Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-03-05

enterprises came to grief and if either
Mandit or Sparky should happen to be
arrested the working miscreants should
substantiate any story their superiors
might choose to tell of themselves, and
II necessary to take upon themselves
the whole responsibility of the crime.
In this case their speedy release was to
be looked upon as thing assured.
great deal of evidence in regard to
the character and practices of these two
men came from the stout burglar, COM
monty known as Barney Fitch. When
he found that nothing was to be ex-
pected from his two astute employers
and that they were in as bad a place as
himself. he promptly turned States evil
dence and told all that he kne " about
them.
1t was through the testimony of this
man that the motive for the attempted
robbery Of my house was found out. 1t
had no connection whatever with the
other burglaries OF our neighborhood,
those probably having been committed
by low-class thieves, who had not broken
into my house simply because my doors
and windows had been so we'll secured;
IL,
share whatever in the protection of the
household.
The burglary was undertaken solely
for the purpose of getting possession Of
some important law papers which were
to be used in case in which was con-
cerned and which soon would be tried.
If these papers could be secured by the
opposite party the side on which 1 was
engaged would have no case at all and q
suit involving a great deal of property
must drop. With this end in view the
unscrupulous defendants in the case had
employed Mandit to procure the papers
and that astute criminal manager had
not only arranged all the details of the
affair, but had gone himself to the scene
OF action in order TO see that there
should be no mistake in carrying out
the details of this most important piece
of business.
The premises had been thoroughly
reconnoitered by Sparky, who a few
days before the time fixed for the burg
larry had visited my house in the capa-
city Of an agent of telescope book
case, which could be extended as new
volumes were required, therefore need
never exhibit empty shelves. The young
man had been included in the party on
account of his familiarity with legal
documents, it being, of course, of para
mount Importance that the right papers
should be secured. His ingenuity was
also to be used to cover up, if possible,
all evidence that the house had been
entered at all, it being desirable to max
1t appear to the court that l had never
had these documents in my possession
and, II possible, that they never existed
Had it not been for a very natural de-
sire for refreshment that interfered with
their admirably laid plans it is probable
that the mechanical skill of Mandit
would have been equal to the noiseless
scraping of the bent bolt and the obliter-
alton of the scratches and dents made
by the attempts upon other shutters, and
that Sparky, after relocking all open
desks or cabinets and after the exit of
the others, would have closed and fast
ened the kitchen shutters and would
then have left the house by means of an
open window in the upper hall and the
roof of piazza.
Thus 1t was that these three men SO
eminent in their different spheres of
earnest endeavor, came to visit my com
paratively humble abode, and thus it
was that they not only came to that
abode, but to the deepest grief They
were wanted" in so many quarters, and
on so many charges, that before they
had finished serving out their various
sentences their ability to wickedly avail
themselves of the property of others
would have suffered greatly from disuse,
and the period of life left them for the
further exercise of those abilities would
be inconveniently limited
was assured by prominent detect
i've that it had been long time since
two suoh dangerous criminals as Mandit
and Sparky had fallen into the hands of
the law. These men, by means of very
competent outside assistance, made a
stout fight for acquittal on some of
the charges brought against them, but
when they found that further effort of
this kind would be unavailing and that
they would be sentenced to long terms
of imprisonment, they threw off their
in their true characters of violent and
brutal rufians. Barney Fitch, the
cracksman, was q senior warden com
pared to them.
1t was long time before my Aunt
Martha recovered from her disappoint-
ment in regard to the youngest burglar.
"Of course was mistaken" she said
''That sort of thing will happen, but 1
really had good grounds for believing
him to be truthful person, so am not
ashamed of having taken him for what
he said he was. 1 have now no doubt
before he fell in his wicked ways that he
was very good writer, and might have
become novelist or magazine author,
but his case is very sad proof that the
study Of realism may be carried too far, -
and she heaved sigh.