The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-12-06
He Loved a Thief.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.


fOrieinail
A number OF happenings conspircd 60
give me my beloved ceciie. and tho
s.fangest Of all o. them was that a
man whom ! never saw or heard OF
should bare crossed my path twice.
Queer. Isn't Il. that one should bo IN.
Gchfed to a thief for the inestimable
treasure or a good wife. wife Of rare
common sense. a wife capable OF maxi
ing a wise decision without time for
consideration.
I entered my hotel IN the dusk Of the
evening. went upstairs and was sur
prlsed 10 see the door OF my room
ajar. Quickly entering. saw young.
well dressed woman standing IN the
center Of the room. Near her was my
trunk open-I had left II iockcd-and
much Of It's contents scattered over the
floor.
Caught in the actl" said 70 her.
She was as white as sheet. and
feared she would faint I started 10
push the electric button 20 summon
others. but she caught my hand Ia
vlselike grip. Then. putting her other
hand 10 her heart. she tried TO speak.
Finally she succeeded IN doing 30 in a
whisper:
"Don't! For heavens sake. don'ti I
can't 90 10 jail couldn't endure II.
II would kin me. Spare me. am
Innocent"
The last three words sngered me.
'Tnnocentg exclaimed. @You are
adding a lie 20 a theft"
Her grip tightened spasmodically on
my wrist
Il confess she said presently. let
me GO"
There had been nothing Of especial
value In theitrunk. II should have
the girl arrested I would be put to
great deal Of trouble. Besides. I had
not the heart TO send her to prison.
GO" l said. pointing to the door.
She raised the wrist she held. kissed
my hand and rushed from the room.
What was my surprise the next
morning to see her leave the hotel in
company with an elderly lady OF APP
parent responsibility, both getting into
n private carriage.
''who are those ladIesT' asked Of
the clerk Of the hotel.
mime. Crawshaw and her daugh-
ter"
DO you know anything about
themT
II should say so. They always stop |
here when they come to the city; have |
stopped here for years"
1t occurred to me that the girl was
either kleptomaniac or one Of those !,
people who support respectable sta
ton by theft The former supposition
could not be correct. for only an ex-
pert could have picked the lock OF my
trunk. The case was so mysterious
that 1t occupied my mind to the ex-
clusion Of everything else. The last
object saw before going to bed at
night and the first thing on awakening
In the morning was that terrified, inn
ploring face. l tried to dismiss 1t,
but It would not be dismissed. If the
girl had not been thief should have
suspected that / had fallen in love
with her.
Three years passed. had not ceas-
ed to wonder about the girl who had
robbed me. Indeed, had become in
with either the mystery at
tending the case or something remem-
bered in her personality, could not
determine which. One day received
4 letter from the chief of police of a
distant city stating that a burglar had
been arrested in whose lair was found
many stolen articles. One was book
with my name and address on the fly
eaf. The collection was open to my
Inspection.
The book had been in the trunk that
rad been riied, cared nothing for
I, but would not the arrest Of this
nan throw some light on the girl wao
lad robbed me? Doubtless she was
he mans acc0mplice. l took train
II once and on my arrival went to the
police office There were the book and
several other articles of mine,
was permitted TO interview the
burglar, and he told me that he had
inferred my room at the hotel, opened
ny trunk and taken what he wanted.
Ie left without being discovered. lie
,new nothing of the girl | had found
n my room aud had no accomplice. Ii
My next move was to write to the !
lotel where had been robbed and I
six for the address Of Nine. Craw- 4
haw In due time received it and 4
ne morning called at an eminently re- Z
pectable residence AMI sent up my !
ard to Miss Crawshaw. When she {
anne down and saw me she paled and h
aught at the back OF a chair.
Don't fear me- I have called to say /,
hat am convinced of your Innocence. y
he man who robbed me has been ar s
ested. and in his possession articles Of Z
line contained in the trunk riaed have .
cen found am here to right . i y