The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-05-05
two men working at the safe locks by tho
stream of light thrown from a dark Ian.

tAStc "aS tuC OuIlluc Ol man DOunu
and.gagged upon the floor, but could only
conjecture that 1t was Tom,N for L could
not tscc distinctly.
There was nicely Gagged, for it would
| be impossible for me to draw those heavy
attracting. notice. And the
bankiwas being robbed, that was evident.
How could 1 prevent rit2, a | , could not get
out;I could not reach Tom. Suddenly l
remembered the. telegraph office. on tho
| second floor. If I could summon help
from ~, it was only five miles, end
there was q long job for the burglars
before they could open the safe.
, could creep around the staircase If
one OF those busy men turned his hcaI I
was lost. softly crept out on all fours,
slowly, wa!chfully, and gained the stairs.
Up dartcd, blessing my Indian rubber
shoes, till gained the door of the tele-
graph office. All was dark there and
dared not strike match.
l listened, aud then leaving the door
open, groped my way to the we'll known
desk and gave the signal for c.. II
could hear my heart throb as l waited
| for the answer. 1t came Still working
III tho dark, l sent this message:
t"Burglars in the Baysvil!e Bank vault
Watchman gagged and bound! Can you
send help ?" ~, f.. ..... =.
. Again the agony Of suspense IN listening,
but at last the sound reached me:
"Will send help immediately" -
l crept TO the head of the staircase,
afraid the clear ring of the instrument
had been heard Ill the vault, but no one
camo up stairs. The windows of tho
telegraph Office faced the street, 80 re-
turned, bolted myself IN safely and sat
down TO watch.
! The town clock gave one resonant
stroke, breaking the deep silence, and no
signs Of life were visible in the long
stretch of road leading to G.. was
numb with cold, wishing heartily that l
had not left Toms basket under the stair
case, thinking regretfully of my own cozy
bed, when1 heard arar Off the sound Of
horses feet.
No sister Anne, in Bluebcard's tower,
was ever more watchful than was then.
Would the burglars take the alarm?
The building made q corner of two
streets, and l saw eight mounted men
dash up the road, separate, and while four
dismcuntcd in front, four went to the rear.
The burglars were unpreparcd for this
flank movement, for while the police in
front were laundering at the main entrance,
the robbers rushed to the rear basement
door right INTO the arms of the police sta
toned there.
could hear tho hubbub, pistol shots
fired, the scuflle OF feet, cries, oaths and
general confusion; and ! slipped down
stairs and out Of the now deserted main
entrance and ran home.
Everybody was in bed, and I went to
my room and had good crying spell, and
comfUrleu NY lialf frozen Duuy III double
blankets. where soon fell asleep.
All this was on Frid ay night, and had
no teaching to do until Monday, 30 I slept
late, but coming down, found all the
family prepared to make heroine of me.
81 never knew until mother told me
this morning." said Tom, 'that it wasn't
grandpa who sent the telegraph to c..
BY Jove, Olive, you're spunky, if you arc
little. 81 -.
81 gave up when four of them pounced
on me from one Of the upper rooms. They
must have got in during the day and hid
there" r.
I tried to make the knights promise not
to tell my adventure, but could not.
Before night all Baysville knew how Olive
Hudson caught the burglars. was IN
wires came this message:
''What docs Olive Hudson look likc2
everybody In Dryden is talking about her
great exploit" ~.
flashed back. s8.
,"What 90 you suppose such woman
would look llke2 She is nearly six feet
tall, broad shouldered, and loud-voiccd,
a perfect Elephant"
"Was it really yourself, Elephant"
'tDcar Lion, 1t was!"
"Do you know, I want to see you. :,
am going to New York to-day, but I'll
be back next spring" ...r..s
If he came to Baysvllle he did not sec
me. Iran away in q fit of shyncss.
In March wonderful thing happened.
My mothers brother, who had been seven
teen years--nearly all NY lifetime-in
Cuba, came out to New York, found me
out and took me into life of case and
luxury, making mo pet in his splendid
house. IIe was u bachelor, over fifty
years of age, handsome and we'll informed,
and with large wealth. :
He introduced me to old friends of his,
and my circle of acquaintance widened
every day. was entirely happy, for We
loved each other well. = ', &.
One day Uncle George brought homo to
dinner a stranger, who he introduced as:
THE son OF my old friend, Olive, Mr..
Roberts"
l made myself agreeable. as in duty
bound, to Mr.. Roberts, a man of thirty or
thcrcabouts, with face that was down.
right ugly, but pleasant from the express
sion of frank good humor and intelligence
upon It.. We talked Of everything, and
surprised at the congenlality of taste we
soon discovered. In an animated dis.
cussion of hcroines, Mr.. Roberts, turning
to Unclc George, SAID:
"You were kindly inquiring this morn
ing about my fortune since father. died,
but | did not tell you one little episode.
Before was fortunate enough to obtain
my present lucrative situation, I was for q
time telegraph operator in q small place
called Dryden, and then I heard of real
heroine, of whom the world will probably
never hear.". =
81 knew what was coming, but kept nay
face perfectly composed to listen. When
the story was finished, giving Uncle
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