Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1916-03-17
AFTER KID
MULLIGAN
By ALAN tIlNSDALE

By ALAN HIlNSDALE
When | was sheriff of Marion coun'
~ It was reported TO me that there
was n young clergyman in Hilton, n
farm center some twenty miles away,
and II was suspected that he was Kid
Mulligan n half boy half man, des-
perado, who was fond Of mOsquerad'
Ing In different DISCUSSES, was anX-
iOus 10 secure Mullignn and concluded
10 20 10 Hilton and Inspect the rever-
end gentleman, | had never seen the
Kid, but had description of him,
On my way to Hilton met farmer
who had been held up by masked
man the night before, lie was UNI
armed and handed out what little mon
ey he had about him without making
Il show Of defense Indeed, he was too
frightened 10 take notice Of the robber
except that he spoke with a voice not
at all grufI On the contrary, II was
rather musical
This robbery was an indication that
Muligan was the robber and Mulligan
and the rObber were one and the same
person. went ON to Hilton and made
inquiries for the Rev, Joseph Wyeth,
the parsons name, and was told that
he was 10 he found at the Phoenix no
tel. He was travelling under n com.
mission Of the bishop 10 raise funds for
building churches. went TO the no.
tel, II small tavern, ana found the
curate sitting on the veranda. lie
wore the canonicals Of an Episcopal
clergyman, his hair was parted in the
middle, and altogether his appearance
was exceedingly clerical
Soon after my arrival ut the tavern
he arose and started down the mali
street till he came to a church and
turned in ut back door. inferred
that the rector had n study there and
Wyeth was going to visit him. | walt
ed till he came out then went in TO
interview the rector | found him an
elderly man not ycrScd in worldly
ways. lie had seen Mr.. Wyeth's ere.
dentials from the bishop, but had not
scrutlnized the signature. Mr.. Wyeth
was arranging with him to speak to
his congregation the next Sunday even
ing, with view to taking up collec
ton for church building in the diocese.
From Mr.. Wyeth's personal appear
ance and certain Of his mannerisms
gathered suspicious Of him. | did not
believe him to be Kid Mulligan. but
did believe that he was not an Episco-
pal minister. However, had no real
knowledge concerning him and felt
obliged to let him proceed with what
he was doing. keeping him under sur
veillance. decided to let him deliver
his Sunday evening address, but did
not propose to let him get out Of town
with the proceeds of the collection
without being convinced that he was
what he purported to be,
When Sunday evening came | at
tended the church services, At the
proper time the rector spoke few
words of Introduction; then Mr., Wyeth
began his address. Possibly If had
not been suspicious of him | might
have been fooled by his remarks like
the others. One matter especially
gave him away to me, In mentioning
the places the bishop desired churches
should be built he included the town
Of Bingham. l happened to know that
an Episcopal church had just been fin
iShed IN Bingham.
The young man spoke with pleas
antly modulated voice and talked flu
emily. ! sat in Il pew right under him,
where | could watch him, and | think
that my fixed gaze disconnected him,
for he gave me an occasional glance,
and every time he did so he seemed to
lose the thread of his discourse
Doubtless others of the congregation
attributed this to his youth and the
fright natural to speaker.
That he had made a very favorable
impression was evident from the col
lection, which for so small place
was considerable. The congregation
departed, and the two clergymen went
into the vestry room, the one to turn
over, the other to receive the contribu-
tions. | listened under an open win.
dow and heard Wyeth bid the rector
goodby, saying that he must be off
early the next morning.
Having seen the young man enter
the tavern and go to his room, / wait
ed for an hour, then told the landlord
that ] wished to speak to Mr.. Wyeth
and asked him to go to his room with
me. | had reasons for wishing the
landlord with me which will appear
presently He consented, and, taking
a candle, we went to the clergyman's
room and knocked on the door
who's there|'
The landlord and | looked at each
other. The voice sounded like that OF
woman suddenly awakened.
"a gentleman wishes to speak with
You, Mr.. Wyeth," said the landlord.
cts too late. I've gone to bed"
This time the voice had lost something
of its fCmminity