Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1900-01-12
didlcuffiea vow mention and !

70 be sold5 tt AHs
"He nodded
wei, this is my scheme. We must
get the man who brings the picture
to mistake The Hlms' for The Lin
dens,' and wait for him in the garden
How are we to do thatT
Easily enough. The name Of each
house is on the gate, isn't it,
Yes
I" Very, good, then Wen change the
gates. All wen have TO DOH be TO
lift them of the iron uprights they're
hung on, and transpose them. It won't
take minute
+" Tt could be done, assented Joe,
reiectIyely, hut even then the bloke'd
notice that "The Blms" is empty
" Not he, there's caretaker in the
house, and the hall CASH be lit as it
was tonight
" Tho caretalSer might spot us
"' we must risk that; there are plen-
ty Of trees in the garden, and we're
not likely to make any great noise,
are weT
But there's the notice board on the
tree g
" 1 know; but we can get that down
without much trouble
4 don't say as we couldn't. Go
on
Well, directly the man with the
picture comes through the gate, wen
take him 10y surprise, throw a chloro-
formed handkerchief over his face be-
fore he has 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 u
good bit, but at last 1 convinced him
that my scheme was feasible; prom
Using, however. that IL the man who
brought the picture should happen af-
ter all to clude us and deliver it at
The Iindens' instead of The Elms,
l would agree TO the place being bur
gled But / did not anticipate that
any such contingency would arise.
"Well, next day we made arrange
ments for pal 70 look after our
rooms, sent what slttle luggage we re
quired 10 Liverpool Street TO wait Cor
us, and by six o'clock were once more
at Cockermouth Gardens. 1t was a
first-class night for our purpose, very
dark and very wet and I, at least,
had no apprehensions as to the result
Of the enterprise.
we walked straight TO The Elms,
and Clumber who had quick eye,
whispered, excitedly:-
Blessed if that notice-board hasn't
goner
/ SO it has / replied, the place
must have been sold. suppose. Any
how, that's one job saved US, Joe.
"Clunber gave sullSy assent, and
then suggested that we should at once
proceed 10 carry out the interchange
of gates,
AN right said Joe and. as l had
anticipated the matter was effected
without much difficulty
"Then Joseph crept into the gardeI
Of The Elms' (Which we had jus
transformed into The LindensJ Will
kept watch without At last, jus
as heard a church clock striking tn
half-hour, / saw what caused me 4
hurriedly join my partner in the gar
den.
Now's the time. murmure,
hoarsely. The chap with the picture
coming along. and he's alone. Get tn
handkerchief ready.
"Clumber nodded silently, and W
crouched down behind the hedge clos
TO the gravel path leading from tn
gate 10 the house.
The mans Footsteps came neare
and nearer, and eventually he stoppe
outside. There was a moments paus
and ] began to fear that for som
reason or other he was going to pas
by, and so avoid the trap after al
But, no; another moment, and swing
Ing open the gate he strobe up tn
, pathway.
what next ensued / need not d,
, scribe. 1t is enough to say that Clun
! Der did his work noiselessly and il
simultaneously, and that in somethln
, under fifty minutes we had borne OF
, prize in triumph to Liverpool Stree
: Fifteen hours later, having lnnded /,
. Antwerp, we stood with out luggae
awaiting the Customs examination
1--WE had never taken the pictui
! from it's brown paper covering, an
= had certainly no wish to do so no,
o But the Customs officer insisted q
looking into every package, and.
4 course, it wouldn't have done to o
pose him. SO I cut the string, und
= the paper, and exposed to view a han
/. some house agents notice-board Wi
/. a frame-like ridge, the principal fe
. ture Of which was the word
n SOLD.
: THAT was the last crime / ev
"a committed or rather tried to comm
4 and l still think l planned the who
q thing remarkably well. 1t was simp
! and solely due to a series Of the me
% unlucky circumstances that (
NJ scheme didn't come Off"
~ Metals Get Tired.
70 Metals get tired as we'll as living