New Ulm review., 1907-01-16

Il never have" replied the purser as
he wondered how Uncle Abijah had
escaped the pitfalls that must have
been set for his feet.
IF you ever have a chance, come up
and stay with me for 4 week, and 1t
shan't cost you a red cent. II you've
got wife and children, bring 'eM
along If you could come in the win
ter, I'd take you TO half a dozen spell
ing schools, and we'd slide down hills
on hand sleds. Town a hill over mile
long. and my old woman can make
buckwheat cakes to beat the band.
Say, now, is there any danger of any
one stealing my package from you p
Not the slightest
Because there are some suspicious
characters aboard I've run across
/ four different men that wOuldn
trust to go to my barn and get peek
measure of oats. They call themselves.
Stone. Dubois, Saunders and Wilkin-
son. We've got tin peddlers up in my
state that look more honest than these
men do. I'm right on to 'em, however,
and they can't fool me. ?
At least once day during the rest
| Of the voyage each Of the four detee-
uyes sought out the purser and report
ed progress and planned what shoufI
be done when quarantine was reached.
| While each one had only suspected
one another on the start, only three
| days had passed when each mans sus-
| picions included the three others in the
| quartet. Uncle Abijah bothered them
from the start. He insisted on butting
| in at all times and under all eircum
stances. If one detective had another
aside to pump him, the old man from
New Hampshire presently appeared
| and carelessly said:
| Gentlemen. | hope / don's intrude,
but We're either Of you ever up in Sock
county, N. Fl. 2"
Never was the reply.
'"Then you've missed great thing
We hain't got no Niagara falls up
there, but sliding down hill in the
| winter beats anything you can find
| outdoors. You load up big she'd
with gals and boys and head her down
hill and let her go. and the first thing
l
| hain't got but one spare bed in the
house. but Martha and me will sleep
| on the floor if you'll come up.'
Sometimes the four sleuths would
play cards together and pretend to BIZ
very jovial and friendly Before the
game was fairly under way Uncle
Abijah would stroll into the smoking
room and say:
II dunno whether any of you fellers
heard about that big robbery in Lon
don or not, but it was corker. Feller
walked into u jewelry store and picked
up bushei of diamonds and walked
out ag'in as cool as a hired man going
to work. l happened TO be right nigh
the store at the time, and I didn't
know but what they would arrest me-
The feller got away, but I'm purity sure
saw him and would know him ag'in.
He would then lounge cut on deck,
and the game would soon break up, and
one Of the officers would hunt up Uncle
Abijah to get further particulars He
would intimate that he had seen the
robber among the passengers aboard
and that he might give him away on
landing, and thus the four officers
would be further puzzled and mysti
fed. Each one was invited up to New
Hampshire over and over again, and
before Sandy Hook was sighted each
one knew the old mans history from
the day he was born. No arrests were
made at quarantine. It had been left
to the purser, and he had telephoned
up. -Four interviews had been held
with him, and as a result four different
men We're arrested when the steamer
made her dock. The victims were
Messrs. Saunders, Dubois, Wilkinson
and Stone. Uncle Abijah saw them
taken into custody and smiled and
winked. He had also worked out a lit
tie plan.
Three hours later the four men, ae-
companied by two detectives irons
headquarters. boarded the Monarch Il,
ask Of the purser:
What do you know of the old fellow
who called himself Barnesa"
Nice old man and innocent as a
child" replied the official. Say, now.
he's gone off and forgotten his pack
age.
III he returns for it, tie a string
around his wrist and hold him fast,
laughed one Of the headquarters men
hes the chap that took the dia-
monds.'
The Value of Lifeboats
Considerably more shipwrecked sail
0rs are saved by their own boats than
oy any other means. says London An
sWers. Thus of 2,159 persons saved
on the coasts of the United Kingdom
IN l9O3-O4, 165 were saved by the
rocket apparatus and assistance from
the shore, 423 by lifeboaIs, 143 by
! coast guard boats and other craft. G41
oy passing ships and 735 by their own