News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1882-06-22
A. SMART THIEF.
How a Good-Looking Guest Got q
Nights Lodging and $33 for
Nothing.
from the somerville Courier. I

"Do you see that man standing
along just behind the starters stand p
said a gentleman to reporter last
Tuesday at the Jockey Club grounds.
81 never saw him but once before, and
don't know his name, but will go you
$40 that he will be winner on to. days
races"
The reporter glanced in the direction
indicated, and noticed tall man, ap-
parently about forty years old, calmly
surveying the grand stand through a
small pair of field glasses. A very
handsome man he was, with an intellec-
tual face and the air of one who had
seen something of the world, with the
advantage of having had full share oi
good things as he went along. His
dress was fsultless, but not such as tc
suggest man of fashion.
=" How do you know that he will win p
asked the reporter.
II don't know it, replied the gen.
tleman, "but know that man to be q
keen one. He was the principal actor
in an incident that came to my notice in
Atlanta last winter. L happened one
day to be dining at the Markham House
when that man came in. H9 wore a
huge ulster overcoat, Gne skirts Of which
nearly reached his heels. He left the
overcoat in the cloak room and came
into the dining hall attired as neatly as
you see him now. When he finished
his dinner L saw him endeavoring to pass
the clerk, who, on account of the
crowded condition of the house, had
been placed there to take up tickets or
cash.
"1'he clerk was too quick for him, and,
after a good deal of talk, the man admit
ted that he had no money, and the clerk,
who was in no charitable mood, sug.
gested that some portion of his fine
apparel would stand good for the price
of his dinner. 'All right, said the man,
you may have my trousers if You won't
take my word that l will pay You to-
morrow The offer WIGS accepted at
once, and few minutes later the man
with the big ulster left the cloak room
with his overcoat buttoned closely
about him, and bis trousers apparently
rolled up few inches to keep them out
of the mud.
81 learned the rest of the story in o
confidential way on my next visit to
Atlanta. One afternoon, perhaps about
the same date as the above incident, a
man, answering the description of the
one you see down there, entered the
other hotel, the Kimball House, and
registered in the usual way. He in
formed the clerk that he was not feeling
well, did not want any supper, and
would be glad to have room at once,
Quite early next morning the electric
alarm connected with the room to
which the stranger had been assigned
seemed to be unusually agitateG. Il
boy was sent up, and returned. saying
that the man up there was raising the
devil about somebody robbipg him, and
wanted to see the proprietor immedi-
ately. Some thief had stolen his
trousers and all the money he had about
him.
'The boy hunted up Mr.. Scoville as
soon as possible, and it took that gentle
men a good half hour to calm down his
guest and persuade him to accept new
pair of trousers and say nothing about
it. Keep quiet, my dear sir, only keep
quiet, begged Mr.. ScoviIle. MY house
is full of people, most of them having
money and vaiuables about them, and if
this were to get out it would empty the
place in day After time the new
garments arrived, and as Scoville came
down stairs with the man before break
fast, they first walked into the Office,
where $83 so, the amount claimed to
have been in the stolen trousers, was
counted out and placed in the latter's
hand, with the request, many times re-
peated. Don't say any thing about this,
for Heavens sake
"About 10 o'clock the same morning,
as it was afterward learned, the gentle
man who had dined at the Markham
House on the day previous came into
the office of that hotel, and with with
ering glance at the clerk, handed him
81 and called for bundle that he had
left there. The clerk meekIy received
the money, delivered the bundle con-
tanning one pair of trousers, and the
stranger went straight to the depot,
where he bought ticket and departed
for distant city.
"Quite naturally Mr.. Scovilie used
every effort to discover the. thief who
had robbed one of his guests, ard having
no success he after time related the
story confdentially to Mr.. Huff of tie
Markham House, hoping for little ad-
vice. Huff had been little ashamed of
himself for refusing to trust man who
SO promptly parted with his apparel,
and who SO promptly paid up next day.
But Seoville's story set him to thinking,
and in comparing notes they canae to
the conclusion that the man you saw
down there was a sharper. They also
concluded to say nothing about it but
such things don't keep worth cent,
you know"