The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-02-21
When Officers Faced
Boy Gave Up the Loot
From Mondays Daily.

There is certain class of confirm.
ed bachelors who claim that the day
of chivalry is dead; that Lochinvars
no longer come dashing out of the
east; that there are no more Romeos
who do second balcony stunts" and
that marriage is a failure because
people now marry for money instead
of love. However cynical their ideas
may be in regard to romanticism of
the present day, there was in the
staid and exceedingly unromantic vii.
lage Of Wabasso, Minnesota, accord
ing to the story of the marshal of
that place, young man who dared
do anything, even to robbing a Unit
ed states postoffice, for his ladylove.
A party consisting of Postoffice
Inspector R. Hosford, Deputy United
States Marshal George Wells, Mar
shall A. Z. Kuester of Wabasso and
Prisoner Frank Rudnick arrived in
Mankato Saturday afternoon. Rud-
nick was captured by Marshal Kues-
ter and brought to Mankato in the
custody of the United States marshal
charged with breaking into a build.
ing used as a United States postof-
of money and stamps belonging to
the United States government. He
was taken before United States Com
missioner Benjamin Taylor, where
he waived examination and was
bound over to the custody of Sheriff
Anton Osten to await the action of
the federal grand jury.
Marshal kuester's story of the ar
rest OF Rudnick is rather unique and
that official displayed no little in.
genuity in making the capture. He
told The Free Press the following
story:
Story Told BY Marshal.
II was walking with a friend last
Wednesday evening about eleven
O'Clock, and a few doors away from
the drug store and postoffice in Wa.
baSso ! saw man come from the
shadows near the drug store and dis
appear down the street. He was
walking hurriedly but | did not no.
tice him especially, but | kept watch
Of him until he disappeared in the
darkness and until we were well past
the drug store. If | had not been
watching him l would probably have
noticed in passing the drug store,
that the front window was broken
in. l asked my friend if he knew
the man, and he said that he did
not. Then I asked him if he was
not Frank Rudnick and he immedi
ately remembered the hurrying form
and said, Yes, sure it was"
THE next morning l was informed
that the drug store had been broken
into and burglariZed and the postof-
flee. which is in the same building
had also been looted. Postmaster o.
K. Ellington, who is also proprietor
of the drug store, told me that about
SO worth of stamps and money had
been taken, nearly SIS worth of jew
elry from his jewelry department and
several boxes of cigars.
Secured Clew.
81 was at a loss at first to suspect
who could have committed the deed,
but then the remembrance of Frank
Rudnick the night before flashed into
my mind. At that hour of the
night, there was only one building
which the man could have come
from that was near the drug store. |
That was the saloon next door
went into the saloon and asked the |
bartender if Frank Rudnick had
been in the place the night before
and he replied that he had not. Then
i was quite sure who to suspect of /
the robbery. l got the postmaster |
and we drove to the farm of William
Rudnick, a brother of Frank, where
my suspect had been staying. He has
worked on the farm of his brother
nr hn co. t. bD,
three miles south of Wabasso After
driving about two miles we met Will |
liam Rudnick coming to town. We ,
told him of the robbery and that we
had reason to suspect his brother |
Mr.. Rudnick was shocked beyond |
measure, for his younger brother had |
never done anything dishonest be- /
fore. We persuaded him to go back |
to his home with us and when we !
arrived there Mr.. Rudnick and Mr. |
Ellington went into the house and |
remained with the horses. In few |
minutes Mr.. Rudnick opened the door |
and called to me to come in. / tied |
the team and went into the house. |
Frank had evidently been trying to |
bluff them, but had failed, although |
he had not allayed their fears that |
he was the suspected man. He stood |
in the middle of the room with down
cast eyes and | said to him: Frank, |
If you have anything here which does |
not belong to you, the best thing you
can do is to show us where it is
The Boy Wilted.
THE boy wilted and motioned AIS
to follow him into the bed room. lie
opened his trunk and there we found
the booty There were enough rings, !
bracelets, lockets, watches and watch
chains to amount to all of SIS. There
were two unopened boxes of cigars,
and another box which had been
hurriedly filled from the open boxes
in the show case. In the bottom of
the trunk was about 81 worth of |
stamps and three or four dollars in |
pennies. We gathered up all the
stuff and took Frank back to town |
with us where he was put in the
village Jail. Then Mr.. Ellington no.
titled the authorities and Saturday |
morning the deputy marshal and the |
postoffice inspector arrived. They |
took Frank into custody and brought |
him to Mankato.
at is well known fact that Frank |
had been keeping company with a /
certain young lady in his neignDor-
hood and circumstances pointed to
the conclusion that he was hard
hit loalyy 70 ,,,a l;lyo ho u-,e do