The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-06-05

think now that the stronghold was
| robbed ?'
81 am sure of il, sir, unfortunately, l
gasped.
Mr.. Church put down his paper, and
after looking at me for moment through
his spectacles, with stern, searching ex-
preston, said:
"Mr. Williams, when / saw you last
night you had come on a long journey.
naturally treated the story you told me
as being due TO delusion produced by
fatigue, anxiety. very proper anxiety" he
repeated in pompous manner, about
your charge. and want OF sleep. Surely,
now that you have had nights rest to
refresh you, you don't mean 20 say that a
man who got into your carriage at Rugby,
without particle OF luggage, could walk
out of IL at Stafford with nine stone
weight OF gold about his person, besides
large bundles of bank notes, and not only
| that, but actually leave about nine stone
weight Of lead and iron behind him Oh,
nonsense, sir !" he concluded gruff1y.
81 don't know, sir, how it was done;
only know that the gold and notes have
been stolen, and lead and iron and rags
put in their place." l exclaimed, almost
bursting into tears.
You must have been dreaming. You
could only have Imagined that you
| opened the box" he said in q more con-
ciliatory tone.
Il am sorry to say Il was not dreaming.
/ was never more wideawake in my life"
/ faltered.
"Well, as you persist in the story, let us
| 90 downstairs and examine the box" he
! replied. Seeing is believing, they say,
and l shall believe that there is gold in
the box until see that there is not. Have
| you the key? thought it better not to
ask you for it last night. as you were prob
ably tired and excited"
Eyes, sir; this it il"
"Not an easy lock to OPEN" he OBJ.
/ served, as he took the KEY in his hand and
looked carefully at it. However, come
/ down stairs"
Accordingly, we went down to the
| strong-room, where the box was still living.
/ just as the porter had left it some hours
before. We unstrapped it. Mr.. Church
himself bent down and put the key in the
/ lock. To my surprise, it seemed to turn
with some difficulty.
Lock all right, apparently" was his re-
! mark when the key went round at last.
He put his hand to the lid and opened it.
/ staggered back with curious suffocat-
ing feeling.
In the box 1 saw the bags of gold and
bundles of notes, lying just as they lay
when l closed the lid in London!
"Merciful God! This is most strange!,
exclaimed.
These are not Jumps of lead or iron"
said Mr.. Church, emptying one OF the
/ bags on the table, where there lay pile
| of bright gold sovereigns.
''These are not rags-though they are
made from rags" he continued, as he
IL IL, e L -
! gland notes.
But they were not in the box when 1
/ opened it on the train" | murmured in
an awe-struck voice.
'Oh, will nothing convince your" he
| exclaimed, rather testify. You see it is
as told you. You have been dreaming"
! For a moment l was silent. Then l
said:
''Mr. Church, was sober when came
/ here? ?"
Eyes, sir, perfectly SOBER" was the re-
ply.
Il am sober now" 1 said, land declare
| before God, and on my honor as a man.
| that / was both wide awake and sober
when opened that box in the train, and
that the gold and notes were not in it
| then"
"WeIl, what was in to" he asked, i'm
patiently.
CAS- l have told YOU, sir-rags. pieces Of
newspapers, and Jumps of lead and iron"
''In that case, where are they?" said
Mr.. Church. They don't seem to be
here"
He took ont OF the box bag after bag of
gold and bundle after bundle of notes. |
watched him with kind of awe, feeling
as if he were either wizard or l myself
were going mad.
ooh, Mr.. Church. for mercys sake, do
tell me what il means. feel as if / were
/ losing nv reason. Those things were not
in the box when / opened it on the train"
/ exclaimed at last
"Were these, think your said a voice
at the door, which was half open.
looked around and saw, standing be-
fore me, with, in his hand, bag, which
/ he seemed hardly able to hold, the imam
ufacturer" The man who got into my
compartment at Rugby! As he spoke he
laid the bag down, and emptied out OF it
on the floor the rags, papers and weights,
which 1 had previously found in the
strong-box. While stood gazing blankly
at them, he continued:
"Young gentleman, these are what you
| found in the box when you were in the
train. The gold and notes were stolen
right enough. You had been robbed. but
you need not be ashamed of it, for am
Sergt. Sharp, a detective police officer who
is pretty well known, though I say it nv
self, aud if YOU were outwitted, so was l.
/ am not ashamed to own it, for it was
about the ceverest thing l ever heard of.
Something quite new, which is saying
a good deal for criminals, who are not
very original as a rule. The worst of the
thing seems to be that, though you were
drugged and asleep. l was wide awake
while the robbery was being committed,
and never knew anything about it, only
discovered it by accident. And that not
until you were miles away from me and
the money"
"But do you mean to say that some
body opened the box and exchanged such
an immense weight ofgold for other metal
in the train ?" / asked.
"That ] do" said Sergt. Sharp, land,
what is more, that they made the ex-
change between Rugby and Stafford,
whilst was sitting, wide awake. within
few feet Of you"
''Then how was it done ?"
''Bv the watch-saw." was the answer.
/ have now reached a stage of my mar
rative when, for the convenience of the
reader, had better, think, summarize,
and tell as briefly as l can the real story
of the robbery as it was established partly
by the testimony of one of the gang, who
turned queens evidenced during the trial
of Hill and his accomplices at the follow