xt7dv40jtc3r https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7dv40jtc3r/data/mets.xml Colley, James 1869  books b92ft41512009 English Barclay & Co.  : Philadelphia, Pa. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Goebel, William, 1856-1900. Kentucky. General Assembly. Goebel-Taylor contest, 1899-1900. Kentucky --Politics and government. The thrilling adventures of Alice Dunbar, the celebrated horse thief, and Female Jack Sheppard, whose daring exploits have created the greatest excitement throughout the country. A true story. text The thrilling adventures of Alice Dunbar, the celebrated horse thief, and Female Jack Sheppard, whose daring exploits have created the greatest excitement throughout the country. A true story. 1869 2009 true xt7dv40jtc3r section xt7dv40jtc3r 
  
  
THE THRILLING ADVENTURES
or

ALICE
THE

DUNBAR,
THIEE

CELEBRATED HORSE

AND

F E M A L E J A C K SHEPPARD,'
WHOSE DARING EXPLOITS HAVE CREATED THE GREATEST EXCITEMENT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

4 9- S E E E X T R A C T S

FROM

T H E P R E S S . -8  

S HE IS S TYLED B Y T H E D ETECTIVES " T H E W OMAN OP M ANY D ISGUISES.'

A
EDITED

TRUE
BY JAMES

STORY.
COLLET, DETECTIVE.

PHILADELPHIA,

Pa.:

PUBLISHED
PUBLISHERS 61 O

BY
ARCH

BARCLAY
STREET.

&

CO.,

AND WHOLESALE

BOOKSELLERS,

  
S3XTBACTS

TSTDB

PBES8.

A lice D unbar, who came to this town in disguise, and who was arretted for the murder of Mr. James Gault, and afterwards identified by M r . James Colley, the celebrated New Y o r k Detective, aa a female horse thief, escaped d uring the t rial this morning. It appears that M r . Colley suspected another party of the murder, and caused his arrest. H e confessed that he did the deed. His name is C olville. W hile every one was deeply interested in listening to the murderer's confession, Alice Dunbar escaped. A full a ccount of the t rial, w ill appear in our next issue.    Richland Farmer, May 23d. S amuel C ollville, the murderer, is to be hanged to-day.    Richland August Hth. Farmer,

M r. J ames Colley, the celebrated Detective, succeeded in arresting all the thieves concerned in the late horse robberies. A m o n g others is a young g irl about nineteen, who, although beautiful, is at the head of the depredations, i n fact a female horse thief. They will be tried on the 30th of this month.    Buck Eye Gleaner, Ky., June 24<7i. A lice D unbar, who is now becoming celebrated as a " Female J ack S heppard," and horse thief, escaped from j ail this morning. A full a ccount in another column.    Buck Eye Gleaner, June 29tfi. A scandal has become c urrent in this town, to the effect, that a son of M r . C harles W intten has eloped with a woman who represented herself to be a governess, and under that non de plume, she procured a situation in M r . Wintten's house. The young man fell desperately in love with her, and they have left for parts unknown, taking with them, two splendid horses, jewels, money; etc. We will give a full a ccount when we learn all the particulars.    River View Practical Farmer, Ky., July 5th. W e are informed by M r . James Colley, the celebrated Detective, that the y oung woman, mentioned in our account published on the 6th, entitled " T h e K iver V iew Scandal," was no less t han Alice Dunbar, the Female Horse T hiel, whose celebrity has become almost world-wide. M r . Colley is now on her track, and will doubtless secure her before long. She has as many disguises   ,8 a tiger has s pots.    River View Practical Farmer, July 1th. M r. J ames Colley, the New Y o r k Detective, passed through this town today. H e is after Alice Dunbar, commonly called " The Female J ack Sheppard and H o n e Thief." We wish him success.    Burlington Idea, July 8th. A n d one hundred others, space not allowing us to give them.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by BARCLAY & CO., in U    C lcrk'i Office of the D istrict Court of the U nited States, in and for the EMMTI > D istrict of P ennsylvania,

  
ALICE
THE FEMALE

DTJNBAE,
HORSE THIEF.

N the afternoon of a warm summer's day I was s itting i n my office, and the heat being so great, I really believe I had almost f allen asleep. Previous to this I had been reading, o r t rying to read, a letter from a Western correspondent, in r egard to a young clerk formerly i n his employ, who had absconded, t aking w ith h i m some fifteen thousand dollars i n g ood g reenbacks. M y correspondent, though a man of wealth, was e vidently no scholar, judging from his penmanship and miserable s pelling. I n t rying to wade through his lengthy and illy-composed letter, I f ell b ack perfectly exhausted, either from the excessive heat or the man's ideas. " Well, t o come t o "dots," as we detectives are wont to do, I had probably slept an hour or so, when I was a wakened by a slap on the shoulder, and languidly opening my eyes I b eheld a man of, I should say, fifty-five, standing by my c hair. W i t h s omething l ike a n inward growl, I asked his business. " M y business, sir," said he, " i s briefly explained. Before proceeding further, however, let me know are you M r . James Colley the young detective, about whom the papers have said so much ?" W e are all prone to flattery, and w ith f eelings of gratification, I    3 k n o w l e d g e d , as gracefully as m y position i n the chair would a dmit, t hat I was the m an. " W e l l , s ir," said he, " some t wo or three days since, 1 wrote you   " " Y es," I interrupted, " 4 received your letter to-day   noon, and Isave earnestly digested the matter contained therein, and have come

  
12

ALIGK

DUNBAR,

THE FEMALE

HORSE

THIEF.

to the conclusion that you wish to engage m y services, as a detect i ve, to hunt up the young man lately i n your employ." " E i g h t , s ir I" he exclaimed, w ith a d ialect peculiar to Englishmen. " I do w ish your services, and I s hall p ay you handsomely; and in case o f success," he added, " I w i l l g ive you a g ood r ound sum." " E n o u g h , s i r ! " I s aid, " although I live by the money earned in t his w ay, yet without ambition, I should be but an automaton b rought to mechanical perfection." " T h e young man," he continued, " i s , I am ashamed to say, my nephew, rny brother's son. He was born i n E ngland, a nd in 1857, s hortly after my brother's death, I determined to settle i n A m e r i c a , a nd the boy being without parents, I resolved to adopt him, having no children of n y own. A t that time he was but nine years of age, a nd d uring the thirteen years I have been in business i n this c ountry, I have amassed enough to last me through the rest of my life, a nd leave him a handsome sum to commence u pon at my death. Last y ear Wilson, for so we c all the boy, became a cquainted w ith a g irl about two years his junior, who possessed a b eautiful face a nd form, and a g irl o f this description is certainly an object to t urn the heads of most young men of twenty-one. W e l l , e verything was progressing finely, and W i l s o n was getting along first-rate, h aving become so great a help to me i n my business, that I could s carcely do without him. A week or two previous to running away, I h ad rented another store, and had intended to make it a branch of my establishment, and i n so doing was obliged to draw a considerable sum from the bank, i n order to enable me to purchase a' large stock w ith c ash. I drew up the cheque a nd sent W i l s o n w ith it to the bank. Some hours elapsed, and s till no sign of W i l s o n . I d id not, however, feel alarmed, as the boy would often stop at stores and ascertain the different prices, i n order that we might regulate ours w ith those of the other merchants. Or, perhaps, t hought I, he is at the new store giving orders i n regard to the p utting u p of shelves. W h e n supper time came, and w ith i t no W ilson, I was alarmed indeed. Perhaps the boy has been waylaid a nd robbed, thought I, for no suspicion of the boy proving dishonest entered my m ind. A fter supper, and s till no news of W i l s o n , I went out i n search of him. But, as you now know, the search was fruitless. I am inclined to t hink t hat he eloped w ith Mis& A lice D unbar, the young g irl w ham I mentioned, although I have no proof, t hat such is the case, as I did not know her address before W ilson r an away, and have been unable to learn it since. I con-

  
ALICE DUNBAR,

THE FEMALE

HORSE

THIEF.

13

e lude my story, sir, w ith these few words, it is not my intention to have the boy imprisoned, as it were a k i n d a ction k> reclaim the y Guth f rom his vicious course and associates." H ere the old man wept. A s s oon as M r . A l l s t o n , for so he g ave h is name, could control h is f eelings, he g ave me a complete description of his nephew and t he young woman. I n making M r . Allston's name thus public, I c ommit no error, as the newspapers have done so b efore me. W e came t o an understanding at last, and, w ith a r elieved look, JS.T. A llston t ook h is departure. T he next day I commenced " slinging i n k , " and but a short time elapsed, before a n advertisement appeared among the " personals " i n the " H erald " r e a d i n g :     " Wilson / see me at half past two this afternoon at Stuart's, very irn porlant." Alice. H a l f a n hour before t he time appointed, i n the advertisement, 1 r epaired t o Stuart's store, or at least directly opposite, and as it w ouid l ook suspicious i n me to stand there unoccupied, I set a bootblack at work on my shoes, a nd after he had finished, engaged another, u ntil I r eally thought there would be no shoes left. M y b ill for blacking amounted to nearly one dollar. The incredulous rea d er, may say, such a t hing w ould be noticed, but let me inform all s uch, t hat i n a great city l i k e N e w Y o r k , and especially on a street l ike B roadway, a man might, genteelly dressed get down and black h is o wn boots a nd it would scarcely be noticed. I waited, and w aited, t i l l p atience ceased to be a virtue, and at last, after having a lmost given up a l l hopes o f W i l s o n f alling i nto the trap l aid for h im, 1 b eheld a young man exactly answering my description of h im. I c rossed over to the other side of the street, and getting d irectly b ehind him shouted, " M r . A l l s t o n 1" H e t urned, and, seeing me, exclaimed, " M y name is not A llston, Sir!" " M y dear boy I" said I, (for y o u must know we detectives acquire      f amiliar w ay of addressing persons whom we are going to arrest.) ' y o u are laboring under a great mistake, but the weather being very hot, perhaps it affects your b rain. N o w to my certain knowledge 70U were called, M r . W i l s o n A l l s t o n b y your friends in C incinnati, w here y o u have been l i v i n g some t hirteen years i f I remember c orrectly, your native place being E ngland." T here was no denying t his assertion, and M r . A l l s t o n a sked. " A r e you from E ngland ? "

  
It

ALICE DUNBAR, T H E F E M A L E HORSE

THIKF.

" I a m, s i r     a great way from i t," I added, aside " T hen perhaps you are a friend (?)" *' Yes, of your uncle," I assented. " G lad to see you, s i r ; " said he. " T hen you are the nephew of my friend, Samuel A l l s t o n V " I a m, sir." " T hen sir," said I, " allow me i n the coolest p ossible manner to n form you that I am M r . James Colley, detective." " F rom England?" asked he, s till b lind to the drift of my conversation. " O h no, I am an American detective, and arrest you for the theft of fifteen thousand dollars, from your uncle, Samuel A l l s t o n . " T he young man grew pale, and it was easy to be seen that he waa unused to a scene of the k ind, and his dejected m anner, would im-' p ly that lie had not yet become hardened to vice. " T o avoid a scene," I w hispered, for a crowd had already collected around us, owing to the peculiar manner i n which we stood, " t o avoid a scene y ou had better come i n a quiet manner." A bow of the head was my answer as he walked quietly by my side. A a we had plenty of time to catch the 4.20 t rain, I r esolved that we i mmediately go to C incinnati. A r esolution once f ormed by me, is g enerally carried out, and, i n the space of time required, wo reached C incinnati, and in an hour after, young W i l s o n A l l s t o n waa i n the presence o f his uncle. H e had actually squandered every d ollar of the m oney t aken. A l i c e Dunbar left him as s oon as the m oney evaporated, t aking with her a g oodly s um. H e became d eeply interested in the game of " F a r o , " and once at it, no p ower o n earth could save him, u ntil e verything had gone. I r eceived five hundred dollars for my trouble, and that waa a p retty g ood three days' job, I take i t ! After a sumptuous dinner, D rovided by M r . Samuel Allston, I left for N e w Y o r k , and upon r eaching that city, made a "bee l i n e " for my office. I sat down to think the matter over, i n a comfortable manner o nly allowed to those w ho can have the satisfaction of knowing " t hey have done w ell." T h i n k i n g t hat it would probably be the last I should ever hear o f the Allston family, I resolved to finish the nap previously interrupted by the head of it.

  
  
  
ALICE

1

MJNBAR, THE FEMALE

HORSE

THIEF.

17

SECOND

PAPER.

[ This heading may sound queer, but allow me to inform the    jader, that i n this manner I have numbered all the cases w hich 1 h i v e ever had i n hand, and as each of these papers have a direct c onnection w ith each other, I s hall c ontinue so throughout the b ook.] A b o u t a week after the affair I have just related, I received a v isit f rom a farmer who informed me that he had lost two blooded horses, and by whom they were stolen, he had no idea. Several others i n his neighborhood had suffered i n a s imilar m anner, and t hey had appointed h i m to secure my services. Richland, and its v icinity was the location where the depredations had been committed. A fter r eceiving from h i m f ull d etails of the manner i n which the horses had been stolen, I promised to take the case i n hand. W i t h m any thanks m y new acquaintance t ook h is leave. It appeared that M r . G ault, (the man who had but just left my office,) h ad lost t wo horses at two different t imes, only three days having elapsed between the loss of the first and second horse. F r o m this I could r eadily see that the thief was not a professional horse stealer, as they always use better judgment than to take two horses from the same place, at times so near to each other. H a v i n g locked the door of my office, I posted up a notice thereon, that I had gone to Atlantic C ity. T his was to avert suspicion, for my office i s continually w atched by " sharps," who would immediately c onvey i ntelligence to their " p a l s " of my being on the "scent." I t ook the cars for A tlantic C ity, and upon a rriving there, disguised myself completely w ith a w ig, side-whiskers, etc. A r r i v e d i n Richland, I commenced i nquiries as to the best fishing grounds, i n order to create the impression that I was a gentleman of leisure, seeking pleasure. After fishing the greater part of the afternoon, I strolled slowly and carelessly back towards the hotel, and on a rriving at that " hallowed i pot," I repaired to the " unhallowed spot," the bar-room. Seating a iyself i n a manner which would i m p l y that I did not know what to do, I f ell, o r pretended to f all, i nto a sound sleep, at the same t ime I t ook a g ood l ook at the different persons assembled in the room. They were a l l common-place looking men, e xcept one, and he could scarcely be called a man, as neither age, nor appearance w ould allow the term. H e sat w ith h is chair leaned back against the w all, a nd the awkward manner i n which he sustained the

  
18

ALICE

UUN'BAR, T H E F E M A L E HORSE

THIEF.

p osition, w ould prove that he was unaccustomed io i t. The boy m ight h ave been eighteen, surely not more. H e possessed a clear s kin, a nd a beautiful blue eye, i n fact, his whole appearance way v ery prepossessing, and I felt inclined to draw him into conversation. A pparently a waking from a deep sleep, I arose, and walking to the b ar, I c alled for a d rink, at the same time t urning, a nd saying :    " G entlemen, this is to our better acquaintance, won't you c ome a nd j oin me." W i t h not the least show of reluctance they came f orward, a nd called for the different drinks, each to his taste. Y o u m ay think it over-drawn when I assert that the landlord actually g ave t hem brandy, whisky, and sherry from the same bottle, o nly s etting t he bottle behind the bar, and taking it up as the different d rinks w ere called for. I was perhaps the only one besides the " u nworthy host," who was a witness to the proceeding, as in true f aith I was perfectly sober, whilst I doubt i f any one i n the room the boy excepted, could make the same assertion. The boy was the o nly one who did not answer my c all to take a d rink. T h i s I n oticed, and s a i d :     " Come, young man, won't you have something ?" " N o , thank you," said he i n a musical voice, " I do not d rink." " T ake a segar, or a lemonade (?)" " I d on't smoke," he asserted, w ith a b lush, " b u t I ' l l take a lemonade." " T he young'un w i l l come to his whisky soon e nough," remarked a b ystander. T his was the cause of a general laugh, and was followed by the r emark f rom the landlord. " D od's a funny feller, ain't he ?" T o this the company assented, and "Bod" c oncluded w i t h :     " W e l l I r eckon I ought-ter be, I traveled w ith a c ircus four years, and, gentlemen, yer may talk about yer operas, they can't oompare w ith a c ircus, I never could make any sense o ut of the d erned things, and I guess I spend about as much money as any two m en i n this yer village, don't I, Tom?"   to the landlord. O h, y es," said that person, but there was a look that accompanied these words which seemed to say: " Y o u get trust for as much as any two." " T ake a d rink, stranger (?)" " Certainly," s aid I. W e t ook a d r i n k and "Dod," after bidding me g ood d ay w alked out, saying to " our host:"

  
ALICE

DUNBAR,

TUB FEMALE

HORSE

THIEF.

19

" S core it down, T o m . " " T he chalk is wearing out, 'Dod?" s aid the landlord, as he reached the d oor. " N ice respectable fellers," added the landlord " b u t they w i l l d rink a little bit too much" On trust?" * Y e s ! W h y you're funnier than 'DoaV " W i t h t his unsolicited compliment, he turned to making a whiskey c ock-tail, for a customer who had just entered, out of the sherry wine bottle. I n ow addressed the boy i n a k i n d m anner, but found that h e had no inclination to enter into conversation. S till I p ersevered. " F ishing i s pretty g ood i n this neighborhood, is it not," I asked, " G uess it is," was my rather short answer. A t that moment a commotion outside drew m y attention that way, and throwing a b all o f fishing line to the youth, I said, " h o l d that for me a moment, w i l l y o u ?" I was about to exit hurriedly, w hen the peculiar manner i n which the lad opened his legs to cateh the b all, a ttracted my attention. Instead of closing his legs to catch it as a man would do, he spread them wide open. T here was no positive p roof i n this action, that the boy was a woman in disguise, b ut it was certainly the right " cue " for a detective to take and work upon. Eesolving to watch the boy closely, I went out, and found that the commotion was caused by a run-away norse. I l earned that night before g oing to bed, that the lad had been in the village for a week or so. Sometimes he would go, no one knew w here, and then return. M r . Gault had engaged h i m as clerk in the m i l l , h is duties were to c ommence t o-morrow, and further, he was to board w ith M r . G ault, a nd be considered as one of the f amily. N o w it never entered m y head that this boy (or girl) had a nything to do w ith the case I was working upon, but, I reasoned, i t m ay be some o ther mysterious affair, and why not " k i l l t wo birds w ith one stone." W i t h m any conjectures as to the course I should p ursue in the morning, I retired for the night.
M

A t a l ate hour the next day, I arose, and i n a dreamy sort-ofdon't-caTe manner, I inquired of the landlord the direction of M r G ault's m ills, a nd after having partaken of a hearty breakfast, I b ent my rteps toward the m i l l . E v e r y t h i n g , i n and around the b uildings, presented one grand scene o f l ife, t hat would seem to say to the idle "rouse thou sluggard and c ommence to make thyself a t hing o f uaefnhiess."

  
20

ALJCK

DUNBAR,

THE FEMALE

HORSE

THIEF.

t rpon a rriving at the m ill, I i nquired for M r . Gault's office, a nd b eing shown it, went in, and immediately found myself i n that gentleman's presence. Now be it remembered, that I was s till i n d isguise, and of course M r . Gault did not know me. I informed h im t hat I was sojourning i n the town of E ichland, a nd having h eard of his m ills had determined to v isit t hem. H e b egged a few m inutes absence, and left the office, for the purpose of conveying t he news to the operatives, that a gentleman was about to go t hrough the m ill, a nd to put them upon their " best b ehavior." I h ad noticed upon entering the room, that the young man whom I h ad met i n the bar-room of the hotel, was s itting i n a corner of the office, a pparently, deeply engaged i n some w riting before h im. " Good-morning young man " said I. " T h e same to you, sir," was his reply. " A b eautiful day," I remarked. " Y e s , " rather short. " Y o u are clerk here I suppose." " Y es," i n a careless manner " B een here long," I asked. " No!" T he answers given, c ouched as they were in monosyllables, be same disagreeable to me, and I had resolved to ask nothing further when after a long silence, the youth asked. " Y o u are here on business no doubt ?" " Y es," i n the same style he had answered me. " Y o u seem to be particularly interested i n me," said he, somewhat hurt by my paying him i n his " own coin." " N o, not at a l l , " i n a careless manner. T his not o ver agreeable conversation, to either cf us I should j udge f rom my feelings, was interrupted by M r . G ault, w ho entered at that moment. " N o w sir, i f you are ready, I ' l l c onduct y ou through the place," s aid he in a pleasant voice. I t hanked him, and turning, followed him from the room. Once o utside the door, I w hispered, " I am James Colley 1" Y o u never saw a man so thunder-struck. " W e l l , w ell," s aid he, I never should have known you i n that d isguise. " I'm glad to see you though," he added. " M u m I about my being here, for if it should once be known, e very attempt at finding out the horse thief, would be useless." " I u nderstand you perfectly, but i n what way can I assist you ?"

  
ALICE

DUNBAR, T H E FEMALE

HORSE

THIEF.

21

" T ake me to your house, introduce me to your family as a young m an h ighly recommended to you, and moreover, possessing a large fortune, and entertaining ideas of buying land i n the neighborhood o f R ichland.-" " G o o d ! I w ill, a nd as it is now approaching dinner time, sup pose we go home. H a r r y , d inner w i l l b e ready in a few minutes, y ou had better leave your w riting t ill a fternoon," said he, calling to the young man. " A l l r ight, sir," said that worthy. A r r i v i n g at M r . Gault's house, I was introduced to his family a ccording to m y instructions. " B y the way," said I to M r . Ganfc after we had been conversing some t ime, " W h a t is the name of v our c l e r k ? "     " Harry Ainsley." " D o y o u know where he came f rom ?" F r o m N e w Y o r k C ity, he informed me." H e i s quite bright looking, and w i l l n o doubt make a useful a cquisition to your m i l l . " H ere the conversation was changed, u ntil y oung H a r r y , entered. n oticed that M iss L i l l i e G ault, M r . Gault's daughter, blushed d eeply, upon being introduced to him. L i l l i e was a blonde, possessing b eautiful blue eyes, w hich had the power of speaking a " d ictionary f ull of words," i f their owner chose to use them for that p urpose. The beauty of her face, was only equaled by her m agnificent form. Indeed she is a heavenly being thought I, and I confess t hat the shadow of a jealous feeling possessed me when she blushed at being introduced to H a r r y A i n s l e y . A fter d inner, M r . Gault proposed a ride, for the purpose of showing me some land, as he said, but of course his real intention was to i ntroduce me to the different farmers, from whom horses had been s tolen. The necessary form of an introduction to the farmers, n aving been gone t hrough w ith, a nd instructions given them, I v isited the county sheriff, and officers, and after having gained their p romise to leave a l l to me, and to afford me any assistance should I need it, I went directly to the hotel. I n the bar-room I met " funny D od," h is companions, and two new faces. I asked the party up to d rink, a nd " our Dod " t ook the responsibility of introducing mc to the two I had not seen before. ' Gentlemen," s aid that obsequious f riend o f mine, M r .     M r .     " " S toner." I suggested." i ndividual, " t his is an old

  
22

ALIOS

DUNBAR, T H E F E M A L E

HORSE THIEF.

' ^Yes, M r . Stoner, and an old friend of mine, I knew him i n     " " I ndia," I a gain suggested, glad to be anybody else, rather than m yself. " Y e s , g entlemen, i n India, and now allow me to introduce you to M r . Marmaduke Grouse, justice of the peace, a nd M r . George W ashington St. John Bollingbrooke Blackstone Bichards, his a ssistant," a nd here " m y friend D o d " concluded, for want of b reath p erhaps. M r . M armaduke Grouse struck an attitude as nearly perpendicular as the amount of whisky imbibed would admit, and attempted to bow gracefully, but did it disgracefully. H i s assistant (I'll not repeat the name) i n i mitation o f his " lord and master," went through the same motions, but being somewhat bow-legged, failed miserably, m aking even a worse attempt than the " H o n . Marmaduke Grouse." O ur " host," w ith e vident gratification, at the " g o o d b reeding" s hown by the "society" of his t own, stood up w ith a firm m ien, w hich w ould seem to s a y :     " M y foot stamps my native heath, and my name's Macgregor!" I h eld quite a conversation w ith M r . Marmaduke Grouse, and came to the conclusion that M r . Grouse had studied law from Br Jayne's Almanac, o r " M iss B raddon's last novel." The l ittle he k new was excellently shown by the artistic manner he had of telling that little. I " t reated " again, and then left, having grown tired of l istening to nonsense.

THIRD

PAPER.

A fter s upper at M r . G ault's, as soon as I could do so politely, 1 went out, and going through the gate, I made a circuit, and approaching f rom the rear, climbed the fence, a nd then stationed myself directly b ehind the arbor. It was some t ime before I saw or heard anything, out my patience was rewarded at last, by the approach of a lady,    irtd u pon a nearer view I discovered that it was M iss L i l l i e G ault. She seated herself upon a bench i n the arbor, and commenced s inging one of the popular airs of the day. A s she concluded, 1 c ould scarcely control myself from giving her an encore. S hortly after another party approached, and that other party was no less t han y oung H a r r y A i n s l e y . Can this be a preconcerted affair, J

  
  
  
ALICE

DUNBAR, THE FEMALE

HORSE

THIEF.

2o

m uttered. M y doubts upon this score were immediately dispelled b y H arry, w ho s a i d :     ' L i l l i e , dear, I have c ome," he then sat down beside her. H e has known M iss L i l l i e before s ecuring a position in her father's m ill, I t hought. " A n d d o you really love me, H a r r y ? " a sked L i l l i e w ith a b lush. " Y es, dear," he answered, i n a manner which would indicate that he had already grown t ired o f her " A n d I a m to be your wife ?" " N o , no, that can never be." " W h y , o h, w h y ? do y o u not love me?" " Y es, dear, better than l ife, b ut I must not d eceive y ou longer I am not a man I" " I k now it, H a r r y , b ut I can wait u ntil y ou are," said she. F o r " l ove is b lind," a nd she failed to comprehend h i m . I i ras n ow sure that H a r r y , as he called himself, was a young woman in disguise. " To-morrow, dearest, I s hall e xplain all, and perhaps we can ye* be happy." " T o-morrow t h e n     " A n d t his was a l l I heard, for they had left the arbor, and pro ceeded some d istance toward the house. A current of thoughts ran t hrough m y b rain. S hould I betray this young woman's secret n ow, or await further developments (?) W h i l s t d ebating i n this w ay w ith m yself, I was astonished at seeing young H a r r y (for so I must c all h er) returning. H e came q uite near the arbor, and then t urning, went i n the direction of M r Gault's stables. This looked somewhat suspicious to me, as a g i r l w ould not certainly carry her scheme ( if scheme i t might be called) so far as to meditate an elopement with a girl. I f ollowed her footsteps c autiously. She had not proceeded far, when she was joined by a man, who suddenly arose f rom behind some b ushes. They held quite a conversation, but as I d id not dare to get nearer, for fear of discovery, I could scarcely h ear what they s aid. T his I did l earn, that the man's name was S am, a nd that he was waiting for H a r r y , to get the keys of the s table. " I t ell y ou it won't do, we have already taken two horses from M r . G ault," s aid the g i r l . " A l i c e D unbar," said Sam. I s tarted from m y position, and uttered an exclamation, which, h owever, was not noticed by the two. 9

  
26

ALICE

DUNBAR, THE F E M A L E

HORSE

THIEF.

" A l i c e D unbar, you're backin' out of this 'ere business, and as sure as y o u ' b l o w ' on.me, I ' l l fix it so that we go to prison together, or swing together." " D on't, Sam 1 y ou send the cold blood through m y veins." " Y es, I know, you've got lots of cold blood, y o u have, why your b lood is warmer nor a chicken. Y o u couldn't steal a horse unless I w ere by to encourage you." " S a m C olville," s aid she, and at that moment the moon came out from behind a cloud, and shone directly upon them, thus affording me an excellent opportunity to see their faces. There was a peculiar e xpression about the face of C olville, that I s hall n ever forget, a nd a scar upon his left cheek, added to his bad appearance. " Sam C olville, y ou and I were brought up together from childhood, an<* even when a s chool-boy y ou were hated for your ugly disposition, a nd n ow, for the first time you are showing it i n your actions towards me. W h e n you met me a month or so since, i n New Y o r k C ity, a nd i n a desperate condition, your devil's soul proposed t his horse stealing expedition to me, and I accepted upon the condition that / . s h o u l d plan, whilst you e xecuted. N o w you are dissatisfied. W e w i l l c all i t " quits." " N o, we won't, I 'm sorry I spoke so, but Gault has got another horse that I want most 'confoundly' bad, and I've got a customer for one now, over in Dutchess county." " W e l l S am, I ' l l forgive you this once, a nd i f I can arrange t hings t o-morrow night, you may take the horse. A t eight o 'clock y ou may come here, and await the signal, which w i l l be the cutting of a twig from yonder bush, if all is right, and if not, a whistle from me." " A l l r ight, A l i c e , but don't have any more delays." " A n d now, good-night," said Alice, as she turned towards the house. H ere was a beautiful " nest" for me to pounce u pon, but, I should be obliged to wait t ill I c ould catch them i n the act. C olville, s hortly after the departure of A l i c e , cautiously retreated f rom his hiding-place, and at last, having reached the fence, c lim bed it, a nd disappeared on the other side. I remained in my positioi some t ime, and then left the grounds, wending my way towards tht h otel. I a rrived there at half past ten o 'clock, and went directly to bed. I could not, spite of all my efforts, get to sleep, from the A ctive m anner in which my brain was working. A t last I found m yself in the land of dreams.

  
ALICE

DUNBAR,

THE FEMALE

HORSE THIEF.

2'i

T he next morning I awoke, and w ith m any thoughts ot my suc, B8 i n so soon d iscovering the horse thieves, I prepared for breakftvsfc. A fter I h ad finish