“The driver answered to the name of South-Paw, drove six horses, and we had a jolly crowd on top.  Near midnight we were swinging along, and as we rounded a turn in the road, we noticed a flickering light ahead some distance which looked like the embers of a camp-fire.  As we came nearly opposite the light, the leaders shied at some object in the road in front of them.  South-Paw uncurled his whip, and was in the act of pouring the leather into them, when that light was uncovered as big as the head-light of an engine.  An empty five-gallon oil-can had been cut in half and used as a reflector, throwing full light into the road sufficient to cover the entire coach.  Then came a round of orders which meant business.  ’Shoot them leaders if they cross that obstruction!’ ‘Kill any one that gets off on the opposite side!’ ‘Driver, move up a few feet farther!’ ‘A few feet farther, please.’  ‘That’ll do; thank you, sir.’  ’Now, every son-of-a-horse-thief, get out on this side of the coach, please, and be quick about it!’

“The man giving these orders stood a few feet behind the lamp and out of sight, but the muzzle of a Winchester was plainly visible and seemed to cover every man on the stage.  It is needless to say that we obeyed, got down in the full glare of the light, and lined up with our backs to the robber, hands in the air.  There was a heavily veiled woman on the stage, whom he begged to hold the light for him, assuring her that he never robbed a woman.  This veiled person disappeared at the time, and was supposed to have been a confederate.  When the light was held for him, he drew a black cap over each one of us, searching everybody for weapons.  Then he proceeded to rob us, and at last went through the mail.  It took him over an hour to do the job; he seemed in no hurry.

“It was not known what he got out of the mail, but the passengers yielded about nine hundred revenue to him, while there was three times that amount on top the coach in my grip, wrapped in a dirty flannel shirt.  When he disappeared we were the cheapest lot of men imaginable.  It was amusing to hear the excuses, threats, and the like; but the fact remained the same, that a dozen of us had been robbed by a lone highwayman.  I felt good over it, as the money in the grip had been overlooked.

“Well, we cleared out the obstruction in the road, and got aboard the coach once more.  About four o’clock in the morning we arrived at our destination, only two hours late.  In the hotel office where the stage stopped was the very man who had robbed us.  He had got in an hour ahead of us, and was a very much interested listener to the incident as retold.  There was an early train out of town that morning, and at a place where they stopped for breakfast he sat at the table with several drummers who were in the hold-up, a most attentive listener.