The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1903-11-26

l
ing carefully at the window, he
opened it and slipped out. He
dropped to the ground and started
at full speed along the tracks to-
ward the town of Girardville, but
the noise of his fall had been heard
by the men in the station, and
they started in pursuit.
Dalton, however, was too fleet
for them. Finding that their
victim was escaping, one of the
men stopped, and, drawing his re.
volver, fired two shots at the fugi-
tive. One of the bullets passed
through Dalton's hat the other
went through his sleeve, grazing
his skin.
1t took only a few minutes for
the watchmau to reach the town,
and only few minutes more for a
posse to collect and return with
him to the station, but the robbers
were gone and no trace of them
could be found. They had secured
SIS from the cash drawer and three
packages from the express room.
A man named Patrick Brennan
was arrested on Saturday, and is
held i'll the Pottsville Jail.
The police propose to leave no
stone unturned in this case for they
believe that, in solving the mystery
of Girardville, they will unearth
the murder of Operator Clendenin
at Jersey Shore, and the assailant
of Operator Hafer, at Allenwood.
They unhesitatingly express the
opinion that these robberies are the
work of a gang and that the plans
of the desperados are leading them
into this section as a field for their
crimes.
STATION ROBBED AT cLEARFIELD.
Robbers entered the passenger
station of the Pennsylvania Rail-
road at Clearheld last Saturday and
with nitro-glycerine blew open the
safe, but were frightened away be-
fore securing any booty. The in
terror of the office was wrecked.
AGENT AT ALLENwooD ATTACKED.
A masked man at 1 o'clock last
Friday morning entered the Read
ing station at Allenwood, greeted
the operator with the stern com.
mand: Get up; open all the
keys" and enforced his demand at
revolver's point. A threat of death
caused Operator Murrell J. Hafer,
who lives at Milton, to open the
money drawer, blow felled
Hafer and chloroform placed him
out of the way and likewise Benja-
min Jamison, who was asleep in
the waiting room, thus giving the
brutal desperate opportunity to
escape.
Hafer had received over the wire
the startling message of Clendenin's
tragic death and the information
that the murderer was speeding
away from the scene of the bloody
crime on a freight train, having
left the New York Central at New
berry Junction and boarded a train
south. At 10 o'clock the Mont
gomery operator wired Hafer of a
man failing to leave a freight at
Montgomery because the train was
going too rapidly. When the train,
No. 5S, reached Allenwood the
operator saw the man jump down
and vanish in the darkness. Think
ing perhaps the fellow was Glen
DENNIS slayer and that he was
bound for the Pennsylvania tracks.
Hafer notified the proper authori-
ties, then resumed work.
The young operator (Hafer is rs
years old) paid no attention to foot
falls he heard at about I o'clock
until he looked up into the coldly
cleaning barrel of deadly weapon
aimed at him. The robber thrust
the revolver into his face and
ordered him instantly to go to the
money drawer. From it the mask
ed man took S2I.S9. Then with
out warning he grasped Hafer by
the throat, felled him with power.
full blow, gagged him, and chloro-
formed him, having first, however,
drugged the sleeping lounger in
the waiting room.
Unable to raise" Allenwood
operators north and south dispatch
ed the engines of freight No. 90,
south bound, and No. 1881, north
bound, to the station. No. 90 got
there first and the engine men
found the operator and the lounger
both unconscious on the floor.
The gag removed, the unconscious
operator was slowly brought to
consciousness and to a remembrance
of the terrible ordeal he had ex-
perienced.