Warwickshire rob-
berry.
ut is no use," | said before we start
ed, "the train was searched, as you may
say, at Rugby. Every passenger has
undergone close scrutiny, / can tell
you. What causes such scientific ple-
parations for us here?"
A telegram received ten minutes
ago." he answered. sit seems that two
of the thieves we are DIGGING are in this
train in clever DISCUSSES. We have had
pretty full particulars, though the dis
covery wasn't made until after you left
the junction. Have you noticed
dropping his voice a little here-"a
young lady and gentleman together in
either carriage?'
fnIt 1f Il 4nh
breath as he spoke. NO." said, quite
in hurry, "No young lady and gentle
man together; but there may be plenty
in the train. What if here are, though?
There was no young lady or gentleman
among the robbers p
Among the robbers" rejoined Davis,
with suppressed enjoyment twas a wo-
man who'd make herself into anything;
and you must own that a gentleman
with dark long beard isn't bad for
lady known to us pretty we'll by her
thick red hair and cut under her lip?"
"But the young lady?' ] asked, cog
itatipg this.
"AhI the young lady. True enough;
well what would you say now, if told
you she grew out of that boy with the
closely cut, black hair that we're after"
81 remembered the pretty plaits and
the loose falling hair. | remembered
the bewilderment in the eyes which en-
tirely had their natural expression, and
didn't answer this at all.
81 wish [ had a good chance of catch
ing the old fellow as / have of catch
ing the woman and boy" continued
Davis as we moved slowly past the
locked luggage-vsn. "Iknow they're
here and that shall recognize them
under any disguise; but we've no clue
yet to the other rascal. It's most ag-
gravating that by some means we've
lost sight of the biggest rogue of all.
Come along"
| did not come along feeling very
stupidity glad that there was all tie
train to search before we could reach
the carriage at the other end, where sat
the girl whom | had in way taken I'M
der my protection.
"Wheu are we to be allowed to leave
this train, pray Call me cab," cried
the deaf old lady, plaintively, as we
reached her carriage, and found her
gazing out in most evident and utter
ignorance of all that was going on
around her. 81 am locked in, Ga'ad DO
you hear?'
heard, ay, sharp enough. / only
wished she could hear me as readily.
Davis stood aside watching while l I'M
locked her door and helped her down.
Then, seeing her helplessness and her
countless packages, he beckoned port
er to her, winking expressiyely to call
his attention to probable shilling.
Carriage after carriage We examined;
and though Davis detected no thief, he
turned away more and more hopefully
from each. He was so sure they were
there, and that escape was impossible.
We reached the last carriage in the
line, and now my heart beat in the odd
est way possible.
as this compartment empty, then"
asked Davis while my fingers were act
ually shaking as | put my key IN the
door of the centre one. Empty and
dark"
even if it had been empty it
wouldn't have been dark" muttered,
looking in. "Hello! what's come to the
lampp
1 might we'll ask what was come to
the lamp, for the compartment was as
dark as if it had never been lighted;
yet had not / myself and watched
the lighted lamp put in at Rugby?
And-the carriage was empty, too!
"Why was thls?" asked the detec-
tive, turning sharply upon me. "Why
was not the lamp lighted?"
But the lamp was lighted and burn
ing now as sensibly as the others-if we
could have seen it. AS we soon dis
covered, the glass was covered nv
kind of tarpaulin intensely black and
strongly adhesive, and the carriage was
as completely dark as If no lamp had
been there at all. The perplexity in
Davis face was as great as my own,
when l told him who had travelled
here. "They couldn't have left the
train here, at any rate" he said; and l
knew that as well as he did.
But you have guessed the end. Dur
ing those few minutes we stopped on
the line, the two thieves-.darkening
the lamp even after had left them,
and using their own key-had left the
carriage under the cover of the dark
ness, managing their escape in their
black dress out into the blackness CT
the night as cleverly as they HAD man.
aged their theft and subsequent con-
cealment. But how could they have
depended on this unusual delay-this
exquisite opportunity given them in
the utter darkness, close to- the city
yet at no station? When / officially
made my deposition, and ex-
planned the cause of my stop
page, something of the truth seemed to
break upon us all; but it wasn't for
good while that it settled into certain
ty. Then it got clear to everybody
that the old scoundrel had duped us
more ingeniously than the younger
ones. AS the incapable old lady (deaf
as a stone, and SO bind that she had to
peer through her glittering glasses, with
eyes always half closed, and so hungry
that l had to stop the train for lunch
con basket he had PLAYED upon us the
neatest trick of all. Where on earth
were the thick iron-gray hair and whis-
kers by which we were to have identi-
fed him? But by the time the police
saw the whole thing clearly it was too
late to followlup the clue TO him.
The cab which had taken the eccen-
trio old lady with her parcels and flow
ers from Euston was lost in the city,
and could not be tracked. A high re-
ward was offered for information, but
no one ever won it. My firm belief is
that it was no legitimately licensed cab
az oil h,t ono heloDuinU 10 tho GANG