The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-05-30
the train and that contained only five

being three seats In the rear, ana was
talking with the conductor on general
matters, when the two men suddenly be-
came interested in something one of them
held in his hand. Their heads were to-
getheN and they were evidently deeply
Interested, when the report of pistol
was heard, followed by cry of agony
and yell of alarm. The object Of their
curiosity was derringer, and it had &C.
cidentally been discharged, the bullet
entering the leg Of one OF the men just
above the knee, In his pain and fright
the wounded man sprang up, and turned
ilercely on the other, with the exclama-
ton:
"Curse you, but you did that on pur-
pose You wanted all the swag to your
self"
The conductor and l were beside them
in minute. The wounded man fell
back ON the seat, and he evidently re-
GREETED the break he had made few sec
onds before, for he said, as we came up;
"Tom, old fellow, had my own finger
on the trigger, and pulled it off. You are
not bit to blame"
"But what about the 'swagl' l de-
handed, as l stood over them.
she meant our coal mine" replied the
one called Tom.
eyes; we are partners in coal mine, !"
added the wounded man.
"Oh! that's itl Well, let's see what
can be done for YOU"
1t was bad wound-so bad that l
knew his leg would have to come off, as
the big bullet had shattered the bone.
and l suggested to the conductor that he
make as fast time as he dared to Bowling
Green, where medical attendance could
be had. To my surprise the men asked
to be put off at some highway crossing,
near farm house, saying that country
doctor could manage the case well
enough, and that the quietness of the
country would be the best for the patient.
This satisfied me that they were suspic-
ious characters, and assumed the author
ity to remove the one and handcuff him
to seat at the rear of the coach, and to
search both. The one had revolver and
the other the derringer, and before l was
through searching l brought to light all
the stolen bonds and jewelry. 1t was
sheer luck again. Four of our men were
out on their trail, but on false scents.
They were supposed to have gone East,
while l picked them up in the South.
The fellow who was shot not only lost his
leg but his life. The other was returned
to Chicago, and he received long SEN
tence for his crime. There was a great
deal of newspaper talk about my shrewd-
ness, but | didn't deserve word of
praise. The case simply came to me.
The ripe fruit dropped into my hands.
Things fall that way to lucky man, no
matter what business he is engaged in.
One of the bits of luck which fell to
me several years ago, land which was much
talked about at the time, came about in
very singular way. l had been sent
down to Augusta, Arkansas, to identify a
man who had been arrested there, and was
supposed to be a robber wanted in Chi
cage. He did not prove to be the man
we hoped he was, and was making ready
to return when resident of the town,
who was an old acquaintance of mine, put
forward speculation. He had just pur-
chased a saw mill few miles down White
River, and he believed there was big
money to be made in buying a large tract
of timber contiguous to the mill. This
tract was for sale at a very low figure, but
my friend could not raise the cash. The
result of our talk was that we took boat
next morning and were left at the mill
landing. While he was overseeing some
change of machinery started out to get
some idea of the value of the timber. The
first thing l knew l was lost in the forest,
and l did just what all other people do
under the circumstances-head the
wrong way. Instead of going toward the
river, went away from it. 1t was in
July, and although the mosquitoes nearly
devoured me, there was no danger of suf-
fering from the inclemency of the weather.
1t was about 10 o'clock in the morning
when I started out, and by mid afternoon
had walked at least ten miles, and knew
that | was entirely bewildered. couldn't
keep staight course for the creeks and
swamps, and the day was so cloudy and
the forest so dense that there was no
sighting the sun to guide me. 1t was
just o'clock in the afternoon when ]
reached good sized stream, and the first
thing l saw was an old house boat tied to
the bank. There was smoke coming out
of stovcpipc thrust through the roof,
and l congratulated myself that l had
reached shelter and something to cat.
There was plank reaching from boat to
Shore. and assembled it and entered the
cabin unannounced. A white man and a
negro were seated in the rude room, and
fire had just been kindled in the cook
stove. There was door at the other side
of the boat. 1t stood wide open, and the
instant the men caught sight of me both
sprang for the door. In the rush they
bumped into each other and both rolled
to the floor. The white man was the
quicker of the two, and while I stood
looking and wondering he scrambled w
and flung himself into the water and
swan to the opposite shore.
"Doan't shootl For de Lawd's sake
doan't kill me!'' yelled the negro, as he
rolled over and over on the floor.
"What does this meant" l demanded
''It means dat l surrendersr' he re-
piled.
every well. Now sit up,and tell me
who you are and what you are doing
here"
~ had to come along, boss. I didn't
want to, but dey said dey would dun
kill me-"
"Who owns this boat2"
"Why, dat Harding gang, in co'se."
"And what are you doing here2"
"Dun hidin' out, l spose."
was so stupid thatI did not realize
what luck had come to me until the negro
gave it away. Then I secured him against
escape and searched the boat, and in that
old hulk found over $4,000 worth of dry
goods, clothing, boots and shoes, jewelry
hardware and other stuff, the proceeds o.
dozen big robberies along the river
There was gang of four men engaged il
the work, and the negro was their cook
L - i - u