The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1902-05-30

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ty-frst birthday there had to be set
item INT of the books, for his father in
tented to take him into business part
nership. Bond had to have no less
than $1,000 to make good his stealings.
There was no other way left to him
than to steal it. H knew all about
the bank, the combinations to the
locks, the ways of the Waterman and
all that, and he had studied up knock
out drops. He left som, liquor that
had been doctored with drugs for the
Waterman to drink, knowing the
mans weakness, and the rest was
easy. He entered the bank from the
rear steaithiiy, having made sure that
the Waterman was unconscious, had
just got into the inner vault, when he
heard noise and saw a dim light in
the outer room. He knew it could not
be the Waterman, and at once raised
his revolver for action and crouched
to one side. Then he heard a voice,
saying: My God, must have killed
him. I didn't know it was so power
full. Wake up, Mixer
There was no response, and Bond
says he recognized the voice as that of
j
to shoot and escape in a rush if posi-
bile. Then Bond became conscious of
his own danger. His father might
shoot him. The father soon saw the
open doors of the vault. What does
this mean?' he said. Mike, you didn't
do this; you couldn't! Who is there?
| Speak, or I'll shoot. Quickn Then it
| was that Bond saw he had no show
l1 e1,@ 10 Ii fo} 70
| shoot, and revealed his own Identity
'Then there followed strange scene
| in that bank vault. There were<the
| father, the son and the unconscious
| Waterman together in the early hours
of the morning. What does this mean,
| son?' said the father, sternly. Has
| it come to this-my son a bank rob.
| berr' Young Bond said he was game,
| and he replied: What are you doing
here? Are you a bank robber your
| self? Who put Mike in this condi-
tion?' You see he had overheard his
| father make that exclamation about
| Mike, and he took chances. Explain
| your position on the inside of that
vault said the father. Explain what
you said about not knowing that some
thing was SO powerful when you saw
Mike said the son. And then the
father broke down completely and the
son went to pieces, and each, thinking
that Mike was about to die, confessed
to the other. The father had been
specializing in the Eastern markets,
I had used up a lot of trust funds in his
charge, and the only way for him to
get out was to rob his own bank. He
had also left some Knockout drops fol
the Waterman, and it was the com
bined dose that made father and son
think that the man would die. The
son owned up to the father, and theI
followed a discussion as to what was
best to be done.
"They agreed that the bank must bt
robbed; that was their only salvation
They agreed also that it would be bes
for one of them to appear to be de
, Tending the banks treasure. 1t wa
, finally decided that it would be bes
, for the son to wound the father slight
ly in the side, take enough money t.
suit their purposes and leave his faith
er there to be discovered in the morn
, ing The old man said he was so des
perate that he would take chances
and he would tell story about feelin
2 uneasy in his dreams as to the cond
I ton of affairs at the bank and of get
ting up in the night and going dow
there to see if all was right of er
+ countering a robber or set of robber!
s of having a mighty struggle wit
a them ending, so far as he could reco
, | lect, with a revolver shot which mad
i him unconscious. He had no fear 8
q to Mike If Mike recovered he woul
d be so ashamed of being drunk that
II would invent some story of bein
d gagged, especially as father and sc
S had arranged to bind him with ga
o and tie his hands.
t. "Then father and son planned Il
,r details of the shooting, disarrange
d the furniture, bound and gagged tt
m Waterman, took the money and brol
10 the locks, and the father lay dow
id after tearing his clothing and had Il
Id son give him what he supposed w
ID only a slight flesh wound in the sic
The old man was full of nerve, al
m after the shooting was over hurri
al the son away and told him how to a
ne when the discovery was made in t
rs morning. They had wounded t
,e Waterman, also.
n. Bond says he went home and
4. bed and acted his part thorough
a when they reused him to tell him
CeadfuI accident to his father.
# really TO be a dreadfs.l
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