The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-09-01
testing in angry tones,

testing in angry tones.
What is the meaning of tniS!' the
man with the woman asked after l had
made everything safe.
lit Means" said |, that you are ar
rested for burglary"
Burglary" he exclaimed. Then he
toned down and said: "A!y dear fellow,
you've made an awful mistake. III God 5
name, listen. and you'll see what Il nice
mess You have pat me in and this gentle
young lady us well. | have loved her
long, and her friends objected, and this is
only an elopement."
The lady began TO weep and to entreat
me not to delay them, and l admit that l
felt rather queer.
Just then Il well dressed man came out
of the station, for it was late, and only
few persons We're around waiting for the
next train.
Here. station MASTER" said my prison
er, you know me, don't your
Certainly" was the answer. You
are Captain Manning"
You hear that. sir?" said the prisoner.
Il have been coming here for years. l
am Captain Manning of the Royal high
landers, and this is niece of the gentle
man whose home she has just left"
Il don't think I've made any mistake"
1 said. Squire Horizons was the place.
We had the information straight"
Squire Horton's.' he exclaimed. "Why,
the place is Mr.. Orion 's-not Squire Hor-
tons. Squire Horizons is mile farther
along the turnpike
THAT'S So" said the station master.
WELL" said l to my companion, Il
fancy we must have blundered badly.
What do you tl:ink?''
1T looks like it, was the answer. 1.-The
station master knows this gentleman, and
here's young lady, and-l think we had
better make haste back. as it mayn't be
too late yet to remedy the blunder."
We took off the nippers as the train
came along and saw our prisoners de-
part. TIE lady and gentleman waved
their handkerchiefs as they passed out Of
sight. We looked for the station master.
but he nad gone, ana after pIunuefIhs
:bout for half an hour we managed to
hire a vehicle, for the carriage had dis
appeared. And so we drove back. When
we had gone Il short distance beyond the
door in the lane, we met 4 gamekeeper
and inquired the way to Squire Horizons.
This is Squire Horizons" he said.
".ire yoT sure of it?" l asked.
well. I'm one of his gamekeepers, and
ought to know" he replied.
rs there any other gentleman living
near here named Horton or Orton?'' in.
qCircd.
None that l know OF, and I've lived
here for thirty odd years." he said
Then burglary has been committed
here tonight l said, and l must get
speech with some one in the house imme
diately. l and my friend are London de
tcctives."
To make long story short, the lodge,
keeper was reused, the gates were open
ed, and we drove up 10 the house. After
some time | gained admission. and the
whole truth was soon known. Mrs. Hor-
tons youngest child was very sick, and
she had been sleeping i'll the nursery.
Her maid was missing and with her all
the jewelry owned by Mrs. Horton.
We had to make the best of bad job.
We drove back to the station and tele-
graphcd to the stations north. Finally
we received Il response that three per.
sons answering the descriptions of those
we wanted had left the train at Ger
tain junction. | concluded that they
would find their way back to London, as
being the place where they could best
hide themselves and dispose of their
booty. We took the train back to Lon,
don, and my conviction was that the
thieves world return to the city by the
Northwestern. AS soon rs we arrived al
Scotland Yard and reported kilograms
were sent Ia ey:'ry port by which the
thieves might attempt to leave the coun,
try, and the terminus of each of the Lon
don railroads was watched. AS l and
my associate were positive they would
return to the city By the Northwestern.
we lay in wait there. By the express
that arrived ut l O'Clock in the morning
we captured our quarry. They had dis
guised themselves, but there were few
passengers, and we had used our eyes to
good purposes as to the height and gen
cral appearance of the trio. Trey pro
tested and clustered, but ''once bit, twice
shy" and their bravado didn't answer
They had got rid OF the large yalise, and
one of the men carried gentlemaa's kat
case, the lady Il large reticule and the
other man an ordinary carpetbag. We
recovered all the jewelry. We found that
the woman had been less than Il month
in Mrs. Horizons service, having secured
the place as maid Oh forged testimonials
1t was her part of the business to ascer-
tain tie value and whereabouts of the
jewelry and to arrange the time for the
robbery, and we learned that she select
ed the absence of Mr.. Horton as the most
favorable opportunity for securing the
jewelry, the existence Of which she soon
learned. Mrs. Horizons statement was
that when the child was taken i'll it was
at her maids suggestion that she occu-
pied bed in the nursery. The removal
Of the case containing the jewels was
comparatively easy, as Mrs. Horton had
implicit faith in her maid and had in
trusted her with the keys of her bureau
and wardrobe. We convicted the three,
although they were defended by the most
able counsel money could procure.
How about the station master?'
"Ch, he was one of the gang and had
nothing to do with the railroad
What would have happened if the
thieves had finally escaped?"
Il suppose that, as was in charge in
the first instance, | should have been
cashiered, but / should now have two
hands to use instead of only one, so that
things wouldn't have been so very IN
equal. "-Exchangc.