Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1888-11-09


and told mother, and We took
hand sled down and in that way con-
veyed it to the house. There we
opened 1t and found two bags con-
tanning four hundred Mexican sill
yer dollars each, together with
silver knives, spoons and forks,
and some costly jcwelry. Father
came home that night and at once
notified the sheriff, and then we
learned that the plunder was the
result of two burglaries in Cincln-
natl. A detective came down to
see US. He had a hard head, who
wouldn't believe in anything he
couldn't see. bat he had 20 60 down
before my dream. My description
of the men tailed with that OF two
fellows under suspicion, and
watch was at once placed at the
mouth of the creek. 1t was ten
days before the men returned and
were taken into custody, and they
had not been under arrest an hour
when they confessed to the robbery.
The detective hated to give in to
the dream theory, and l think he
went away believing that l vas
out in the woods and seen the men
land. | could not have walked
there to begin with, and mother
was in the room all the time l lay
sleeping. 1t was exactly as | have
told you, and the jeweler sent me
down one hundred of those big
silver dollars to show his gratitude
at my recovering about $4,000
worth of his property.
About three years later went to
visit an aunt in eastern Kentucky.
1t was near a hamlet of a dozen
houses, and of course soon knew
all the people. -Four or five miles
away lived an old bachelor who was
known as the hermit. He was
then fifty years old, lived all alone,
and people said he had money
buried under his fireplace. lie
dressed in rags and went bare
footed, and was always a subject of
remark. My aunt had farm about
a mile apd half from the town,
and one afternoon, as | was re-
turning home after making some
purchases at a store, a man who
sat in a fence corner called me over
to him and asked if | knew the
hermit. told him what knew,
and he seemed much interested and
observed;
~ think he is my brother George,
who left home thirty years ago and
has not been heard of since"
1 was a green country boy, and
he had no difficulty in pumping me
to his hearts content. | remen-
bered afterward of his asking If 1t
wasn't reported that the hermit had
money, and OF my replying that
our hired man said he had thous-
ands of dollars hidden away. lie
asked if l had ever been to the
hermiJs place, whether be was
known to have gun, and other
questions which had no great in
terest to me until several days
afterward. When l went home l
told the folks about meeting the
stranger, but the matter excited
little comment, and it was not in
my mind when / went to bed. l
slept with the hired man. | was
asleep, and had been for an hour
when he came to bed. | was also
asleep when he turned out in the
morning.
Now, then, that night l had my
second singular dream, Mind you,
| had never been to the hermits
place or heard it described. All at
once / found myself in front of his
little log house, and knew that 1t
was his. The place looked poverty
poor. | noticed the single window
in front, leach in the yard, an old
scythe hanging up IN a tree, a
grlndstone with its face broken,
and a path leading back to a spring.
| was surveying the place when l
heard loud and angry voices in the
house and saw a light at the win
dow. | climbed over the pole fence
and looked in. The hermit was
down on his knees, and a man
stood over him with club. They
were talking, but | could not hear
what they said. That is, while their
lips moved, no sound reached my
ears. | understood, however, that
the man was the stranger had
met down the road that day. He
was after the hermit's money, and
was threatening his life. BY and
by, seemingly out Of patience, the
stranger gave the hermit a blow
on the head which laid him out
Just at that moment the clock In
the cabin struck IL. The man
stood for a moment, looked around
him as if startled, and then began
rummaging. He took the bed first,
but found nothing, then he hauled
everything out of an old chest, look
ed into a cupboard, and, being still
unsuccessful, he went to the door
for a spade leaning against the logs
With this he pried up the hearth
stones, but no money was to be
found. Then he searched the