Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-02-23
STORY OF A DREAM.

am about to describe is absolutely tru
in every particular
Ny friend, Phil Casey, was talkln;
about dreams one day in my office. III
is a muscular limb of the law" abou
thirty-five years of age, with no non
sense about him. 81 know you don
believe in Dreams" he said, land Meth
or dol But now that we're on the sub
iect I'll tell you something which yol
can perhaps account for-I can't. Ant
then he told me story.
"a few years ago I was living in The
village of Saybrooke, as you know
One evening, after 1 had been working
very hard all day over a complicated
case, / reached home with that peculiar
don t-care-3ecent, dOne-Out kind of feel
ing which excessive brain work is apt
to produce
After supper / picked out the hard
est chair in the room and sat down to
read the daily papers, for was so tired
that I feared to fall asleep should / seat
myself in an easy one.
MY wife sat near me, quietly sewing
we had no youngsters then, nor serv-
ants the house, being on the very
outskirts of the village, was still as an
empty church. Absorbed, rather self
ishly, perhaps, as ] was in reading up
arrears Of news, | was not particularly
entertaining companion, presume, and
about 9 O'Clock my wife rolled up her
work and said: I think I'll go to bed,
Phil. Don't sit up too late, and with j
dainty goodnight kiss she disappeared.
Instead of following my better half,
as I should have done, [ continued to
read; but, by and by, with the idea OF
brushing the c0bWebs from my brain
before going to rest, | StrOlled across
the road and called upon my friend,
Frank Stayner, who proposed a short
walk, the night being warm and moon
lit.
This suited me exactly, and we set
out by way Of an old bride path which
led across the fields into the country.
After a little chatting and laughing, as
old cronieS will, we came to a small
brook, which we passed over, dry shOd,
on stepping stones, Frank being at the
moment some yards in advance Of me.
He was leisurely ascending the OPP
posite bank and had just reached the
middle Of clump of alder bushes, when
he was suddenly felled to the earth and
knocked senseless by a violent blow on
the, head from q masked man, who
sprang out of the dense thicket.
Frank had fallen face downward and
lay motionlesS as a log. In an instant
the ruffian was upon him, turned him
quickly over and began ritiing his peck
cts with skill and celebrity evidently
born of long practice.
What was l doing all this timer
Well, l simply stood there, looking on:
not in the least terrified, but, by some
strange influence absolutely incapable,
not only of motion, but even of uttering
q sound. Stranger still, although stand
ing in the broad moonlight, at less than
thirty feet from him, the highwayman
seemed totally unaware Of my presence,
and went on with his work as cOOlly as
if his victim were the only human be-
ing within a hundred miles.
He had empied my friends trousers
and coat pockets and was now feeling
about his breast for his watch, very
valuable one, as l knew, which Frank
always carried in the inside pocket Of
his vest, secured by a strong silk cord
passing around the neck.
The robber, always working in grim
silence, soon found the watch and, not
bothering to cut the string, jerked his
prize violently away. The shock seemed
to restore Frank to partial conscious
ness and he drOwsily murmured. Hello!
what's up?'
AT the sound Of his voice all my be-
numbed faculties awOke to instant life,
and, rushing forward, still unseen by
the footpad, l dealt him a terrible blow
on the back of his neck, and he fell III
sensible across the body of his PROSTATE
prey. Quickly rolling him aside pulled
off his Grape mask, revealing a most
villainous face.
Then / assisted Frank to rise. He
seemed quite recovered, and none the
worse for the assault. After SecrlTin =
the stolen property we took our pocket
handkerchiefs and tied the fellow S
hands firmly behind his back. He was
still entirely helpless and unconscious;
so, one of us at the head and the other
at the feet we carried him off to the
village unresisting.
"On arriving at the little police sta
tion the officer on night watch asked:
What have you got there, gentlemen?'
Nothing very nice, l guess replied
Stayner; he knocked me down, how
ever, and picked my pockets in good
style
The officer flashed his light upon
live he exclaimed, it's Ike Berry "a no
torio,ls crook of whom I'd often heard
that we've been after for the last three
months. Dump him down anywhere.
All right, said I. Let go, Frank an(
we dropped our burden with a crash t.
the floor. At that moment woman:
voice screamed out: Why, Phil
what's the NATTER and | awoke to fine
myself sprawling on the carpet and thu
whole affair a dream.
"A rather live one, certainly, Phil,
said I, but I've heard lots as curious.
why. man alive! I'm only begin
ming my story. You don't suppose X
bore you with such stuff if that wer
all? AS | said before, I'm no believe
in dreamS-never in my life knew on
to come literally true-but somehow
this particular dream so impressed m
that I couldn't get it out of mind.
Having a dread of my wife's goot
b,,rnorod rail1pl'v T did not tell her th