Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-02-25

Frayne to him as they met at the
club. that man whom they call the
country Raffles is cutting very, very
wide swath."
"Yes?"
81 am told that at least thirty off,
!cers of the law are on his trail"
"Well?"
"How do you want to bet--will they
get him or not?"
Captain have been reading about
him. and what they say of him makes
ime tired They haven't caught him,
land yet he is a bungler!"
as burglar who can rob twelve
houses and not create single alarm
a bungler?"
| Il could do as well, and have had
no experience
The captain did not want to en-
courage such talk and the results that
might come from it. and sought to
change the conversation. Young Win.
ters carelessly replied to two or three
Of his questions and then said:
This Raffles gets into house and
takes whatever he comes to and gets
out He even carries off plaster of
Paris ornaments. and he Is shy OF
searching rooms where any one is
sleeping"
But he's got ric.i jewelry among
his plumber
Yes it was left for him on the
dresser. He didn't have to pull out
a drawer to get it, and can't find
that he has entered house where
dog was kept. He's longshoreman
trying his hand at new job. Cap.
tain"
But the captain feared what was
coming, and said he had an engage.
ment.
LET it watt was the reply. Gap
tain, I'll wager you thousand dollars
leven up that
! Il won't do it," was the Interrupt
ton.
Hold on I'm going to out-Raffles
Raffles."
"You will do nothing SO foolish as
to attempt 1t!
mot with criminal intent, OF
course. but just to prove to you mat
burglary is a fine art, or should be
made so, and that our country Ranles
ought to be driving a truck. Name
a country residence that you'd like to
try my hand on"
And get SnOt!
"Not even be fired at
"But If arrested?"
That's one of the arts-to escape
arrest
WINTERS said the captain after
a long look at him, "give up any fool
ish idea you may have IN that dlrec
ton. We will all agree that you could
beat Raffle's work, but don't try it,.
There are plenty of men, young and
Iold, who will get an idea into their
!heads that they know is foolish, and
yet they will cling to it as If 1t were
full OF sense and wisdom Young
Winters common sense warned MIN
of the risks of burglary, but the
adventure of it appealed to him just
as strongly. He did not talk Win
any of the other members of the club,
but there were those who said:
winters is plotting some new dev-
iltry and will soon be blufing US for
a wager Wonder what it will be this
time?"
Ex-Judge Purdy was member OF
the Jefferson club, but as ne nved
lin a manor house some twenty miles
from the city, and as he did not drop
into the club except at long inter-
walls, he and young Winters had new.
Ter met. The latter had simply heard
lit said one day that the former lived
in the country.
One June day the man who was
envious of Rallies took trip into the
country, driving himself in his runa'
bout. He passed grounds after
grounds, and house after house IN
a furtive way he surveyed the latter
and made mental notes. When ne
slowly passed a fine colonial mansion
with an oldish man and young lady
sitting on the veranda, man running
a lawn mower and two dogs lying on
the grass, he smiled and said to him
self:
"I'll bet that is one Of the houses
that that bungler, Raffles, has had to
pass by as too hard nut for him to
crack"
Half mile further on he turned
about, and as he passed the house
iagain the girl looked up and queried:
Father, that may be Raffles."
Eyes? Well, I'll give him job at
moving the grass
''They say he drives around by day
to pick out houses to rob by night
well, bought you gun the other
day, and It's up to you 10 protect the
house O. nights
But if I shot him, then what?"
"Why, you would be heroine and
have your picture in the paper Per-
haps you could sell enough of your
photographs to pay for trip to
Europe"
There was silence for five minutes,
and then the girl said: II should
hate to kill Raffles.'
But you needn't, dear" smiled the
father. 1T will be just as we'll if you
shoot him in the shoulder"
"And then"
1--WE can nurse him right here, and
it will give you chance to fall IN
love, marry and reform him."
"You silly old goose!'
An hour later Miss Estelle Plrdy