Connecticut western news., 1889-10-23
VOL. XIX.

down some horse blankets and robes, and let him camp down before the fire, but this design was altered with his opinion of the mans antecedents, and so he finally lighted him to decent bed up stairs under the roof, and then he and the family retired for the night, occupying two rooms on the ground floor. While these things were taking place inside of that lonely farmhouse, some things were occurring outside that vitally concerned the parties we have introduced. Two met in the road few rods from the dwelling.
 NIIi, Sam!' said one.
 "IIo, Ben!" replied the other.
 Then they came together, and spoke in low, guarded tones.
 "Well?" queried Ben.
 "All rightl" answered Sam. "He's home and got the money with him. There are S1, 100 know about, that 1 know he brought away with him for sure, and that ought to pay us for the venture, if we don't get any more."
 "All right, then. When shall we begin?"
 "I reckon between 12 and 1 o'clock will be the best time. He's been home about long enough to get his supper and turn in, and after the long, hard day and night he's had of it, we must give him chance to get sound asleep.
 The plottcrs got under a shed and waited till the time fixed upon for their burglarious work. There were no shut ters to the windows-only fastenings on the inside. With diamond the burglars cut the glass close to the frame in which it was held, but in spite of their endeavors to get hold of it, the glass fell with crash on the inside. There was faint murmur of "What
 
 asleep again by the time the words were fairly uttered. Then the two burglars, their faces concealed by black masks, worked their way into the room, each assisting the other, and flashed light all around them from the bulls eye of the lantern they car ried. To their surprise they found the door of the young mans sleeping room partly open instead of being shut and locked, and they were disposed to take alarm at it till they heard his steady. heavy breathing. Then both, after another sharp sweep of the light around them, noiselessly advanced to the bed of the sleeper-one prepared with the chloroform to seal up his senses but both ready to murder him rather than fail in their purpose. Just a that critical point of time an other human figure, unseen by them, came silently gliding througl the darkness and stealing up behind them. It was the tramp. In his han( he held rope with moose at one end not unlike lasso. He stopped st near the two midnight prowlers tha he could have touched them, and pois ed the hand that held the rope, whil every nerve secretly quivered with in tense excitement. It was momen big with fate for all concerned. A sin l gle mistake, the slightest error, nigh cost his own and other human lives The robbers, both intent upon thei evil design, did not look behind them They stopped close to the bed of tn sleeping man, one looking over tn shoulder of the other. The forwar one held handkerchief ill one han
 saturated with chloroform, and in tn other hand the lantern whose light h streamed full upon the face of tn
 sleeper.
 Just as he reached forward to pres
 the handkerchief to the nostrils o
 their intended victim, the second rot
 Der, armed with knife and revolver
 prepared for deadly assault, brougf
 his head up close to his companion! the better to note the slightest move
 ment-at that moment the tramp skill
 fully threw his moose over the head of both. Then, with vigorous bacl } ward spring, he frightened the noos , around the necks of both and jerke
 them down-stumbling founderins
 crashing-surprised, terrified, almo strangled.
 l "Surrender and throw down yor weapons or I'll beat out your brains cried the tramp, as he jerked and pulle upon the rope, in order to strangle Il 3 robbers into submission. The answ, 1 was three pistol shots from the ma who held the revolver, neither ( 9 which hit the tramp, but one of whic
 entered the brain of his companion al , ended his wicked work for this world : The noise aroused the sleeper, WI started up in alarm, with loud cri 3 for murder and for help. This, in tul : set the women to shrieking, and tl 3 late silent and peaceful dwelling b r came for the time a bedlam : horrors.
 . "Keep quiet, MT. Chalmers, yt
 shall not be harmed," said the tram e as, still pulling the rope, he pound' t the head of the living robber with Il