The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-03-17

At half-past nine O'Clock on Thursday
night last the front door of the residence
of Thomas Kellow, at $40 Grove street,
on the summit of the hill short dis
tance beyond the entrance to Bellevue
Park, was kicked open, and Lewis Part
ridge, of 2l2 Seventh street, bound and
gagged, staggered into the entrance hall.
A party of young people were engaged
in game OF cards in the dining room
adjoining the hall. and, not recognizing
the intruder, owing to his nearly black
face, protruding eyes and otherwise re-
pellant look, concluded from his appear
ance. together with the violence of his
entrance, that he was masked and bent
on mischief, and that there were others
with him from whom trouble might be
expected. With this impression, Roy
Stookey, a young man living at ~ Eighth
street, who was one of the card party,
seized q chair and was about to strike
the man with it, when the latter managed
to utter the single word, "cutp' 1t was
then discovered that his arms were tied
behind his back, and block of wood
wedged into his mouth and held there by
strings passing about his head and tied
to the cords with which his hands were
fastened. The gag cords were cut and
the wedge removed from Partridge q
mouth, after which the man, though ex-
hausted, faint and hysterical, crying and
laughing by turns, and unable to talk
coherently, managed to tell the story OF
the outrage of which he had been the
victim.
From the account OF his experience
then given, and as drawn out by subse-
quent interviews, the facts appear to be
substantially as follows: Mr.. Partridge
is sales agent and collector for the De
Laval Cream Separator Company, and
the duties of the agency require him to
make frequent trips throughout the
county, as most of the machines are
sold ON the installment plan, and pay.
ments on the notes given by purchasers
are continually falling due. Owing to il
health, and the condition of the roads
during most of the past winter, he had
put off some of his journeys, so that al
unusual amount had accumulated fol
collection. Before making his last week..
trips he sent notices to his customers o
his intended visit, and as a consequence
he found them very generally prepared
to meet their obligations. He started
out on Monday and returned to Homes
dale on Tuesday night. His collections
for the trip were inadvertently left in hi
pocket over night, and were taken witt
him when he left town for his Wednes
days journey. The day was spent il
prospecting for business and collecting
mainly in Paupack township, its clos'
finding him at Avoy, in Lake, where h,
was the guest of George w. Edward
over night. Thursday was another sue
cessful day, and in the evening, well sat
istied with his trip, he drove homeward
He had with him somewhere betweel
$500 and $500, all in currency, which h
disposed about him in various pockets
under the impression that the bulk of
would be overlooked if any one tried t.
relieve him of the treasure.
His last voluntary stop on the way wa
made at Adelia, about five miles from
town, where he remained for few mo
ments. Then driving on he passed alon
what is known as the Sandercock road
feeling little apprehensive as he jour
neyed through the patch of woods, an
greatly relieved as he emerged in sigh
Of the electric lights of the borough, an
heard the whistle of the incoming Fri
passenger train due in Honesdale at 1850
but which on Thursday evening was
few minutes late.
Shortly after leaving the woods, an
while specially attracted by the stree
lights in town, and particularly by tn
druggists window displays, he met tw
men on foot, one passing on either sid
of his wagon, which was an ordinar
one-seated buggy, from which the to
had been removed. AS the men passe
one of them gave him an ordinary salt
tation, but thinking that this might b
a plan to induce him to betray his ider
tity by his voice, he did not answer
When the men got by, he turned aroun
sufficiently to see them come together i
the road and pass on towards the woods
whereupon he urged his horse into
little faster gait, and had proceeded
few rods, when the animal SHE'D, al
parently startled by something in iii