River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1899-10-05

/ SlDIe cOpptu, " say hothlnS VI ioSihB
| the swag.'
"'Never mind that, Joseph; this case
| is quite different, and there'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 come in 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, as / told you
before
Listen, joe said l. I've thought
of the difficulties you mention, and
see exactly how we can get over them.
house next door to THE Lindens," is to
be sold?
HE nodded.
"'Well, this is my scheme. We must
get the man who brings the picture to
mistake THE Elms" for 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?'
yes
Every good, then Wen change the
gates. All Wen have to don be to lift
them off the iron uprights they're hung
on, and transpose them. 1t won't take
a minute
at could be DONE assented Joe, re-
fectively, but even then the bloke'd
notice that THE Elms'' is empty
mot 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
we?'
But there's the notice-board on the
tree
L know; but we can get that down
without much trouble
81 don't say as we couldn't. Go on.
"Well, directly the man with the
picture comes through the gate, 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. If
there are two men, we must treat them
both the same way
"Clumber hummed and hawed good
| bit, but at last / convinced him that
my scheme was feasible; promising,
however, that if the man who brought
| the picture should happen after all to
1 ! I - II
instead of The Elms,' I 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
| ne resumed:
"Weii, 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
six o'clock were once more at Cocker
mouth Gardens. 1t was a first-class
night for our purpose, very dark and
very wet, and /. at least, had no appre-
tensions as to the result of the enter
prise.
1--WE walked straight to The Elms,
and Clumber, who had a quick eye,
whispered, excitedly:
Blessed if that notice-board hasn't
gone!'
so it has, replied; the place must
have been sold, L suppose. Anyhow,
that's one job saved us, joe
"Clumber gave sulky assent, and
then suggested that we should at once
proceed to carry out the interchange
of gates.
alright said Joe, and, as l had
anticipated, the matter was effected
without much difficulty.
''Then Joseph crept into the garden
of The Elms' (Which had just been
transformed into The Lindens0 while
| kept watch without.
There were two risks we were bound
| to incur; the caretaker might come out
of the house, which was lighted as on
the previous evening, or some one who
knew the houses might observe the
transposed gates.
"But though two or three people
passed me none even glanced at the
gates, nor did the earetaker give any
sign whatsoever. And at last, just as
| heard the church clock striking the
half-hour, l saw what caused me to
| hurriedly join my partner in the gar
den.
'Now's the time l murmured,
hoarsely. The chap with the pictures
coming along, and he's alone. Get the
handkerchief ready
"Clumber nodded silently, and we
crouched down behind the hedge close
to the gravel path leading from the
gate to the house.
THE mans footsteps came nearer
and nearer, and eventually he stopped
outside. There was moments pause,
and l began to fear that for some rea-
son or other he was going to pass by,
and so avoid our trap after all. But,
no; another moment, and swinging
open the gate he strobe up the path
way.
what next ensued l need not de-
scribe. 1t is enough TO say that Clum-
Der did his work noiselessly and in
simultaneously, and that in something
under so minutes we had borne our
prize in triumph to Liverpool street
Fifteen hours later. having landed at
Antwerp. we stood with our luggage
awaiting the customs examination.
I'VE had never taken the picture
from its brown-paper covering, and had
certainly no wish to do so now. But the
customs officer insisted on looking into
every package, and, of course, it
wouldn't have done to oppose him. So
| cut the string. undid the paper, and
exposed to view a handsome house
agents notiee-board with frame-like
ridge, the principal feature of which
was the word:
SOLD.
THAT was the last crime l ever COM
mitted. or rather tried 10 commit. and
| still think l planned the whole thing
remarkably well. It was simply and
solely due to a series of the most I'M
I u.