Little Falls transcript., 1886-07-09
y The Old Vo1asa Arnlng &

ss
| The Old y nvo,ns .rnlne
II 1875 there lived III q CENTRAL Iowa
= family By the name 81 Robinson
consisting Of father, mother, and two
;hlld dren, the latter being boys, Q and.
y years old respectively. Robinson
was well-to.do farmer, we'll thought
ofby the neighbors, and a Christian
man. There was, therefore, no one
who questioned the truth of the In
cldent he related. He had brother
IN PES moines, who was taken very i'll
a2aeTent for him, and he left home,
S4 -ingsto be gone at least a week
Es' Had no hired man, but the boys
were old enough to care for the stock,
and the wife was not a women to Dor.
cow trouble. .%#"5, r..
Robinson was in perfect health when
ne lett home, and there was no reason
to feel anxious for those he left behind.
He reached Des Moines of a Saturday
night. His brother was very low, but
it was believed that the crisis had
passed and that he was mending.
On Sunday night, at midnight,
the watcher who had been at the
bedside during the first part of the
night called Robinson and retired.
| The patient was resting easily, and
the watcher had only to give him med.
icine once every hour. He gave it at
l o'clock, and fifteen minutes later,
while he was seemingly as wide awake
as ever in his life, little old woman
suddenly entered the room. The sick
man was in the parlor bedroom, and
the woman came from the sitting
|room, the door OF which stood open.
Robinson bowed to her and while
somewhat surprised at her appear
al,ce, he supposed it was all right,
taking her for neighbor who had
come in. She looked to be 55 years
old, was very small for woman, and
years afterwards he could describe her
dress and features. She stopped in
the center Of the room, and Robinson
tip-toed over to her and said:
'"The doctor thinks he is much bet
ter"
"You must 90 home," she brusquely
remarked in answer.
"Who-me?" d
eyes"
"But | came to help take care of
James,"
"You must be home by 10 o'clock
tomorrow night" said the old wom-
an.
"Why?"
She beckoned him further away
from the bed, and then whispered:
"To.morrow night, before midnight,
three bad men will enter your house
to rob and murder. You must go
home'
Chow did you learn this?" he
asked, knowing we'll enough that she
would not joke him at such time,.
but unable to credit her with all seri-
business.
'sThey have poisoned your dog to-
night she answered, land they are
now sleeping in the barn. There are
two OF them now; tomorrow night
there will be three. If you love your
wife and children do not tarry here"
| "But-but-"
"Go-go!' she commanded, backing
out Of the room.
Charles, who is that woman?"
asked the sick man, and Robinson
turned to the bed and found his
brother wide awake.
81 do not know"
II saw her in the room just before
you came in. Shes came and leaned
over me. She must be a stranger"
! Robinson passed into the sitting
room, and from thence into the kitch-
en-, but the woman had disappeared.
He called his brothers wife, but she
had no such person on her list of ac-
| qUaintances. The doors were all
locked and the windows down, and it
did not seem possible that she could
have left the house, though a thorough
search failed to find the least trace of
her presence. 1t was 2 o'clock when
the search was abandoned, and at that
hour the sick man was amazingly bet
ter. He not only declared that he had
seen the woman and heard all she
said, but he stoutly insisted that his
brother should go home as soon as
possible. At 10 O'Clock in the fore
noon Robinson left for home. The
nearest railroad point to his farm was
seven miles, and, as he had to wait at
a junction for several hours, he could
not reach his house before 10 o'clock
n the evening. When he reached the
station at which he must leave the
railroad he told his story to the sher-
if, and team was hired and
six well-armed men went out with
him. 1t was 1870 when they reached
the house. They approached it
across the fields, and came up just as
two men had entered by an open kitch-
en- window, while the third was on
guard outside. The trio were speedily
captured, and then several points cor
roborative Of the little old woman's
declaration were picked up. The fam
lily dog had died suddenly, with every
evidence of having been poisoned.
Two tramps had. been noticed hang
ing about the place the day before, and
! two Of the arrested parties were iden-
tilted as the fellows. They had slept
in the barn, and they had been Joined
by a third. They intended to rob the
house and steal horse and buggy to
get away with. In hopes Of shortening
his term OF imprisonment at the ex
pense Of his comrades one of the trio
turned states evidence. He said it
was understood between them that il
Mrs. Robinson and thechildren awoke
they were to be killed.
Now comes another singular feature
OF the case. At IL O'Clock of the night
on which Robinson reached home the
sick mans wife was sitting up with
him, and, as he was resting very easy,
she fell asleep. The little old woman
reappeared, sat down, and said to the
patient:
>''Your brother reached home in time.
I am glad to see you getting better so
fast"