The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1906-03-05
THE ADVENTURES
OF A CARPETBAC

hoAu Vi a AdAncE ldlSO u coHsLhDie1,
who III treated me, worked me nearly
TO death and made me sleep in the barn.
l had been with the farmer almost a
month and we had begun haying when
/ was aroused from a sound sleep one
night an hour after midnight by hear
ing footsteps moving about. / got
carefully to my feet and saw two men
just within the door. They were speak
ing In guarded tones. and yet l could
hear every word they said. They had
something they wanted to conceal.
They talked of a bank. They wondered
n they were pursued. They mention
ed the name Of the farmer in a way
to show that they were acquainted with
him and his wife. One of the fellows
finally climbed into the haymow with
a carpetbag In his hand, and | heard
him tramping around on the hay for
several minutes; then he descended and
said to the other:
Il have hidden it In the corner under
the hay. and no one will bIunder across
1t. Let's be getting out of here"
AS they left the barn ! went to the
door and saw them enter Il vehicle and
drive away. | climbed up to the hay
and In ten minutes had unearthed the
carpetbag. 1t was not only bulging
full, but SO heavy that | had trouble to
get down with ii.
Down In the old pasture back of the
barn was an old limekiln. | had lools-
ed into II three or four tImcs and noted
that IL was a capital hiding place.
Away I went with the carpetbag across
the field. and In half an hour | had
hidden IL away and was back ut the
barn. There was no further sleep for
me that night.
The farmer was up AT daylight, ana
after Il hasty breakfast. we l3adel up
and drew in w loads of hay. This
new crop was pitched up on top Of the
old. During the day we got In two
more loads and finished the haylng nest
day by filling the NOV clear 70 tie roof.
Every night | expected the resGrn o.
the mel who had left the carpetbag.
but they did not show up until the
eighth night.
When they discovered that the new
hay had been put In. their curses wege
awful to hear. ana during tne l-st dis
appointment they almost : u blows.
There was no chance OF their digging
out the bag. and after awhile tiley
formed some other plan and departed.
They returned mex morning. and under
pretense Of wishing to buy the far.u
they got the constable down in the
cornfield and had a long talk with him.
What they did. as subsequent events
proved, was to tell him the story AM
bride him with a promise OF a share of
the spoils.
When they came out Of the cornfield
the three went to work pitching the hay
down on the floor. l was sent to hoe
in the garden while they did this work.
BY and by they got down to where the
.carpetbag ought to have been. but
was not, and then l was sent for.
The strangers had been told that !
slept In the barn. and ii was only
natural that / should be suspected. For
a long hour, using threats. cajolery and
all sorts of promises, they tried to make
me W up. l lied and stuck to ii. /
lied because the constable and his wife
had iii used me and because / knew
the two men to be robbers. I had a
belief that the bag contained money
but was not sure, and the Idea Of
profting by 1t had not entered my head.
The men finally came to the conclu-
sion. or pretended to. that / had not
taken the bag. and l was sent about my
work. On the afternoon of the fourth
day l was sen down to the old pasture
to fix a gap In the fence. This was a
put up Job. but I did not know 1t. One
Of the strangers followed me, and when
l visited the old kiln after fixing the
fence he was close at my heels. was
peering into the dark cavity when he
dashed me aside and reached In and
got the bag. Then he grabbed at me.
but I lodged him and ran away. He
followed on after me, coaxing and
threatening. but had no show to seize
me.
He was gradually driving me toward
the ~cornfield when a bull that had
come through the. gap in the fence and
been lying behind some bushes got to
his feet and came charging at the man.
The surprise was so sudden that the
fellow dropped the bag and took to his
heels. The bull chased him to and over
a fence, forty rods away. while ! grab
bed up the bag and disappeared among