The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-12-24
The STORY OF ArHIEE.

eA-ceuFlct- knew mat must take
a big chance with Father Dover. who
was a powerful and so far as | could
find out. game fellow. 1 figured that
ID need scrapper to help me. and SO
wrote UP to Chicago TO man named
I-erney, who knew was all right, though
I'd never seen him. He had done time at
Canon City, Sing Sing ard Joliet. and he
, rad rep for the roush-house act that
/ fitted my case exactly.
| L explained the job pretty well in the
| letter. never dating nor signing it, but
| leaving il to him TO make good just on
| the size OF the swag, the post-Tnark and
| the proposition that I knew the ground
and meant TO turn the trick. SO far as the
money went myself. The scheme was
( this: Father Dover had been announc-
| Ing a collection for the first week OF De-
| cember or rather the first Sunday. and
] knew by the way ne went at IL that he
meant to make ii a corker. I had been
IL Hillside only a short time. but there
wasn't much doing in my line because the
| place was too near big town The one
little bank never carried enough cash over
night to make the chance worth while,
| and the merchants nearly ali kept their
cash in the city.
LAS the collection at ST. Sulpice's was To
be on Sunday morning, l knew that the
priest would have to keep the money in
&c get Tierney to come UP and help me
with the job for third OF the cash. The
priest slept alone in a little room OF the
sGcristy. The safe, a pretty big, old
fashioned thing, was in the sacristy, and
besides his money Father Dover kept
lot of gold and silver altar fxings in it
Tierney's part was to stand between me
and the door into the priests room. and
soak him If he made a go at me. knew
T:erney's record. and he was just as good
with the sand-bag or the iead-pipe as
with drugs, though his best jobs We're
done with chloroform. / explained the
whole scheme 70 him in the letter be-
cause l had the goods on him just as
strong as he had them on me. and there
wasn't any reason for mincing matters.
Il explained in the letter that ne was TO
ccn1e up to Hillside on the night train
Saturday and meet me in the front pew
o. the south aisle about 10 o'clock that
night. | picked the church itself be-
cause they kept IL open for confessions
till 1889 every Saturday. and the only
confessional in the place was near the
door on the north side The people who
came into the church after 3 at night al
ways huddled around the confessional,
and I figured that ii would be a wise
play to fix up the job right in the church.
| had been posing around az pretty reg
ular Catholic myself, and I knew that
my being in the church wouldn't attract
any attention.
Il got word in time from Tierney that
he'd show up, and SO l went TO the
church, just at 16 o'clock. and down the
aisle TO the front seat. He was there all
right, but l was a bit jolted by his looks
He was pretty near a swell in his
clothes, his hair was gray and he was
about as pious looking thief as / ever
saw. l sided in next to him. said hello,
and made sure that he gave grin Of
recognition. He didn't say a word, and
rather liked that play. ! whispered the
whole scheme to him, and he just stared
at the altar. making a sign of the cross
now and then as pious-like as you please.
/ was tickled to death. l told him that
the south window nearest the altar was
just over the Toulouse, and that we
must come in that way: the sacristy
ccor leading from the sanctuary was al
ways open. | had the tools TO drill the
old safe, and the dynamite if that was
necessary and all he was to do was to
keep guard and soak the priest If he woke
up and interfered. When l got through
explaining he just looked at me and nod
eed, cute as the devil. and I handed him
card that read: The Toulouse at
O'clock tomorrow night. The Dinwiddle
saloon, Chicago, after that
My idea was that we'd make our get
away separate and divvy the loot at the
D.nwiddle. He took the card stuck II in
to his overcoat pocket and went out OF
the church without a word. OF course.
was at the Toulouse at little before
on Sunday night, or rather Monday
morning. l even got up and tried the
window before Tierney came and had
everything set in plenty of time. knew
he was coming. because I saw him piking
me as 1 passed the railroad saloon. and
he was only block behind me all the
way up. But l had waited an hour in the
cold before l realized that 1t must be
near o'clock. Then | heard the fast
Y est-bound train whistle and I knew that
il was past p / was Just getting ready
to go. though I couldn't understand Tier
neys funk. when / heard the back door
of the church slam and the scurry of
feet rushing down the plank walk.
waited till they died away. and then made
a sneak down the alley. circled around
the town and brought UP at the railroad
saloon about in the morning. The place
was crowded and everybody was excited.
| edged my way into the crowd. bought a |,
drink, and asked Jerry. the bartender |
" hat was the matter. He said that Father I
Dover had been murdered by a burglar /
who had robbed the safe of nearly a 4
thousand dollars, struck the clergyman 1
with piece of lead pipe and escaped.
Now. this was a poser for me. because 4
1t was my job exactly. and / knew that /
robody was in the neighsorhood up to 1
such a play but Tierney. l had taken
about five. for M nerve. when Tierney
himself came in with the constable and I
pointed me out He didn't say a word. I
hut just the same they pinched me The
people would have lynched me too but
the sheriff got TO town an hour later
and took me over 10 the county seat As
a matter af fact. Father Dover didn't I
die If he had I'd have swung long ago.
never did understand anything about
the mystery till the day OF the trial. when
Tierney appeared as witness against
ne 1t looked pretty Merry TO me. be-
ca use I was sure he'd done the job him
self. But the swell, the gTay-haired chan
that I'd talked 10 In the front pew. The
man I'd given the card to. wasn't TiernAy
A. all. Il was Michael Dover. the
RESTS own brother. and a deaf-mute
INTO the bargain He hadn't heard a (
word Of my talk. but the card made him
think that there was something doing !
he followed ne w AT distance. but In
stead Of coming round to the tooi-house
he went IN his brothers room of the
sscristy. found the door open ard the !
pr,est inside with his head beaten 81 and !
he safe robbed
But who did the OBJ. Howson7- I in
errupted. When the burglar had got this
tar
who? why. Tlernev. II course. told
IN I had the job fxcd for IN the morn
ng. and he came. fist and d{s Il II mid
light. II was a poor stunt. ] Eaess NIT /
'Vhy. he got near ene1 bucks Tor his
rouble. and I done four wears Tor him.
n. he's a genius ~ HIS business. -
Iohu II. Raftery..