San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-12-31
A SLY R0BBER.

aunt in village on the New England coast,
when a series Of events happened which
threatened the peace Of mind of hundreds
and caused the Jail doors to close on a dozen
different persons. My uncle was captain Of
a merchantmen out of Boston, and was then
absent ON long voyage. My aunt was a
good old soul, liberal, charitable and ever
ready to overlook the faults Of others. She
had hired man named Duncan and hired
girl named Anna, and both had been with
her for years.
One m rning started OFF fishing, and did
not return until nearly shutdown. reached
home to find my aunt in dreadful stew over
a robbery She had several hundred dollars
in a bureau drawer, and that morning had
taken out bag of silver to pay small bill.
The bag contained 500, and she left it for
moment on the bureau. When she returned
it had disappeared. l was away, the hired
man in the field, and the girl down cellar
By no possibility could any of us be suspected.
1t was in June and the bedroom window was
up, and it was concluded that some tramp had
come along and committed the robbery. He
would have had to enter front window in
flu / view of the street, and some one should
have seen him hanging about or getting
away; but there was no other way to account
for the robbery. The town constable was
notified, and before night he had run in
three tramps Not one of them had dollar,
nor could it proved that they had been on
our street As a result they were turned,
loose In that quiet New England town the
robbery made great stir, and folks would
have it that either the hired man or the grill
had got the money.
Five days later there was another thunder
clap A family living about four blocks
away was robbed while eating supper Some
one went through the chambers and took al
lot of jewelry, two silver cups, 5000 in gold,
and several trinietS. Whoever it was mustl
have climbed upon the roof of a shed andN
reached an open window, but there was no
chance for suspicion TO attach to any one
All the inmates of the house, including the
hired GIRL were at supper together. There WE
no hired help outside. Not suspicious char |
acter had been seen about the town. There
were boys playing few rods away, and theyl
must certainly have seen a man had oneI
mounted to the roof. There was now as much
excitement in the town as if war had broken
out 1t was generally believed that both
robberies had been committed by one and the
same person, and that the guilty party was a
resident of the town. Suspicion fell upon
this one and that, and well digger and a
uOSIlGI NclO uIleSlcu LdCu udu dH dllDl,
and their release added to the excitement.
Four days later one of the nabobs of the
town, doing a little work in his orchard,
| hung his coat and vest on an apple tree.
When ready to resume them he discovered
| that his wallet, containing about $50 in cash,
together with his costly gold watch, were
missing. He was positive that no human
being could have approached without being
| HE Jyifa SaUipn hU md
which overlooked the orchard, and she was
sure she could have seen any one approach.
| However, wallet and watch were gone in
broad daylight, and now men began TO look
at each other and think of the old witch
days. Suspicion was directed here and there,
and this time stonecutter, who had rather
| bad reputation, and a house painter, who
was out of job, were arrested as the crimi-
| mails. The stonecutter proved that he
was at work three miles away, and the
house painter had several witnesses to prove
that he was stupidity drunk all that day. 1t
was plain to everybody that the right party
had not been found, but this only added to
the MYSTERY of the three cases. All were
agreed that each case was neat piece Of
work, and that the thief was a professional
This conclusion cleared the rest of our towns
people of suspicion, but made it very annoy
ing for such strangers as paid us visit.
The fourth robbery occurred in dry goods
store. Near the back door stood one of the
old bolt head safes, and the door of this safe
was always open during the day. The store
door led into a back yard about forty feet
square, which was all rooted in. Two or three
days after the third robbery, and at o'clock
in the afternoon, citizen rendered a large
bill at the store in making purchase, and
the clerk had to go to the safe for change.
| He found some papers on the floor, while
all the money, being about $3.50 in bills, wa
missing. No one could have "sneaked" tina
safe except from the back way, and the onl
| opening from the shed to the back yard wa
! a chimney hole in the roof of the sheo
through which neither man nor boy coulC
have SOU. ezed himself. The bell in the tower
| of the town hall was rung and an excited
crowd assembled. Something must be done
| The two clerks in the store were sons of the
proprietor and above suspicion, and the most
! imaginative citizen could not suspect any
| particular resident of the town. There was
talk at the meeting of anarchy, safety of
property, condign punishment, and other
things, and a vigilance committee was
| appointed This committee consisted of
ten persons, who had authority to
| patrol the streets and make arrests
! Two or three men were arrested dur
ing the next two days. but, as in all other
cases, they were S2on released. To EaE.tbat