Читать книгу The Northfield Tragedy; or, the Robber's Raid - J. H. Hanson - Страница 4

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It appears that an old man named Gallager, living in a log cabin on the skirts of the woods surrounding Vernon, was supposed to have in his possession a considerable sum of money. The old gentleman lived alone, was known for his parsimony, and thought to be “a penurious niggard of his wealth.” The plan of these young villians was to go to the house of the supposed miser, disguised, pretend to be “lost chicken hunters in the woods,” and induce the old man to come out and show the way. Getting him into the woods they were to extort from him by threats the whereabouts of his supposed hidden treasure, if threats failed, they were to have recourse to torture, and that failing to murder!

O'Neil accompanied these scoundrels reaching the house of Gallagher about 2 o'clock. They enticed the old man out a la programme, one placing himself on each side of him the two others bringing up the rear. After getting some little distance from the house, and as they were passing a shed the one walking behind with O'Neil raised his fist armed with brass “knuckle dusters,” and was about to deal the old man a stunning blow on the head, when he was seized by the Sheriff, who was lying in ambush within the shed. The three were conveyed to Mankato jail and locked up, and subsequently committed for trial upon the evidence of Jack O'Neil and the Sheriff. There are [pg 5] those who think the whale affair was a “put up job” by the notorious Jack to get rid of the three men who were in his way, and this occurred an the morning of Tuesday, the 7th of September.