The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-10-16
SECOND ASSAULT.
Continued from rage I.)

underbrush leading to some woods, beyond
which is n road to Wilmington.
! About 4 o'clock Tuesday afternoon a
/ tall man wearing cap and light colOred
Overcoat raped at the front door, which
was closed and when Mrs. Wheeler went
to the door he asked if Mr.. Wheeler was
at home She replied that he was out
| by the shed back of the house and that she
would call him. She went to speak to
her husband, leaving the door open, but
when Mr.. and Mrs. Wheeler returned the
door had been closed and the man had
| disappeared. They looked in all direc-
tons but saw nothing of him.
Next morning about 1918 o'clock Mrs.
| Wheeler sat sewing in rocking chair by
a window in the north room. The front
door was open, as was the door from the
front hall into the north room. In full
view of the window Mr.. Wheeler, Henry
Wheeler and Thomas Conway were dig
ging potatoes about 30 rods away.
Happening to glance toward the front
hall. Mrs. Wheeler saw two men and she
arose and asked what they wanted. They
seized her and she turned to the window
and yelled Fred" but Mr.. Wheeler did
not hear her. Mrs. Wheeler is a very
le%hy woman anal she gave battle to the
intruderS, during which one or two chairs
were overturned.
Finally the men Overp0wercd her and
told her to keep quiet, and in order to
force compliance with the order they put
large spool of thread in her mouth.
Then they tied her hands behind her with
a handkerchief which the older man took
from his pocket and forced her into the
rocking chair, at the same time telling her
they wanted what money she had.
She replied as best she could that she
had none and the older man told her he
knew better and demanded that she tell
at once where it was. at the same time
81 bpp no baoH no
said she had none WhereupOn he tore
open the bosom of her dress. but found
no money. The men searched an old
fashioned secretary. a chest of phOnO-
graph records. and one looked through the
bed in a room adjoining the north room.
Had | better go upstairs, father?' the
young man inquired. NO, it isn't up
there; it's here somewhere" declared the
elder man, and with that he again slapped
Mrs. Wheeler on the head and with an
oath told her to tell where the money
was. Don't kill her father" cautioned
the Younger of the pair.
Unable to find any money the two
men. after having been in the house 10
to IL minutes, ran ont through 4 south
door and fed into the woods to the west
while Mrs. Wheeler went out the front
door and started toward the potato field.
The three men there saw she was in
trouble and came to her and cut the hand
kerchief which bound her hands and re
moved the spool from her mouth. She
told her story and they beat the bushes
and the woods, but saw nobody, although
they found tracks.
Mrs. Wheeler says both men were
without coats or vests. but the older had
suSpenders as she took hold of them in
her struggle They wore dark trousers
light caps, white shirts with stripes and
starched cellars. One appeared to be
about 20 and the other nearly 30.
Mr.. Wheeler says that on Sunday Mr.
Shaw of Wilmington called at the house
and left 500 to pay fern pickers and said
he would send $500 more in bills so it
would arrive Tuesday night The money
arrived as promised, but Mr.. and Mrs
Wheeler did not go to the pOstotice fer
it until next afternoon.
Inasmuch as the money is not sent on
any particular day in the week it is .evi-
dent that the wouId-be robbers knew the
money in this instance was to come on
Tuesday, which causes a suspicion that
the mon came from Wilmington and either
remained over night or made two trips.
Mrs. Wheeler did not recognize either
man, but she thought one of them looked
familiar except for his mOustache She
couldn't tell whether it was false nous
tache or not States Attorney Gibson
made numerous inquiries about the neigh
b0rhood, and he has some persons in mind
whose whereabouts on Tuesday and
Wednesday he will cndeavor to deter
mine.
1t is interesting to note that the fern
pickprs are paid two cents for each bunch
Of - ferns and that they can pick 400
lunches a day if they keep busy, which
yields them SIS a day.