Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1884-06-11

slider. The horse had stopped on the
opposite side OF the stream as though
looking for his rider, and for a moment I
thought of firing a pistol ball at him,
However, I did not waste my powder,
and in a little while the animal turned.
and trotted off and was soon out of
sight.
Now, what should I do ? OF course
I must get out of the wood; and to do
that safely I must go back by the way
We had come. looked to my pistols
and started. The sun gave no mistake.
By and by I heard the tread of a horse
aiead, and as quickly as possible I found
shelter behind q huge pine tree. The
horse came along within a hundred
yards of me. The horseman was my
honest countryman who feared I might
be a robber, and the horse was the one
1 had owned an hour before. The an
imal still foamed at the mouth, but can
tered along without apparent trouble.
So the "pison" had not been 80 very
deadly; and, moreover, the punching in
the gullet had not been without its ef-
feet. Surely the plan had been a cute
one, and the game had been adroitly
played-only I had CHANGED to gain one
effective play before their game could
be finished.
remained behind the tree until the
horseman disappeared, and then moved
on again. Had been nearer to the
rascal I might have intercepted him,
but as it was the thing could not we'll be
done. hurried forward with all pos
sible speed, and in a little while after I
reached the highway I had the good
fortune to be overtaken by a man in a
wagon. When I first hailed him he
drew a pistol, and seemed disipclined
to stop; but in q moment more he rec
ognized me al one whom he had seen
on the road beyond Clayville the day
before, and finally pulled up and adj
dressed me. Isoon convinced him that
l was an honest man, and he took me
in. He was bound to Booneton, and
was glad that he had found safe COM
pany; but I did not tell him what I had
discovered. I explained the fact of my
being afoot by telling how my horse
had failed me by the wayside.
I reached Booneton by the middle of
the forenoon, where found two shrewd,
intelligent-looking officers, to whom /
communicated my secret, and together
we laid a plan for finding the robbers.
On the following day we disguised u
selves and proceeded to that point in
the road where the trained horse had
turned off into che woods, but we found
nothing. On the next day we went
again, and this time we had the good
fortune to meet my honest-looking
horse trader astride of the very animal
that had carried me to the brook. He
did not recognize me, and readily
stopped when my companions halted
him; and, as may be supposed, we
captured him without much trouble.
At first he expressed much surprise, but
when he came to recognize me he
ceased his railing and protested a will
1ngness to 60 with us where we pleased.
We carried him to Booneton, and while
the officers were taking him into the
tavern I took good care that his horse
was safely housed in the stable. The
fellow gave his name as Mark Sachett,
and swore that he knew nothing of any
robbers or anything of that kind, and
touching the affair of the horse, he de.
clared that al something which he
could not explain. He said he saw me
when I was carried into the woods, and
as the horse I had left with him began
to revive he had mounted and followed
me. Beyond this, we could get nothing
from him.
But I had an idea of my OWL. I be
lieved that if there was q hunt of rob
bers anywhere in the woods, the prison
er's horse would take us there, anc
when I gave my opinion to the officers
they jumped at the conclusion. It wa.
now only an hour past noon, and in les
than an hour we had twenty men, vel
mounted and well armed, ready to follow
us. The black horse was led out, sad
died and .bridled, and I took my sea
upon his back, and he behaved well a
he started off. In fact, he seemed tx
like the company of tho other horses
and to be proud of leading them. Whe,
we reached the wood I gave him tn,
rein andshe turned off with me JUS
wherehahad turned with me before
but hesdidnot dash away this time a
he hadhdone on that former occasion
Being. insthe society of steady horse
seemed@to sober him down, and he LEI
the way as q well-disposed pionee
should
On the very path I had been befo,r'
ACROSS the brook where I had mad
my leap-and then away through tn
dark, deep wood beyond. By and by W,
came to another stream upon the opposit,
side Of which arose a high perpen
dicular bluff, and it appeared to us tina
there could not possibly be any passag,
that way. But the black horse pushed
into the stream, and when he reached
the other side he walked down q few
rods in the shallow water, and the,
turning to the right he entered a mar
row pass which had been before invisi
BILE, d.
A little way through this curious pas
sage, and WI came into a deep, circular
basin or hollow, walledin upon all side
by an almost perpendicular bank, ant
here, sitting beneath some small trees
we found six men. They started u
when they saw us. but as our pistol
were quickly out they did not offer re
sistance. One of them, however, mad,
q dash towards a point in the wall di
rectly behind my two companions, bu,
he was quickly stopped, and as my eye,
followed the course he had taken I dis
covered an open place in the face o
the bluff. like the mouth of a cavern,
! need not tell how we overcame the
villains, nor need / transcribe the thou
sand and one wicked things they said
Suffice it for me to tell that we secured
them, and that we then examined til.
opening in the bank which I had dis
covered. It proved, as I had suspect
ed, to be the mouth Of q large cavern
within which we found plenty of arms
and ammunition, and also many valua
bles which had been taken from muir
dered travellers. The whole thing had
happened very fortunately for us. Had
the robbers been in the cave when We
entered the basin, or had they been ID
possession Of their firearms, we might
have had some hot work, for they we're
desperate characters; but we fairly
caught them mapping.
And one thing more: / discovered