Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-19

open the safe was torn bodily OF and fen with
q crash only . few yards from Harrington and
the sheriffs
They had stin some distance to 60 before
they reached the horses and in the intense
darkness every inch of the ground had to be
reconnoitered in case the bandits had left .
guard over their mounts. Meanwhile, the des~
peradoes worked fast Within fiVe minutes Of
the explosion and before Harrington and the
others had reached the horses, the train ben
with it q portion Of the roof Of the wrecked
express car.
with the departure of the train, the Sheriffs
and the conductor found themselves In the
full light Of the bonfire on the opposite side OF
the track. They promptly hattened out In the
grass stin about thirty yards from the horses.
The bandits walked straight across to their
ponies. They held consultation for about nve
minutes, while Harrington and his comrades
strained their ears unavailingly to catch the
words. Meanwhile the tail lights Of the train
grew smaller and smaller, until they were mere
red-and-green dots on the dark horizon. The
outlaws, having finished their talk, swung them
selves into their saddles and rode away. Har-
rington and the two sheriffs now found them
selves in q waterless waste.
Luckily, however, the fading points Of light
on the rear Of the express finally came to q
standsti1 and the three men hurried toward
them. When the conductor reached his train,
he learned from Scott the expreSsman, that
the bandits had failed to secure any loot
little over two years previously, the BLACK
Jack" gang had held up Conductor Harrington's
train at this selfsame point. Expressman
Charles Drew had claimed not TO know the
combination to the safe whereupon bandit
beat him over the head with the butt Of q six
shooter until he fell unconscious. Five sticks
of dynamite were placed on the safe, weighted
down with a quarter of beef and some baggage.
and exploded. The safe wrecked, the despera-
does seized its contents-$3, 500-and departed.
Expressman Scott, Drew's successor, was wen
aware of this incident Directly he was called
out in the present hold-up, therefore, he hur-
riedly opened the safe and hid the whole OF
its contents behind some boxes at one end OF
the Car. Then he locked the empty safe and
obediently opened the car door In answer to
the bandits summons. After dynamiting the
safe. and finding nothing inside 1t, the chagrined
outlaws concluded that everything had been
blown to atoms They consequently departed
empty-handed.
EARLY next morning, s. n. Reno. special
agent for the Colorado g. Southern, hur-
ried out from Trinidad to the scene Of the
hold-up. Reno was practically certain 1t was
the "Black Jack" crowd that he had to reckon
with Edward FarT, sheriff at Walsenburg,
Colo, was with Reno. The two officers picked
up the outlaws tracks and followed them into
the hills, where, amid the rocks, the trail be-
came very faint
Suddenly Agent Reno espied - slip Of paper
lying on the ground-a note careleSsly dropped
by one Of the robbers. The author Of the mes
sage was undoubtedly the Cripple" In sub
stance the penciled message read:
mo armed guards on train; none Of crew
armed Felt for their guns as they carried me
and my. crutch around"
The note went on to give the location Of GER
tain scattered members Of the gang and Tur-