The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-05-23

Doc knew the man, as he knew nearly
every man in the place, by the descrip
ton given him at Chicago, and by the
middle of the following week this
wealthy citizen had been notified from
that he would be held up
on the next Saturday night Doc was at
his post. and as the lone horseman came
down the road the highwayman stepped
out from the shadows of jack oak
and covered his man.
That night the gang drank up the
best part of $3.50 and voted Doc dead
game TOUGHER"
The verdancy of the gang he had TO
deal with made Docks work COMPARE
lively easy. He invariably drank gin
and water, and by a simple trick that Il
child ought to have detected-the trick
of drinking the water and leaving the
gin-he was always sober.
When the proceeds of Docs raid had
been expended, together with the 81 re-
ceived for the Jays watch. the gang
determined to rob Il hardware store
The lob had been undertakes once, but
had failed The time, at Docs sugges-
ton. was fixed upon election night. A
great many farmers he sand, would be
in to vote and trade. and the people be-
ing either drunk or tired, would sleep
soundly when once asleep, and the gang
voted that Doc was Il great thinker.
The time arrived, the store was en-
tered and when they We're all in Doc
reached the rear end of the store. Now
a big bulls eye was turned upon the
gang, who arose from their work to
look down the dark barrels of a half
dozen shot guns. One of the gang. see
ing Doc with the sheriff's party, made II
play for his pistol, but the sheriff showed
his shotgun yet nearer the robbers face
and said, softly: BE quiet and he
was calm.
The next day the father of one of the
gang. who was himself hard man.
made an attempt to kill the detective,
and, having done his work, Doc de-
parted. Friends of the accused hired a
lawyer. who made beautiful pic
ture of these innocent lads who had
lived all their lives in this quiet coun-
try town, and who had never been
guilty of wrong until they were Ell
couraged and trapped into it by the
wicked young detective.
Alas for the criminals: one OF the
gang gave up to the sheriff and by the
finding Of stolen goods and the property
Of man who had been murdered, they
were all, save the one who had weak
ened, sent to Joliet, where they are
still receiving their mail.
Young Pippin's success en- this now Gel.
ebrated case won for him the full conf.
dence Of the agency, and before he had
reached Chicago other important work
was mapped out for him, but to the sur
prise of the agency he refused to accept
another assignment
II could not BEAR he said to me, 'the
thought of living whole life that was {,
lie-to appear always to be that which
l was MOTTO mix and mingle constantly
with the wicked Of this world, in which
there should be 80 much happiness.
ut is a great and important worl
which ought to be done, but it is not fol
| me-"
| Returning to the west again Pippin en-
! tered the service of Uncle Sam as rail
way postal clerk.
Finding a letter in the mail marked t.
me he took his blue pencil and wrote OF
the back of the envelope: ''Hello-Doc
! R. NJ. 81" and knew then that he was
in the railway mail service.
1t was some time after the receipt o.
this brief message that the meeting il
the sleeping car, already referred to, Oc
CURED, and it was during his many visits
to me at Denver that he related the detec
tive stories herein retold.
"How is it," | asked one day, THAI
you are assistant superintendent of tn,
mail service in the west, when you ar,
under 20 and new, comparatively new
| at the businessT'
hard luck" said Doc. smiling sadly
coughing and humping his chest.
Then it was that he began to tell IN,
sore of his experiences in the posta
| car, but he did not tell at all. He was
| rs modest as he was honest, and woult
not tell to me, his friend. the real tales
of heroism III which he was himself tn,
| hero. He told enough, however, to i'll
! tereSt me and cause me to find out more
| from a mutual friend and TO verify thu
| information by some of the records ant
correspondence, which | was afterwar(
permitted to see. / found that his loyal
ty, bravery and devotion to duty haC
been warmly commended in autograph
letter from the highest officials in the
/ mail service.
| 1t was, indeed, hard luck that brOugh
him promotion and an easy place, which
he could not have gained save through
| the kindness of higher officials. He haC
been in any number of wrecks, for many
Of the western roads were new at thar
| time, and railrOading was not safe as il
is now. Once there was head-end col
lision, in which the wreck took fire. Dot
was dreadfully bruised, but he had al
his limbs, and as the flames crept closer
and closer to his car he busted himsel1
carrying the mail matter TO a place OF
safety. When his work had been com
pleted and the flames lit up the canon
they showed Doc lying upon his mai
bags, apparently dead. The trammen
found him and soon restored him to con-
seriousness, for he had only tainted from
overwork and the pain of his many
wounds.
1t was nearly year before he was
able to take his run again, and this time
his route lay over the Santa Fe system.
One night, when the train came pairing
down the canon, the engine jumped the
track, the mail car went TO pieces against
the locomotive, the coaches piled upon
the pieces, and the wreck began to burn.
When the trainmen and passengers
came forward to look for 1.-The fellows
up ahead" they saw large and small envel-
opes sailing out of the burning debris, and
they knew at once that the mail agent
must be fast in the wreck. The whistle