Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-06-28

lection to this. and the husband meek
~ acQuieSced.
The two couples were now riding
face to face. one couple looking at
Bunker. while the other looked at his
assistant The train was going at a
furious rate. and whenever it came to
q curve the robbers found it difficult
to maintain their positions. After one
OF these turns, with a consequent dis
turbance Of the mems equilibrium,
two shots rang out simultaneously.
In a twinkling the status was
changed. Bunker sank on the floor.
and his pal, who heard the glass In
the top of the door behind him crack,
looked vainly for whoever had fired
But second shot stopped his observa-
lions. The farmers wives, who had
done the shooting. unbuttoned their
dresses and threw them OF, display
ing mems clothing, while their attend
ants, opening the forward door, rushed
over Bunker's body to the next car.
One OF them. stopping before the door
Of the baggage car, threw it open.
while the other stood with a cooked re-
volver pointing into the car.
The robber who was stationed there,
having his back to the farmers. was
defenseless and obeyed an order to
throw up his hands. The baggage
man disarmed him. while one of the
farmers went out through the forward
door and climbed over the back OF the
tender. The engineer occupied one
side of the cab, while the robber guard
ing him sat on the other side. both
looking forward. The din prevented
the newcomer from being heard, and
he had an opportunity to demand the
surrender OF the robber, though the
latter held a cooked revolver in his
right hand. Creuching behind q pile
of coal, the farmer took aim at the
robber. then yelled at the top of his
voice for surrender. The robber hes
itated for a moment, but, seeing that
every chance was against him, COM
piled. Then the engineer, at a nod
from the farmer, stopped the train.
We must return to the operations Of
Pierce Robbins. Through the boy who
had seen the robbers in the saw mill
he had gained a knowledge of their
whereabouts. Intuition told him of
their plan. Believing that they had
the money they had taken on their
persons and desiring that they should
not have an opportunity to get rid Of
it. he preferred to take them while on
train to surrounding them in the
MILL So he at once laid his plans &C
cordingly.
He placed four good men, disguised,
at the station on each side OF the
point where they would be likely to
board the train. not knowing which
way they would go. Each train was
watched, and the extra man on the
locomotive gave away the presence of
the robbers. The engineer. the bag
gageman and the conductor were all
in the plot. No one of them was to
make any resistance.
Robbins and a picked man played
the women's parts. 1t was Robbins
who made bold to protest against the
action of the robbers, and 1t was he
who when in the car with Bunker and
the red headed man had arranged and
by preconcerted signals announced the
attack, though it had been determined
that those wearing women's dresses
should fire the first shots, owing to
their being better able to conceal
weapons and draw them more quickly.
When the members OF the posse col
lected in the passenger car 1t was
found that Bunker had been killed out
right and the red headed man badly
wounded. All the robbers were search
ed. and every package Of bills they
had taken from the bank was found
intact. AS soon as all was ready the
train was backed down to the station
last passed, where kilograms were sent
announcing the capture. and a new
train was made up TO take the passen-
gers and the prisoners to Eureka.
The directors of the bank paid lib
orally for the recovery Of the stolen
money, and the boy whose indolent
amusement of fishing had led to the
capture received a check large enough
to give him an education.
1t was not long before every one of
the robbers who had been captured
alive was convicted and sent for q
long term TO the penitentiary.