The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-12-15

I ary and March, 1881, the city | was stirred from the center | to the circumference by the daily reports of Sburglaries
 A committed. of the most dsr- ing character. Forty houses 1 were entered fn as many nights, and from l each some article of more or less value
 was taken. Such a state of alarm had
 not existed in this usually peaceful com
 munity since the advent of Wilson's ever
 memorable raid of lsVJ. 70 = | The streets were patroiled at night by | armed squads of citizens, and the police
 force was increased by putting on a mum
 Der of extra men. Staid old chlirchmen,
 who had never fired a revolver in their i lives, might have been seen at the gun
 dealers, purchasing revolvers of the most
 improved make. Mothers pressed their
 breath, looked in the direction of the
 noises made at night by the rattling of
 window, or a crealping shutter. Ttmid
 maidens, before retiring at night, lamps
 In hand, cautiously explored each closet
 and carefully peeped under each bed. to
 see if any burglar had ensconsced him. self there.
 Every energy and art, together with
 the utmost vigilance, was used by the authorities to detect the daring thief
 but all to no avail. The Mayor. issued, proclamation, offering a seward for the
 capture. Yet still each night the bur glaries continued.
 These bTFglaries were all of tlls,s the same 9n
 was was generally at the front window,
 which, in this city. almost invariably
 opened on veranda, and often opened down to the floor. The, exit was made
 cases. through the front door. The house, once entered. each room was searched for valuables and if no alarm
 was caused nor the inmates awakened. on several occasions the burglar entered ; the dining room, lit the gas and partook
 of any cold collation. found on the side
 board-cake. turkey, wine' ham and so forth. No great skill wes shown in making
 the entrance but the audacity of the burglar and his immunity from capture About this time. a careful observer might have noticed at one of our best hotels Q most strlkingly handsome and . faultlessly dressed man, whose classical features and polished manners would have admitted him to any circles of so- , ciety. He was about 30 years of age and remarkably well proportioned; dark hair, large dark eyes of great intelligence that E seemed to look you from head to foot as soon as their owner cast them upon |" you; a complexion that would have eXcit- k ed the envy of d girl; long dark mous- k tache, slightly curled up al the ends, GOV !. ering lips of corral redness. which, when E parted by a smile, often illuminated the S owners countenancs and disclosed teeth , of pearly whiteness.
 This most entrancing smile once seen s could never be forgotten The voice was . we'll modulated. each word and accent as ' clear as the chime of silver bell. All $ who met .lor made he acquaintance of 2 this man were most faVorably impressed. " Such nberality. such generosity and such Es unobtruSiveness! His personal magnet E ism was very great
 1. had met this man. He was introduced sS to me as Mir. Joseph Sutton of Texas. He k freely discussed the burglaTtes then e nightly occurring and even suggested " some plan by which the midnight marau- S der might be apprehended. Sutton was is passionately bond of card playing (poker) ! and frequently made considerable loos- Hs inRs.
 k At times he would excuse himself from < the game in which he was playing, say E ing he would take a walk and short ex- !; ercise, leaving what money and checks & he had on the table. After an absence of k an hour or two he would return. resume :, his seat and play. apparently very much < exhileTated by his walk and the fresh 2 air. Should any one of the players be in q bad luck and consequently in bad humor l. he would smlingly recommend the same V course by a short walk and fresh air S saying that he was always benefited by | the same.
 ' At other times when his finances were S apparently low. he would absent himself E from the city for three or four days al-
 ways returning flush with money. These periodical absences at first did not at s tract my attention. One day a stranger standing on the sidewalk heard me intro- ' duce sutton to gentleman friend of E mine. After Sutton and my friend had , conversed awhile and then walked off to- ' gether. the stranger asked me what Sut-
 ton name Wds' | uiHeSttdLIHSly tOlO S him.
 s You are mistaken, he said, "that is . James Chastain. one Of the most noted '' thicN os that "ver lived. I know whereof was so mortified and lumbfounded " that I did not notice the stranger had e walked off, and from that day to this s have not seen him, nor do l know his s Recovering my wits, began to think. S Can 1t possibly be mat the gentlemanly s Sutton Is the thief who Is causing loss S in this city?'
 < My suspicious being aroused. from this s time on l kept close watch over Sutton S important fact-that when Sutton was < absent from the city there were no bur ' glares committed
 He left one day to visit Eufaula. Ala. :E and remained one night. That night the . residence of Mir Guice. a wealthy citi. s' zen of that place, was burglarized and a k large quantity of valuables, iewelry !. etc, stolen. Sutton returned the neX t' day loaded with plunder.
 k Having in the meantime been husily 2 engaged in tracing up Sutton's antcce = dents, I found that his real name was 4 James Chastain. that he formerly lived < in Memphis. Tenn. and was the trusted bookkeeper of a large mercantile firm oi < that city. He had defaulted to then < in the sum of several thousand dollars. r. learned also that he was an escaped con- ~ vict from the Missouri State Penitentiary x wlrs1e he had been undergoing a sen c. | tence of twenty years for burglary, anC ~ he was also wanted in Texas. & I was now thoroughly convinced tEa Cs Sutton was the man who was causing such consternation amon@ our citizens ss John W. Martin of the police force. and - located Sutton, now Chastain, in his
 x room. Ca ptaip Martin proceeded therC s and had no difficulty in placing him un.