A Freight Car Adventure.
The freight cars of the B. & R. Railroad were being systematically robbed. During one month in 1891, the railroad company lost over $5,000 in this way. It was impossible to catch the thieves. On several occasions the conductor, engineer and brakeman had been shot at, and narrowly escaped death. The thieves used to board the train either before it left the freight yard, or during one of its numerous stops along the road, and hold the train until they had secured what they wanted, thrown it off, usually in a lonely spot far from dwellings, and made their escape. On numerous occasions a posse of police were secreted on the trains, but these nights (the robberies occurred always at night) the thieves failed to put in an appearance,evidently having learned that pains had been taken to give them a warm reception. I suspected something more than the railroad officials seemed to suspect, and when I was told to do my best to bring the thieves to justice, I laid my plans accordingly. I sought leave from the conductor to ride on his train in disguise.
“I can’t allow you to do so without permission from headquarters,” declared the conductor.
“But I want to try to capture the thieves who have been robbing this company’s trains and shooting at you, and I haven’t time to get the necessary permission,” I protested.
The conductor still refused to let me ride.
“I must and shall ride on your train to-night,” I said. “To-morrow night I shall be a good many miles away and I must carry out my orders to-night.”
“I have my orders, too, to carry out,” declared the conductor.
“I shall ride, nevertheless,” was my parting shot.
I did not ride. I had no intention of doing so. There was nothing taken from that train that night.
On the following night I secreted myself in the train, disguised as a tramp. I lay in hiding in an empty hay car. At the various stopping places, I took careful note of what occurred. Nothing suspicious happened until we got about two miles beyond C——. Here the train slowed up, although there was no station anywhere in sight. From my post of observation I saw everything that occurred. The conductor and some of the brakemen broke open the door of a car in which, as I afterward learned, there was a big consignment of tobacco and cigars. A large quantity of this was thrown out. Pretty soon one of the brakemen left his fellows and started rapidlyaway from the train. Hastily slipping from my place of concealment, I hurried after him. I had not taken half a dozen steps when a pistol shot whistled past my head. I stopped short, drew my revolver and prepared to open fire upon those in my rear. Just as I turned I saw the conductor take off his hat, and, holding it in his hand, deliberately fire his revolver at it. On the morrow, he would doubtless tell a harrowing tale of adventure with train robbers, and show visible proof of his own narrow escape from death. I was immediately taken in charge by the train crew, and, it being part of my plan, I made no resistance. We had not gone many miles when the conductor came to me and magnanimously offered me my freedom and promised not to turn me over to the authorities, if I would go quietly about my business.
“Why do you hold me prisoner?” I demanded.
“For complicity in robbing this train,” replied the conductor, coolly. “Your accomplice got away.”
“Yours, you mean,” I remarked.
“Who’ll believe that story?”
The conductor did not suspect my identity. He put me off the train. If he had known whom I was, my life would probably not have been worth ten cents.
I hurried to the nearest station, hunted up the telegraph operator, and when the robbed train reached the end of its run, there were several policemen on hand to put the conductor and his accomplices under arrest.
For another lot of choice detective stories see No. 11 of Multum in Parvo Library.