Show 17 tiar TRAPPING ping A THIEF THE 46 TORY STOBY OF A ST STATION AGENT WHO CAME OUT AHEAD I 1 now s deprado DP Des rado 1 batted ratted r llred cu two wo cl rI to get the II howlan ile an 10 Oc acri attempt kilell wll klel ended in a fu I 1 nd ad LIt crina re dittli death eitt li copyright popy right lv 1 by charles B lewis nieu I 1 took possession of the station of flaton 0 on n the union pacific road the track layers r had advanced only fire five miles mi lea beyond it the hamlet bamlet of elkton consisted of a astore hadre ft null mid and five or six shanties and nd was ahme quarters of a mile from the station the tile depot was a rough shed sixty feet long a nd nd one story high twenty feet 0 of the west wes t end egl was partitioned off fora for it waiting room and in one comer of the room I 1 had my private office it yas as twelve feet long by six wide aith jib boards and lighted by an outside window inthis in this room I 1 had my apparatus a small iron sate safe a it able table a ticket rack etc As I 1 was required to be on call all night I 1 also used the office as a bedroom and my meals were tent of to roe we from front a house in the hamlet those were wild rough times in ille west and bud about the first piece of advice I 1 revived from the division superintendent vas was be prepared for trouble at any hour of the day or night and remember that it if you dont get the th drop on the other fellow yuil be a conerl what made the far worse wor sefor for me was the fact that two or three of the 8 x insisted that I 1 take charge 4 of considerable M ia erable bums sums of money for them the the co contractor n tractor who supplied provisions provision to the force along the line placed in the cafe safe on the second day of my taking possession and the division deposited at out more in the courso of a fortnight at least a score of bosses had bad turned in from to M apiece and illy 41 anxiety increased with every additional deposit the fact that I 1 was a it s safe afe deposit corn company pany could not fall to bo be gen rally known and I 1 regarded it as only a question fuestion ue stion of time when a robbery would be attempted for the first three we weeks ks I 1 had plenty of company both day and night AS some of the working trains were always sidetracked at the station but as the grading and track laying progressed my bohi tion became more isolated all the freight left at my station was for the contractors and consisted of flour meat coffee cloth log jug tools and whatever else was needed n ee ded along the line I 1 hate had little or nothing to do 40 outside a of the telegraphing one morning after counting up the money in the sate safe and finding that I 1 had over belonging to other people it oo 00 occurred to me to remove it to another place on the day before I 1 had received five anve barrel rel of ground coffee for the hotel man mall I 1 on that division the head of one of the barrels bad been knocked out and about one halt half the contents wasted I 1 took the various envelopes containing the money cluade a bundle of them and sunk it nearly to the bottom of the barrel unless inease in case of fire I 1 felt it would be safer almost anywhere lyv here in tho the freigh than in the safe wife though up to that moment nothing had badoc ic burred to alarm me strangers were always hanging bringing about the station hunters trappers indian fighters team teamsters and tramps but it was to satisfy curiosity curiosity and not to meddle it etwas was about 9 in the forenoon when I 1 hid bid the money and half an hour later as I 1 sat at the instrument answering a call I 1 looked out of the lindow and saw a man coming down the north trail on a mule lie ile was dressed in buckskin us as waa was the case with nearly all I 1 I 1 order men of 0 that date and had a win hester across the pommel of his saddle s to zo t o many like him had come that I 1 did not give him a second thought even when I 1 lard L ard him walking across the tile waiting T roo room in toward my open door I 1 did not turn my iny head throw up tip yer hands bands young feller it was tile stranger pi ranger speaking to me and jih h is words were acom pan led by t the lie clackl click which no human ear car ever misunderstands I 1 elevated my arms and anti turned my face toward him lie ile was wim not an ugly looking man indeed I 1 should hive litra picked liim film out of it crowd as its a gentle spirit he ile wa was s a blond about thirty years of age and he had a lindhome Lind gome blue eye there was a smile hia ids face as lie stood with his ills rifle ha ba raised and regarded me but it was one those smiles which mean more than the ug ugliest liet frown f rown I 1 ten seconds making up my mind would be extreme 11 ly dangerous bangi rous to trifle with my visitor Is t that bat ar safe locked ho lie asked irbe as be looked straight into my eyes it is then you unlock it 1 I shall have to drop my hands bands to do that 11 I 1 of course I 1 took tool the keys from my pocket and I 1 turned around to the safe and opened the door now pats pass out that mon monell eyll said the iran wan ir an I 1 there Is none to pasa pam out what dont try no nonsense with me met you can clook look for yourself I 1 had bad sev eral er at thousand dollars yesterday but it all taken out stand St andover over hold up yer hands over was at the end of tho the opposite the safe and I 1 obeyed the command lie ile then stepped to the safe and am ei Hated for hlin himself pelf it did not him over a minute to become satisfied it contained nothing of value he Ile back and looked at lit me fora for a full wore before speaking then be he quietly said young feller youve trumped my ace ive made a nde ride of over fifty milea miles to that safe 11 you t lave have come a day earlier I 1 replied yes I 1 me see this Is your pistol hanging banging op up here I 1 sup suppose I 1 guem ill take it along you can call drop your bands now hut but dont try any funny bus luesse I 1 smell a powerful sight of coffee around here bere and I 1 think ill take rome SOMO along go on into the freigh 11 I 1 led the way and lie followed there waa was a lot of if flour in afif efty ty pound cloth sacks and he ordered me to empty one ot of them and partly fill it with coffee had be done it for himself ho he would have stood a good bance of fludine finding the money but lie sat alwn down 01 on a box and watched me when I 1 I 1 ua rhe the sack about two thirds full ho he said guild it would do 10 while I 1 carried it out on the platform for him he lie followed with a side of f won and I 1 helped him to make them fatto too to his saddle he ile was in no hurry though some one might come along any time aben W hen finally dually ready to go he lie eli slipped aped tie the cartridges can ridges out of my revolver and randial it back with the remark you seem to want to do the tile figu squar r thing and I 1 wont rob you kest next time I 1 show up I 1 hope be heeled with cash or I 1 may get the drop on you I 1 sall mil sty replied you y ou may but I 1 doubt it no human crilow has ever held field up my hands fur me ine ret t and its late in the day to begin val all young f feller eller so long boux youx lie ile was hardly ardly out of sight before a con et ruction train going to the front drew up at the Pta tion but I 1 made no report of tie the robbery in the first place I 1 knew that I 1 would 1 be ridiculed all along the line lute tor for been held up tip and in the next the man had not taken anything worth ft fuss about I 1 decad decided ed to hold laid my ton tongue ue and be warned by the adventure to keep the money anywhere but in the nate safe A month later regular sen I 1 ger and freight trains were beginning to run over the road and I 1 was given a man I 1 1 to freigh an fn thoum I 1 did 1 I 1 cikot have the of oj sq much wt datril ad 0 I 1 a money cey no now ast u onte e in r artoe what I 1 look took I 1 in for tb the road and what bat was left in my keeping amounted to a tidy sum I 1 kept a few dollar in the safe for op ap bearance pe arance and convenience sake but the bulk was hidden in the I 1 took an empty spike keg partly filled it with sand and then deposited the package of money on the sand and covered it with loose spikes it hod bad the look took of a full keg of spikes and my aI assistant stant had bad no reason to meddle with it while he went home bome at night I 1 continued to sleeping bleed bleep in theoffice the office I 1 was no longer afraid of a daylight holdup but I 1 worried a good deal nights the building had hall been put up hastily and an any one determined to effect an entrance could c OU id find half a dozen vulnerable points to operate on one afternoon my assistant called attention to two men who were hanging banging about in a suspicious manner but I 1 was BO so bus busy y a at t the moment that I 1 only got a glimpse of them As to suspicious characters there were so many of them along the line that one would have been in a continual state of alarm had he set out to spot them off when I 1 waa was through with my rush my man informed me that the two strangers had been prowling around the freight house hous 1 e both inside and out and he was firmly convinced they were up to mischief 0 of f some sort the length of the building was east and west the boards on the east cast end were badly warped and sprung and cou could 14 be easily pried off the door between en the freight department and the waiting walting room was a flimsy affair and the door to my room was only half length if any one wanted to get at me the best way was to break into the freight department among the freight we had five big steel bear traps tor for a man living about twenty miles away before going home borne for the night and entirely tf rely unbeknown to me my man set get one of these traps in front of the door connecting with the waiting room the passenger train going east was due at elkton at 1038 A freight folh followed wed at 5 a m and sidetracked for a freight f from ro in the east to pa pas Tb the west ewest bound trains nil till passed by daylight or earlier in the evening on this night I 1 was in bed and asleep by 11 it was a dark and rainy night and though I 1 worried a little over the two suspicious men I 1 went to sleep trusting to luck it was exactly midnight when I 1 was awakened by a yell which fairly rolled feoff me off maycot my cot the one outcry was followed by half a dozen others and a clanking of chains and for a couple of minutes minutest I 1 was too frightened d and upset to make a guess at what had happened As soon as I 1 struck a light alight however I 1 heard beard the voices of men in the f freight department part ment cursing in the most horrible manner and directly some one called out say young fellow we want you here who are you 1 I I 1 d demanded amand ed never you mind who we are but come along where are you in the freigh 11 what are you doing there come and see and be quick about it tool I 1 kner they were at the door opening into the sitting room and I 1 knew they could bee my light through the cracks why they burst the door in was a puzzle to me they could have but one object in breaking in and that was robbery I 1 was badly rattled as I 1 am per factly willing to admit but nevertheless I 1 had some sand left I 1 blew out alie light and opened ire fire in III their direction in hopes to frighten them off oft I 1 sent six bullets at them as a s fast am ai could fire and was reloading when I 1 heard a groan and ft a tall fall and a it minute later they began firing at me I 1 had bad the advantage of two partitions and though two or three bullets came through they were mere harmless presently the iring firing was wits suspended and a voice called young feller are you alive very much sol then listen to me my pard and me broke in to rob you here at the door we stepped into an infernal bear trap one oneat of your shots has finished him and now I 1 want you to help me out and let ing in got go I 1 of course refused and then ho he threat ened me with all sorts ports of things and find finally began shooting again I 1 sat down on the floor tipped the table up for 0 O r a breastwork and counted his ills shots ho ile had four revolvers and a large supply of cartridges and he fired over shots in all perhaps he finally concluded he had finished me inc tor for he lie stopped shooting and began cursing and groaning and trying to relea release e himself it was about 3 2 when he lie became quiet and anti hearing no more of him I 1 argued that he had rot got tree free and taken himself off I 1 sat there on the floor behind my table until daylight and the east bound fre freight glit train came along together I 1 was telling alie train crew what had happened when the west bound train drew up and we proceeded to investigate we expected some more shooting but nothing of the sort oc c erred about the center of the tile freight shed were two men lying on the floor one was dead and stiff and the other in a sem semi I 1 unconscious bbate from front the pain be lie suf sulf etwas it waa queer that both men should have been caught lu in the lie trap but such was the tact fact one was caught by the right other by the left leg and find the teeth on oil the powerful jaws had gone right to the bone the dead man no one knew the other waa a a my visitor of a few weeks before ills leg bad to come off and rod A week later be he was dead he lie was at a house in elkton in charge of the sheriff and I 1 saw him daily two days before his death when be was told that the chances were against him he lie held out his hand band to me and mid said shake young fellers I 1 dont bear alx lx ir you any grudge fur this but I 1 do beclar that its powerful hard fur a man chos allua allus been on the shoot to be caught like a blasted coyote in a trap and done to death it aint dying with yer loots boots on no blat bla it t my eyes it wulf even dying with both legs |