The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-05-06
GrandsOns We're Crooks
And She Helped
Them.
CLEVER THIEVES CAUGHT.
They Creased the Railroad Track and
Carried Away Much Plumber
From Moving Trains

T VERYoNE has heard Of pour
ing oil on troubled waters but
~ 1t Is real novelty to grease
railway tracks to slow Up
LIZ train The idea is due to
an old French woman, who
saw with regret her sons income rs a
train robber running down. Il can't
board those fast through freight trains"
he complained in excuse and his coufea-
crates, who were his sons, backed him
up In II.
Then grease the track" retorted the
indomitahle old lady. And don't stand
there ha-ha-ins like so many Stiles. Try
1t and you win find out VINO IS silly. you
or your old mothe-i' The boys called II
'grandma's idea" bu, they tried Il. For
months after the date OF this conversation
the freight department officials OF the
Paris Lyons & Midi Railroad Company
continued to be mystiied over the unac-
countable loss of valuable merchandise
from the fast freight train that had been
their pride and boast. The packages sim
ply disappeared. Detectives pursued clsws
in vain. The traps laid for the robbers
caught nobody. And the robberies grew
more and more audacfous They sealed TIE
cars on their departure. The cars arrive
at their destination with the seals intact
The cars were specially watched from the
moment Of their loading AID sealing until
the moment Of departure. At every STU
ton trusted employees examined them anil
stood by them until the train started on
again. They discovered nothing. The chef
de train-an honest man--offered TO re-
sign.
The story got into the papers and won /.
der-mcngering philosopher OF the type OF
NJ Flammarion wrote articles about 1t,
bringing in a fourtn dimension OF space.
cracks in the universe" and the innate
perversity OF inanimate objects.
One day a track walker happened to OBJ
serve along the line between Savisny and
Juvisy-sur- Orges scattered row OF white
sugar-coated cough drops. extending from
the middle of the track to where they lost
themselves in n mass of shrubbery nj the
side. Following them as Hop o. My Thumb
followed the phite pebbles, he found them
leading to the roadway, across II, into a
field, and there the clew gave out. Evil
IDENTITY someone had carried "A bag of cough
drops over that route. a bag with a hole in
it, through which the cough drops fell
and scattered.
The indication was precious, because
there was precisely a bag OF sugsr-coated
cough drops among the merchandise that
disappeared the night before from the fast
through freight train. Reporting the Incl
dent. a careful search was made of every
thing I'm the vicinity and, much to the
were found to he thickly smeared with
lard Smeared with lardl Lard Why. Of
course. IL flashed on them Immediately
that someone must have put that lard
there. Why? That was the mystery, and
they pondered over II three days. Then
one OF the detectives had great thought.
Let us lie In watch around that neigh
borhood and perhaps something Will turn
up"
That night as the detectives OF the Paris.
Lyons & Midi Railway Company were iy-
ing hidden by the track they perceived
dark shadows moving toward them. Three
men. boy and two women came up and
began mysterious operations They car
ried buckets and worked knseAng down
along the track. They were greasing the
rails again. The detectives allowed them
to work on In peace TIL all WAS finish
ed. They remained tn hiding while the
mysterious track HreaserS. all but one man,
hurried down the line in the direction OF
Paris. They waited. The moments seemed
long. Al last. however. the rumhling Of an
approaching train was heard. II was the
fast through freight.