Connecticut western news., 1922-02-23
DEEP LAID PLOT IS / FOUND BY REPORTER
Cub of News Staff Follows Hot Trail to the
 A. & P. Store

Once in awhile the cub reporter of the, News staff really earns his money may it be said to his credit, though there are many times during these intervals that we> feel strongly inclined to discharge him. We had our mind all made up to it this week, when along he comes with a real scoop. When we say "scoop" we mean just that, for, the Great Bar 7 rfngton, Lakeville or Winsted papers haven't heard of the thing yet. We'll let him tell the story in his own way.
 ssYesterday afternoon, said the Cub, s'when I was playing cribbage with Denny O'Neil at Scutt's barber shop, and not only playing him, but beating him, too, noticed certain men acting peculiar. Thinking some thing was in the wind, sauntered out on the street, determined to learn what all the mystery was about. First one business man and then another brushed right by me without even speaking, then ] knew something was up. ..-. ..-. f
 "Al Herriman then called me across the street and wanted to swap cows with me and as I had an old n1angy heifer that I wanted to work off on Al, time slipped by unnoticed. When I could at last break away from him there was not business man in sight, so made up my mind I would find out where they had all . gone to. The first place stopped was at the Post Office and asked Ned Roberts if he had seen where all the merchants had gone and he said probably up to Hen. Neiland's cellar. But knew better than that because none of them drink cider.
 q went along the streets and could tell by the way the clerks were all sitting around on the counters and having lot of fun that the boss wasn't there. At loss where to look for them, I was walking down Railroad street in deep thought, when I noticed a lot of foot prints : that looked as if they had been made by Allyn Fuller's shoes. Yes,, there was one which looked as if the wearer walked on one side of his feet only. That must be J. L. Par sons. Feeling sure that I was on the right trail kept on down Railroad street, when who should rush by me, as if in a great hurry. but Billy Thumith, the electrical advertising expert of the Conn. Power Co. I was going to say something to him but decided it might be more profitable to just watch him. He went in the front door of the A. & P. store and so did l. Then noticed that all the other footprints went in there, too.
 "Well, thought was at the end of the trail, but you n-imagine my surprise when stepped into that store and saw not one business man there. The clerk was noncommittal so I decided to look at the back end of that store from another angle and I did.
 "After crawling through a coal hole was able to see through knot hole in a partition-and there were my business men. Naturally the first thing that popped into my mind was hooch, for Allyn Fuller stood at a sort of bar and was asking the men to be seated, which they did, Think ing the next move would be to pro- duce a bottle, I was dumfounded when Fuller said, Gentlemen, we've all got to cooperate in this thing and get the real stuff, or we'll be found out I...
 '4Ye gods! Cooperate! Get the real stuff Found out! Should 1 call the police or would it be better to inst get Lou Rhoades and be sure they was all pinched. My head was in a whirl and I feared for my life. What was this desperate scheme which they discussed in the back of this store. There was all of them sitting on cracker boxes, flour bar rels and old chairs calmly plotting to do something, that was sure. Were they going to rob the bank, or the Post Office or was it raid on the White House Calfy
 "While I was pondering what to- do, up spoke J. L. Parsons, saying.
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