The sun., 1909-02-14

you'll leave me that little roll III
tell you where these other fellows have
hidden their swag SOS you can collect
It quick and skip out. Is IL bargainl
-'Sure, said the man with the guarding
rife. Fifteen dollars meant nothing to the
band compared 10 the risk Well said
Pat calmly pointing TO the first In line.
| That fellows money Is stuffed down his
right bootleg
The holdup investigated and drew
forth a plump roll Of bills from the boot
leg. That next man. went on Pat. has
got his money hid under the hind seat in
the stage The bandit found a fat wallet
stuffed under the cushion. The next has
got his money in his hat. and the next
crammed his stun down the back OF his
neck and the next - Pat went down
the line of them. while the highwayman
drew forth money from all manner OF
places. Swiftly collecting their booty.
they bundled the passengers back in the
coach. set driver and guard back OH their
seats and told them 10 go ahead, not.
however. before they had given Pat a
$50 bill and a hearty slap Of thanks on his
broad Irish back,
-The storm that broke over his head inside
that coach after it had rolled a safe dis
tance from the bandits thres tened his
very life before he could get hearing.
Had IL not been that the robbers had
disarmed them all and Pat was u huge
man he never would have escaped.
Each Of you figure = pp iIJi ;n; how usn much
gers when at last they would listen, and
RI psy you back not only what that is
but an equal amount In addition for the
bother I've given you, and he pulled from
an inner vest pocket huge roll OF bills.
In bewilderment the travellers counted
up their losses Collectively il was about
a thousand dollars Pat peeled of two
one thousand bills from the bulky mass Of
money and handing them to a responsible
passenger asked him to make correct
division when they reached the railroad.
I'm sorry for the unpleasant quarter
hour ] caused you, he continued. but
It was the only thing ] could do to save
myself. / have Just sold a mine back In
Silver Cliff for s8O,O0O cash and had no
other way to bring the money out except
in my pocket Here is the bundle OF it,
and he held up the fat roll. When |
heard the holdups outside ! thought IL
was ell up, for you can't hide money from
those hounds. But when you fellows
pulled out your money to hide IL and
saw that none Of you had any large amount
| thought | would work Q game on the
road agents and give yon away TO the
villains in order to save myself. ] surely
did They've got a thousand dollars
but I've saved my money!
1t was the treasure box Of the Wells
Fargo company which transported prac-
tically all the gold and silver from the
camps that was the special object Of the
old time highwayman. A shrewd band
OF robbers would not hold up stage
unless they had good reason to think
10 carried a large shipment OF gold. and
they used every means TO find out when
these shipments would be made. The
company on the other hand, tried to
deceive and trap them. and there was
war Of wits as we'll as weapons. A
favorite method Of the company. when
their stages had been repeatedly robbed
by some band whose success showed they
had inside information as to the times
OF shipment, was 20 let r,lmor leak out
! that on a certain day a large amount Of
Dgold dust would be secretly sent out by
| special stage. This of course would reach
the ears of some of the band and a rob-
berry would be organized. A spy would see
n mum ber of heavy boxes placed aboard
and report all we'll, When the highway
men halted the stage the driver and
guard would meekly give up and crawl
to the ground. Then, just when the ban
dts had grown careless from easy success
there poured from the loopholed coach
a deadly fire that at such short range
wiped out the entire gang at the first
volley. For the coach was a decoy,
filled not with gold but with men expert
with the rife. In 1880 three bands were
thus blown TO perdition on the old stage
line between Virginia City. New. and
| Sacramento.