The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1909-01-16

casionS to the room of amazing wealth.
He accepted the alligator bag without
complaint, and counted the bills, one
by one, as they We're passed over to
him by Hank and his assistant There
is no doubt that he detected the false
bottom of the grip, but he gave no
signs of it. He counted the money as
Hank passed it over to him and poked
it into the limitless NAV of the alli-
gator handbag as seriously as if he
suspected nothing.
When he had been paid over the
100000. all in 50-dolar bills, and had
poked them into the grip to be waited
down through the pipe to the room
below. he reached into his pocket for
his wallet. and after fumbling about a
bit pulled out the bottle of drugged
whisky and sat it upon the table.
Gents" he said, with gravity, lets
take drink in honor of the occasion.
] never close a trade of any size with
out taking a drink. 1t makes it easier
to pay over money to have little
stimulant inside" Hank and his pal
were so greedy to get their hands on
Boggs' coin and get rid of the farmer
that they readily consented, so each
of them took long pull at the flask
and passed it back to Boggs, who held
it out at arms length, shook it to
make it bead and gazed as fondly
and lovingly at it as does a love-lorL
young man at his sweetheart.
He didn't drink it at first, but began
to talk, rambling along about how he
got his start in the world and how he
made his first dollar and the luck he
had and the like until the effects OF
| the liquor began to work on the two
crooks. They were soon in frame OF
mind bordering on oblivion and Boggs
made feint of drinking from the bot
tie and pressed them to have another
pull at it. They accepted without
much urging This was the last straw,
! and before either of them realized 1t
they crumpled up in their chairs and
tumbled out upon the floor Boggs
was ready for the occasion and gagged
| and handcuffed both.
He examined the grip and saw
where the money had gone. Then he
secured the keys to the room below
| from the recumbent Joe, let himself in
and secured the basket of money
which he stuffed into the grip, after
attending to the hole in the bottom
| so that there was no danger of it leak
| ing.
He locked the sleepers in their
| room and made his departure, not,
however, until he had learned from the
| street lamp at the corner the location
of the house He caught the midnight
train for his country home.
The next morning the chief of the
secret service at Washington received
a collect telegram informing him that
two green-goods men with half-tone
| plates of bills of three denominations
! would be found in a room upon the
| third floor of certain house in New
York city. This telegram was for
warded to me, as | CHANGED to be in
the city at the time, and l made an in
vestigation. l found Hank and Joe
still sleeping and captured the plates
and enough packages of green paper
with bills upon the top and bottom to
send Hank and Joe up for long terms.
Boggs was never prosecuted. Before
we secured a confession from the two
men he had buncoed SO neatly, he had
cashed out his properties in Louisiana
and left for parts unknown. There was
really no charge against him but the
stealing of the money from the two
criminals, and neither of them cared
to prosecute him on that score. They
seemed to realize, in rough sort of
equitable way. that they deserved what
they got, and l think both of them had
a higher regard for Boggs because of
it. They gave me good description
of Boggs and told me Of several little
pecuiarities of speech and manner
which he possessed, and | am sure
that l met up with him down in Mexi-
CO some years later. He was . highly
respected manufacturer and ranch
owner then, and reputed to be the
wealthiest man in the state of Sonora.
l tried to draw him out or trap him
into saying something about the Incl
dent with the men in New York, but
he was too smooth for that ruse to
work. He spoke OF New York freely,
but never without laughing and l am
sure that his mirth was induced by
the memory of the trick he turned
there on the goods men.
Copyright, 1908. by w. C. Chapman.)
Copyright in Great Brittany