When I put him in the little lock-up
which they had there for such occasions and went and hunted up the
constable and asked him to look after Barton until I would return.
I could get no satisfaction from him, so I went to a merchant in
town and related the whole circumstance to him and asked him to
keep a watch or tell me of some one whom I could hire to look
after him that I could rely upon. He assured me that he would look
after a man, put him there to watch and then we would be sure that
he would be safe. I then mounted my horse and was off for Buckley,
who I found without difficulty, arrested him, and started on my
way back to Canyonville.
He came so near admitting the crime that I was sure I had the two
guilty men. I got back with my prisoner just in time to take the
stage for Jacksonville. Leaving my horse at the livery stable, I
instructed the liveryman to send him at once to Jacksonville and I
would pay all charges. I handcuffed both prisoners and had them
shackled together, put them in the stage and started to
Jacksonville with them. I wired the sheriff that I had both of the
guilty parties and would be at Jacksonville on the stage, which
was due about six o'clock the next morning.
The sheriff and his deputies met us that morning at the edge of
town. It had been noised around that I would be in and they were
somewhat afraid of a mob, but we succeeded in getting to the jail
all safe, and not until then had I the faintest idea that I had
stepped beyond my official duty in arresting those men without a
warrant and bringing them into another county.
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