Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1897-10-25

I pleious characters mad been seen Il
tho neigh borhood. We should have
changed orr plans when we saw the
game was up; but ny chun was q
plucl1y fellow, and wouldn't consent
! to back down. Poor little Jimi lie
was only thirty-four round the chest
and about twelve at the biceps, but
! there is not measuring tape IL Eng
land could have given the size Of his
heart. lie said we were in for it, and
we must stick to it; So agreed to stay,
and we chose Morley hall. the country
house Of certain Col, Morley, to be-
gin with.
Nov this Col Morley was about
the last man in the world that we
should have meddled with. He was a
shrewd, cool-hcaded fellow, who had
knocked about, and seen the world,
and it seems that he took special
pride in the detection of criminals.
However, we knew nothing Of all this
at that time; so we set forth hopefully
to have try at the house.
1.-The reason that made us pick him
out among the rest was that he had a
good-for-nothing groom. who was a
tool in our hands. This fellow ! had
drawn up rough plan Of the premises
for us. The place was pretty well
locked up and guarded, and the only
weak point we could see was certain
trapdoor, the paddock Of which was
broken, and which opened from the
roof into one of the lumber rooms. If
we could only find any. method of
reaching the roof, we might force a
way securely from above. We both
thought the plan rather a good one,
and it had a spice of originality about
it which pleased US. lis not the mere
jewels or plate, you know, that good
craftsman thinks about. The neat
ness of the job and his reputation for
smartness are almost. as important in
his eyes.
eve had been very quiet for a day or
two, just to let suspicion die away.
Then we set out one dark night,
Jim and I, and got over the avenue
ratings and up to the house without
meeting a soul. 1t was blowing hard,
y
across the sky We had good look at
the front of the house, and then Jim
went round to the garden side. He
came running back in minute or two
in a great state Of delight Why, Bill
he said, gripping me by the arm, there
never was such bit of luck! They've
been repairing the roof or something.
and they've left the ladder standing
We went round together, and there,
sure enough, was the ladder. towering
above our heads, and one two labor
ers' hods lying about, which showed
that some work had been going on
during the day. We had good look
round, to see that every thing was
quiet, and then we climbed up, Jim
first and after him. We got to the
top, and were sitting on the states,
having a bit Of bfeather, before be-
ginning business, when you can fancy
our feelings to see the ladder that we
came up by suddenly stand straight up
in the air, and then slowly descend un
til it rested in. the garden belowl At
first we hoped it might have slipped,
though that was bad enough; but we
soon had that idea put out of our head
"'Hullo, up there! cried a voice from
below
1--WE craned our heads over the edge,
and there was a man, dressed, as far as
we could make out, in evening dress,
and standing in the middle of the grass
plot. We kept quiet.
"'Hullor he shouted again How do
you feel yourself? Pretty comforta BILE,
Ell? Ha! hal You London rogues
thought we were green in the country
what's your opinion nowY
1--WE both lay still, though feeling
pretty considerably small, as you may
imagine.
'''It's all right; see you, he con-
tinued. why, have been waiting be-
hind that lilac bush every night for the
last week, expecting to see you. |
lnew you couldn't resist going up that
ladder, when you found the windows
were too much for you-Joel Joe!
"'Yes, SIR said voice, and another
man came from among the bushes.
"'Just you keep your eye on the
roof. will you, while ride down to the
station and fetch up a couple of con-
stables?-Au reuosr, gentlemen! You
don't mind waiting, l suppose@ And
Col Morley-for it was the owner of
the house himself-strode off; and in a
few minutes we heard the rattle of his
horses hoofs going down the avenue.
"Well, sir, we felt precious silly, as
you may imagine. It wasn't SO much
having been nabbed that bothered us,
as the feeling of being caught in such
a simple trap. We looked at each other
in blank disgust, and then, to save our
lives, we couldn't help bursting into
laughter at our own fix. However, it
was no laughing matter; so we set to
work going round the roof, and seeing
If there was likely water pipe or any
thing that might give us achance of