, 1885-06-05
a THIEF CHASE.

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been reported for a Detroit paper.
/ was living at that time in Walker
vile. There Is no accounting for the
freaks Of a person who will live in
Walkerville, so INT sunday night went
TO church. Why / did so | have never
since been able to satisfactorily O. plain
to myself, but anyhow the result taught
me a lesson that ! have never ceased to
profit Ly
when / got back to my room found
everything in confusion. Ny trunk
had been broken open, things "of no
value except to the owner were scat
tered around on the floor, and articles
that were valuable to both owner and
thief we're taken. Unfortunately /
boarded with a Christian family who
were all addicted to church-going, and
so the thief had ample opportunity 70
select such belongings OF mine as suited
his fastidious fancy without interrupt
ton.
While we had been laying up moth
proof and thief-proof treasures be had
been accommodating the wealth that per-
isheth. In the first few moments that !
looked at my scattered goods and chat
tells / backslid moro than / have ever
been able TO make up since.
enc unpleasant phase Of the thing
was that / had oarelessly left a roll OF
bills to the amount OF $500 done up in
paper ir a corner OF the trunk, and this
annoyed me more than the fact that l
would probably have TO wear my Sun
day suit on week days for a while. !
sought my friend and ~neighbor, who
had a horse and buggy, and We started
OIL in search of the thieves 1t was a
clear, moonlight night, with snow on
the ground, but not enough for sleigh
ing. Nobody had seen anything Of the
thieves, and we were at a loss what to
do. While crossing the railroad track
noticed a newspaper iuttering in the
breeze, and on going to It found it part
OF n Free fress that had been IN my
room. IL was the weekly and had
my name on the orner printed on a bit
of yellow D This was our first
clue. IT was evident that the party OF
the other part had gone east on the
Great w Western track. The road followed
the railroad track for miles and we
whipped along at o lively rate. 1t was
nearly midnight when we reached Belle
river and an inquiry at all the hotels
gave us no information. On the way
back we called in at the hotel kept by a
constable whose name / can't spell, but
it was pronounced Gokey, and such /
will call him. As MFR. Gokey took a
professional pride in this sort Of thing
he offered to take up the search, so he
hitehed up his cutter, as the sleigh
ing seemed to get better as we went
east. and we started off. Inquiry from
people at the section house on the
railroad gave us the information that
four men had asked the way TO the
southern railroad and had left the
Western and started towards Essex Cen
ter on the other line.
How about the four men, Gokey,' |
said. "Would you tackle themi"
an tackle any number under seven, =
replied the constable. I've a seven
shooter with me"
II is rather curious that the pains
these criminals took to avoid recognition
were the means that kept US on their
track, without having to ask any CUES
tons, When they approached any corner
village of even three or four houses they
would take to the fields to avoid being
seen, apparently and their tracks in the
snow, four together, showed the
direction they were taking. AS
we neared Essex Center the
four tracks struck across the
fields, and our friends had no doubt
reached the railway without going
through the village. When we came to
the long, straight railroad track we
could see, a mile or two away, four
figures standing in dim relief against the
gray eastern sky. The constable put n
fresh horse between the shafts, and we
were soon on the road that runs parallel
with the railroad and only q few rods
south of 1t. We were anxious to over
take them before it got dark. The road
led into a dense forest that for miles
borders the Canada Southern track,
and il was a lonesome place for two men
on q salary to attack four men desperate
and fighting for their liberty l forgot
TO say that one of the articles taken had
been n seven-shooter that | at that time
sported. never had succeeded in shoot
ing anything with il, but there was. no
knowing what it might do in the hands
Of a reckless robber. i mentioned this
to the conftable.
Are the tracks getting too freshf'
said Gokey.
NO, but it Is well to be on our
guard" &
At every ~cross-road Gokey stopped his
horse under cover Of the woods and l
sneaked along to the track to see what
progress our four were making. At last
we got ahead of them. When / peered
out from behind a tree saw them com
ing along only n few rods away. /
fastened back to the constable, who
tied his horse u Of sight and We both
crawled up the track and concealed our
selves behind the fence where We could
see the men approaching.