Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-01-27

on the captains left, cooked his ears to
listen, and then his def black fingers be-
gan a search Of the sleeping mans peck
cts | braced myself. took full breath
and was on him at bound. Istized him
firmly by the body but he sank down,
wriggled two or three times, and next
minute he was gone, upsetting me by
grasping my feet, and heaving away as
he went. 1t did not seem that he had
been at work over ten seconds when l
grabbed him, and yet in that time he had
extracted the captains watch and wallet,
and several other articles. All were left
behind, but the thief had disappeared
like a shadow.
Perhaps the best way would have been
to give in and employ chowkadar, but
we were both determined not to be bull
dozed into it. All portable articles not in
hourly use were put into a strong wooden
chest and kept Under lock and key, and
both of us were on the watch for any
new movement. A couple of weeks had
passed, and we were beginning to feel
safe. when the fellows attempted very
bold game. A juggler came to the ve-
randa and began to perform. and we
both went out While the room was left
alone the thieves-there were three of
them-came through the garden along
side the house and cut hole through the
side exactly back of the chest. The cap
tain happened to look in Just as the box
was being moved. and with a couple of
bounds he crossed the room and seized
one of the handles. / could not realize
the situation until the thieves had pulled
the chest half way out, and by the time
l had got around the bungalow they had
disappeared. How they could have To-
Gated the chest so exactly was mystery
to us. as it had been moved several feet
only the night before. They cut neither
to the right nor the left, but exactly back
of it, and the space was only an inch
wider than the chest.
The next move created sensation in
Bombay. Opposite our bungalow, which
was on a side street, was one belonging
to native-a known thief. The frater-
nifty had somehow got the idea that we
had great pile of money hidden in our
bungalow, and that the captain was
making gold nuggets by the wholesale.
He was, as said. experimenting with a
new explosive, and this probably started
mite or something very near it. One
day after the captain had been fussing
around in the front yard for half an
hour, and while l was reading on the
veranda, there was a terrible explosion.
1t seemed as if our house was lifted a
foot high. and everything inside was
thrown into confusion as it settled back.
1t was an explosion which was felt for
half mile around, and when we got
out doors we found hole in our front
yard into which couple of bullocks
could have been dumped. That wasn't
all, however. A big ditch had been
opened straight across the street to the
other bungalow, and the bruised and
battered bodies of three natives were
thrown out within thirty feet of the big
hole. 1t took us some little time to figure
out what had occurred. The sly old man
and his pals had dug a tunnel from the
native bungalow to within three feet of
ours. 1t was intended to pass around
the house and break ground inside, there
being no floors in our place. The ex-
plosion, which took place in an iron
kettle, was almost over the tunnel, and
the force was mainly downward The
blew the roof off the native bungalow.
The thieves were either creeping forward
or backward in the tunnel, and death
came to them so quickly that they never
knew what hurt them.
Next morning a native priest, accom-
panied by a scribe, called upon us to
secure our account of the affair. The
captain had explained matters to the
authorities. and there had been no in
quest. The priest said that the sly old
man had been one of his most devoted
followers, and as he was person of con-
siderable importance in Nagpoor, where
he had many relatives, an account of his
death was to be published in the native
language. The visit was made us at an
early hour in the morning, while every
thing was lying around loose, and the
two men had scarcely left the house
when we missed the field glasses,
pocket compass, pair of shoes and two
or three other articles. A native de-
tective assured us that the priest and
scribe were two notorious thieves, who
had come in that disguise to get even
with us.
was bitten by poisonous snake at
Bengalore, and for several weeks was
unable to leave my bed. While out of
danger after the first two or three days,
enough of the poison circulated through
my system to keep me weak and feverish
for long time. While lying ON my bed
on my right side could look out ON an
extensive back yard. There was a path
running down to summer house, and
beyond the summer house was thicket
and a ravine. Midway between the
bungalow and the summer house and off
to the left of the path, were the stables.
One forenoon, as lay looking out on this
yard. saw an almost naked native come
out of the thicket, glide up the path and
turn into the stables. knew from his
actions that he was thief, but the hand
bell had been accidentally removed be-
yond my reach, and / could not call
loud enough in my weak state to give an
alarm. There were three servants at the
stables, but it turned out that they were
gambling and deeply interested. The
thief entered the buildings and stole two
u