Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-01-04
HARBoRIHG 4 TRAMP.


The daughter, rather pretty girl of nine
teen, was delicate and timid.
''Pll give you what you want to eat"
said the widow, whose name was Chalmers,
after she had looked the man carefully
over and taken little time for reflection /;
'but as for lodging you, wouldn't like to
agree to that before consulting my son,
who may not be home till s or o'clock"
elbow far is it to the next house he
asked.
'tNearly two miles,"
"And night Just coming on returned
the other. 81 don't like tramping a lonely
road after dark. Won't you let me stay
till your son comes home and take my
chance with him ?"
81 don't know that ought to object to
that" was the somewhat reluctant consent
of Mrs. Chalmers.
She gave the tramp a good supper and
persuaded him to sit by the general fire
she or her daughter, one or both, being
constantly in the room. Eight o'clock, 9
o'clock, 10 o'clock came, and the son and
brother had not returned. Soon after the
latter hour, however, he rode up to the
door. After some warm greetings on both
sides, and brief explanation that he had
been delayed in starting, while the dark
ness and condition of the road, compelled
him TO move slowly, he proceeded to stable
and fed his horse, and then came in. On
seeing the tramp and learning why he was
there he felt more uneasiness than he
cared to show, for he mad brought home
with him considerable amount of money.
His decision, however. was prompt and
full of the kindness of charity. After two
or three pointed questions to the unwel-
come stranger, which were satisfactorily an
swered, he said
Certainly you can stay through the
night. could not find it in my heart to
turn adrift any well-behaved human being
on a night like this"
Thank you kindly, SIR politely re-
sponded the man. "You will not regret
your hospitality"
The language and manners of the poor
fellow indicated certain degre of refined
culture not in keeping with his present
forlorn appearance and while the young
host ate his supper he held conversation
with him which convinced him of this
fact. His first intention was to throw
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 a decent bed up stairs
under the roof, and then he and the fam
lily retired for the night, occupying two
rooms on the ground floor. While these
things were taking place inside that lonely
farm house some things were occurring
outside that vitality concerned the parties
we have introduced. Two men met in the
road few rods from the dwelling and
conversed in low, guarded tones.
"Well?" queried one.
"All nghtw answered the other "He's
home and got the money with him. There
is $1,700 l know about, that know he
brought away with him for sure, and that
get any more"
"All right, then. When shall we be-
gin?"
II reckon between y and l 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 a chance to
get sound asleep"
The plotters got under a shed and
waited till the time fixed upon for their
burglarious work. There were no shutters
to the windows-only inside fastenings.
To enter they decided to cut out a middle
pane Of one of the two family-room
windows, pass an arm through, remove the
fastenings and crawl through the lower
half. Then the two burglars, their faces
concealed by black masks, worked their
way into the room, flashed light all
around them from the bulls eye of the
lantern they carried, and noiselessly ad-
vanced to the bed of the sleeper-one
prepared with chloroform to seal up his
senses but both ready to murder him
rather than fail in their purpose. Just
at that critical point of time another
human figure, unseen by them, came
silently gliding through the darkness and
stealing up behind them. 1t was the
tramp. In his hand he held a rope with
a moose at one end, not unlike lasso. He
stopped so near the midnight providers
that he could have touched them. The
robbers, both intent upon their evil de-
sign, did not look behind them. They
stopped close to the bed of the sleeping
man, one looking over the shoulder of the
other. The forward one had a handker-
chief in one hand saturated with chloro-
form and in the other hand the lantern,
whose light he streamed full upon the face
of the sleepar.
Just as he reached forward to press the
handkerchief to the nostrils of their in
tended victim the second robbe-, armed
with knife and revolver, prepared for the
deadly assault, brought his head close up
to his companions, the better to note the
slightest movement. At that moment the
tramp skillfully threw his moose over the
heads of both. Then, with a vigorous
backward spring, he frightened the moose
around the necks of both and jerked them
down-stumbling laundering, crashing,
surprised, terrified and almost strangled.
Surrender and throw down your weapons
or Phi beat your brains out p cried the
tramp, as he ierked and pulled upon the
rope, in order to strangle the scoundrels
into submission. The answer was three
pistol shots from the man who held the re-
yolver, neither of which hit the tramp, but
one of which entered the brain of his COM
pauion and ended his wicked work for this
world. The noise reused the sleeper, who
started up in alarm, with loud cries of
murder and for help. This, in turn, set
the women to shrieking. and the late silent
and peaceful dwelling became for the time
a bedlam of horrors.
keep quiet, Mr.. Chalmers; you shall
not be harmed p said the tramp, as, still
pulling at the rope, he pounded the head
of the living robber with the butt of his
revolver till he sank under the blows.
''Now get light" he continued, cor turn
the light of the villains lantern upon their
faces and see what your tramp has done for
yea"
1t took some minutes to make George
Chalmers. his mother and sister under
stand the true state of the case-that the
man to whom they had given shelter had
saved them from being robbed, if not MUIR
dered. But what was their further amaze
n,ent and horror to discover that the dead