Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1899-09-28

SaA anu seven Tomorrow
evening.
"'All right said Joe; then wen
burgle the place tomorrow night
Perhaps we can do better than
that 1 suggested. There are some
lonely parts in Highgate, and INV idea
| is that Cockermouth Gardens is one of
them. If SO, we might prevent the pic
ture ever being delivered
Safer to crack the crib persisted
Clumber; but shook my head.
That's nonsense, Joe,' / said. 1T
means delay for one thing, and very
likely hue and cry would be raised be-
fore we could get on board the boat for
Antwerp. Then it'd be all up with us,
for they'd examine the luggage of ev-
eryone leaving the country, and,
though the pictures small one, it's
not small enough to conceal. My plan,
son the other hand, would allow US to
Ecatch the eight o'clock train at Liver
pool street, and it's hundred to one
we would be on board the boat before
| they'd have time to send round the
alarm
"Clumber admitted reluctantly that
there was some force in my arguments,
and eventually it was agreed that we
should proceed at once to Cockermouth
Gardens to see what sort of locality it
really was. So little later we left our
Irooms-we were lodging in Soho-and
caught the yellow bus to the archway
avern. Then, after mounting High
gate Hill, and making one or two in
q1iries, we found the place we were in
ssarch- of.
The Lindens' was one of eight
houses, each of which was detached
ane fronted by long garden surround
ed BY quickest hedge, and containing as
a rue some pretty big trees. That the
housts were as much alike as peas in
a podwas obvious, even in the darkness
of an october evening. We discovered
from notice-board suspended from
a tree, however, that the house next
door to The Lindens' was to be sold,
and, on gong forward to the light wood
en- gate that gave access to the garden,
we found taat the place was called The
Elms.' Evidently the house was in
charge of acaretaker, for only the hall
was lighted. Then we made two other
discoveries; the houses were named,
but not numbered, and the name was
in each case displayed on a gate pre-
cisely similarto that which 1 have al
| ready noticed.
| These were the facts / turned over
in my mind aswe rode homeward 81
lently on the topof the bus, and before
we got down at The corner of Totem
ham Court road had developed plan,
at once simple and daring, which felt
certain could not possibly fail.
'Clumber, my boy l cried, when
we had made our WY into quiet pub,
I see it all. It's as dear as daylight
Him. murmured Clumber, so you
said in that diamom affair the other
day, and yet we wereas nearly as pos
sible COPIED, to say lothing of losing
the swag.'
Never mind that, Joseph; this case
is quite different, and here's absolute
ly no chance of anything going wrong.
But first of all, tell me what you'd do?'
1.-the only thing can think Of, said
he, is to knock down the chap who
brings the picture along, and bolt with
it; though, if he should ccme in a cab
or if there should be two of them, L
don't suppose we could manage the job,
lonely as Cockermouth Garden is. It'd
| be safer to crack the crib, asI told YOU
| before
"'Listen, joe said /. I've thought
of the difficulties you mention, and 1
see exactly how we can get over them.
You remember that 1.-The Elms;'' the
house next door to 1.-The Lindens,' is to
be sold?'
"He nodded.
"'Well, this is my scheme. We must
get the man who brings the picture to
mistake 1.-The Elms'' for 1.-The Lindens,"
and wait for him in the garden
"'How are we to do that?'
"'Easily enough. The name of each
house is on the gate, isn't it?'
ayes
avery good, then We'll change the
gates. All we'll have tc doll be to lift
them off the iron uprights they're hung
on, and transpose them. 1t won't take
minute
est could be done assented Joe, re-
flectively, but even then the bloke'd
notice that ''The Elms" is empty
"sNot he, there's a caretaker in the
house, and the hall gas'll be lit as it
was tonight
1.-The caretaker might spot u.s.
"'We must risk that; there are plen-
ty of trees in the garden, and we're not
likely to make any great noise, are
WEEP
"'But there's the notice-board on the
tree
"'1 know; but we can get that down
without much trouble
"I don't say as we couldn't. Go on.
"'Well, directly the man ..,s..' th the
picture comes through the gaS., We'll
take him by surprise, throw a chloro-
formed handkerchief over his face be-
fore he's time to cry out, and then rush
off and cab it to Liverpool street. II
there are two men. we must treat them
both the same way
"Clumber hummed and hawed good
bit, but at last / convinced him that
nv scheme was feasible; promising
however, that if the man who brought
the picture should happen after all to
elude us and deliver it at The Lindens
instead of The Elms,' 1 would agree
to the place being burgled. But / did
not anticipate that any such contin-
gency would arise.
Nor did it, not exactly, at least
though Rotherby left the sentence
uncompleted, and, with a whimsical
smile, took some more whisky. Then
he resumed:
"Well, next day we made arrange
ments for pal to look after the rooms,
sent what little luggage we required to
Liverpool street to wait for us and by