The Ravalli Republican., 1898-03-09
THE RETIRED BURGLAR.
a Very Lively Experience Following
Visit to Il Farmhouse.

a Very Lively Experience Following
Visit to a Farmhouse.
LAS a general thing, " said the re-
tired burglar, II stuck close to my
legitimate line of work and never
took anything hut what I could car
" off myself and dispose of easily,
but occasionally when I was hard
pressed l would tako bulky things,
and do the best could with them.
But it mover paid, and something
happened once that made me g1vel
ND that sort of thing for good,
"a farmhouse that l was looking
over one night had nobody in it,
not soul. They hadn't gone for
long; that was plain enough. Every
thing was left just as it was. They q
Just gone off for the night some
where, maybe to a party or some
thing of that sort, but they was just
as far away now as they'd been in
China, and l might have carried the
house off and they not know it, and
that s what l did pretty near.
There was scarcely any small
stuff worth carrying off, and after
I'd looked around little thought
| might as we'll take a load. could
dispose of it for something. | got
together in the hall awagon load OF
stuff, trunks and one thing and an
other, all ready to load. l had been
around to the barn previously to soc
if there was a horse left, because ]
didn't know but what they might
have taken the only one, but there
was a horse there. He was a big,
solid looking horse, nothing partic-
ular about him one way on the 9TH
er, except he looked like strong
horse that could pull almost any
thing. | got the harness on him and
hooked him into q farm wagon and
got him around to the side Of the
house. suppose | might just as
well have taken him to the front,
but there was no use Of being reck-
less about it.
"We}l, | loaded the wagon with
the trunks and things till I'd got q
pretty fair load, about all thought
/ could carry and mako timo with,
and then | started, and we logged
along the road comfortable as could
be for quarter of a mile or so,
when there WAS a squirrel OF chip
munk OF something run across the
road, and I'm blessed if it didn't
scare the old horse, and in about a
second and q quarter he was run
ming away. And | sat there, hang
ing on to the reins and yanking ant
: saving and trying to hold him NJ
and having just about as much ct
" feet on him as though I'd been {
a baby.
= about a quarter Of milo farthe:
= = on-l knew it because I had com
" " that vay-there was q bridge owe
y q brook that ran across tho road
y Just a common little bridge witt
barked poles on each side for rail
=, ing There was q road on one sid
y Of the bridge, too, through the wa
u ter There was q house just tn
~ other side of this brook, and I wa
, afraid if tho old horse wont acros
the bridge hammering in that sti
, night he'd wake up the folks an
- rouse the neighborhood may be, SO
~ tried to steer him off through tt
y brook. | thought hod make LEI
,;a noiso going through the water, al
- ~ l thought maybe the cold watt
- would sober him, too, and make hi
~ ~ stop, and got a twist Oh the rei1
- and brace on tho dashboard al
=, pulled, and I did get him turned G.
49, little at the fork toward the broo
''' and I thought had got him start'
for it all right, but he shoered aga
for the bridge, and couldn't beg
-, -, to stop him.
- THE bridge railings were su
~ ported in crotched sticks, and fro
-. these ratings there were poles alo1
80 the little approach on each side
" the bridge, the ends OF these pol
being in lower crotched sticl
When the old horse sheered ba
nj. from the ford road to the brid
led road, he got the approach to t
in bridge all right himself, but
ssh swung the wagon just enough
Der throw the hind axle over tho end
ooy the pole protecting the approa'
the and it jammed in some way betwe
tho pole and the crotched stick ST
of porting it and busted the reach
as the wagon and tore off the hind a
the and wheels before you could thil
of and the old horse went pound1
tic. across the bridge and half a N
is farther yet with the tail end of
of wagon trailing on the ground !;
old scattering trunks and colnfortaE
and | don't know what not all ale
ont the road. When | finally got h
in. held up was sitting in an emf
fo. wagon with the dashboard up in
the air and the floor sloping down
= Il