The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-07-28
A "sPY" DETAINED.
He Came Swooping in During the Fog to
Get the Enemy's Tactics.

One OF the most audacious attempts
at espionage that has ever been written
in the annals of police activity in Barre
was uncovered this morning when Jonas
Stubblefield was detained at city hall
after his attempt to obtain, surreptl-
tiously, information calculated to work
no end of harm to a local organization
that is just now in the center Of public
interest. Confronted by rapid fire Of
questions from the authorities the man
is alleged to have broken down, making
a clean breast of everything. Stubble-
fields appearance on the streets Of Barre,
his suspicious operations and his dramat-
c capture form diverting story, the
parallel of which seldom creeps into
print.
"Whoa, there Whoa!" as though
someone was attempting to assuage a
team of runaway horses, was the clar'
call that CAME from an uncouth-look. 4 Is
individual at the postoffice corner o..
South Main street around 5 o'clock to-
day. A close scrutiny of the scene would
have failed to disclose any runaway
horses, but the man with the straw
colored head continued to call. As he
stood there gazing down the street at
the imaginary dust kicked up by the
fabulous hoofs of fictitious team of
quadrupeds. blue-coated off
Ger touched him on the shoulder and
beckoned him to follow
The jig was up for sir. Jonas Stubble-
field. He had played his game well, but
with ill-starred success. He was a Reub.
all right, as far as the blue jeans and
cow-hide boots went; but his hands were
not the horny hands of the ploughboy.
The toil-worn look of the man with the
hoe was lacking, and the spear of herds
grass that protruded through a crevice
in his hayseed hat might have belonged !
to the property man in the Old Home
stead Go. Indeed, to a casual observer, |
even the gold bug lapel badge, relic of
the Mckinley campaign in 1896, which |
.he bogus farmer wore on his coat, did
lot serve wholly to allay suspicion that
he wearer Thereof was either a matinee |
lctor or a spy.
"Gosh blame them darned hosses," old |
trawtop started to apologize, but the
,luecoat interrupted him with peremp-
ory order to 'lay off that yam -mitten
tuff and come along"
Surrounded by a Gordon of city dig
itaries at police headquarters, Stubble-
eld submitted to bit of third degree
york and finally gave forth his story.
he farm atmosphere was a stimulation
n his part he confessed, the team
mere hypothesis. and the runaway
hantom flight of horses that were non
xistent. He had tried the ruse be-
anse he thought it would divert at
antion long enough fer him to make his /;
scape. Getting nearer to the core of Z
is amazing revelations, Stubblefeld said
e had been hired by baseball team in /
quaug Holler 10 ascertain the plan of {
ttack meditated by a rival team-the a
oose Greens, Stubblefeld believed was
he name. At any rate he had secured
he desired information and was about
, deliver the goods to the Squaug Hol-
r people when the police nipped him
, handily.
High officials of Goose Green were in o
gnant when they learned OF the affair, c
lt the authorities have decided to de- P
lin Stubblefeld only until Thursday G
ght, when the big playground benefit ?
rnival will be a matter of history and Z
hen the information he gained so vica P
ously will be of no use TO the Squaug a
oilers. a.