The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1915-11-12
Sheriff Put Quietus On Couple Of
Young Elopers

unrOmantic mana OF tne law last
Thursday when Sheriff Fischer, act
ing on n request from Sleepy Eye
captured" two youngsters from that
place, very much In love, who had
decided to run away from home and
get married. The youthful lovers
were Milton Berkner and Sophia
Naidl. He is seventeen and she fif-
teen and so they figured that they
were getting pretty old and II was
time they should be getting married.
Their parents. strange to say thought
otherwise. and IL was plain to the
parties mostly concerned that the
only way left open to them was to
elopes
And so we find Milton feigning
sleep last Thursday morning and as
two o'clock approached he stole
quietly from his farm home near
Sleepy Eye. this father is one OF the
wealthiest farmers In that conf
munityl and strobe manfully toward
Sleepy Eye where Eloper No. was
waiting for him. II was a great night
for the event. with the moon shining
brightly and -balmy breeze signing
happily through the trees as lie made
his way down the dusty road and into
Sleepy Eye and approached her house.
He was awarded by a light shining
from her window. The late Mr..
Shakespeare makes his Romeo say on
a similar occasion: But soft. What
tight in yonder window CLEANS. Tis
Juliet and It's the SUM-" but Milton
n
cigarette. From this incident you
ran see quite plainly how the little
details OF romance have changed
from the period OF Shakespeare TO
the present or Sam Clark period OF
literature.
But 10 get back To the scenario:
Sophia having heard Milton give the
mystic signal. came forward from the
house glancing about anxiously the
while. and not wishing TO leave her
long in that precarious condition we
shall hustle along quickly to the next
scene which is at the depot at Sleepy
Eye where unobserved they boarded
the east bound passover. buying 4
ticket TO Mankato. Did we say un-
Observed. gentlest OF readers? n We
did we pulled q boner. For oh. pit
eous fate. Oh, cruel calamity, As no
shufflcd over their pastebOards the
ticket agent gave them the o. o. and
~ was upon his Information that the
direction OF the couple was ascer-
tanned.
The youthful travellers being wary
OF pursuit. decided on the train that
they would throw off the scent of any
followers by not getting on at Man
kato and they stayed on the train un-
I'll II reached GAINESVILLE. At that
place they got Off the train and hast
ened eastward from the village along
the track and disappeared into the
woods
The scene now shifts back to
Sleepy Eye and vicinity where the
irate relatives having discovered that
the birds have flown prepared n net
for their capture. The sheriff of
Brown county being notified learned
from the ticket agent mentioned
above that the couple got tickets for
Mankato. He also ascertained that
they did not get of at Mankato.
Supposing Il possible that they went
on TO Waseca he communicated with
Sheriff Fischer who met the train
here at 7:20 but no runaway couple.
The county sleuth then learned by
telephone that 4 couple got of the
train at GAINESVILLE and together with
Deputy wadd he went TO GAINESVILLE
In one of Lou Fox automobiles es-
Gaping arrest for speeding at James,
Vile this time. They started TO ex-
plOre the woods. But the finding OF
the proyerbial needle In the bundle
OF straw was easy compared to locat-
ing the youngsters in those dense
woods and the officers after several
hours frnitless search returned some
what discouraged to this city. But
the section boss in charge OF the gang
repairing the railroad in that vicinity
was requested to notify the local
authorities II he should see the pair
and he soon did see them making
their way through the fields near the
track and he accordingly notified
Fischer who again started out and
this time he found the missing couple
near machine shed on the farm of
Mrs. Herman Oestrich four miles east
OF GAINESVILLE. II was new nearing
evening and the youthful pair.
hungry and tired. appeared more in
the role OF Babes in the Woods. than
runaway lovers.
The girl was pretty. lady-like
little person and the boy was a manly
fellow. The former could not resist
the temptation to taunt Sheriff Fisch-
er for his inability to catch them the
first time he was in the woods. tell
ing them that they were within fifty
rect OF him at one time.
That's the time you got stung" she
dehantly told the sheriff. and the
sheriff (unofficially) laughed.
Papa Berkner was notified and
came after them making the return
trip In the evening, the boy driving
the car back.
The Juvenile clippers took the frus-
tration of their plans philosophicaIIy,
but IL must be admitted a bit tear
fully. Il guess wen have to wait n
little while longer" they both said.