The Unlucky Runaways of Tacoma

About three weeks ago, two youths, Will Harris and Fred Smith, made their appearance in Tacoma. They looked tired and wayworn and presented themselves at the rooms of the Young Men’s Christian Association, stating they were 'dead broke,' had walked all the way from Kalama, and desired to obtain employment. Messrs. Howell and Smith, two members of the association, interested themselves in the young men’s behalf and paid their hotel bills. They soon procured the young men employment—Harris as an assistant to T. J. Johnson, a wood hauler, and Smith as general help to Mr. George Orchard. The boys worked well until Monday, when Harris, who was employed in chopping wood in front of Johnson’s house, quit his work during the temporary absence of Mr. Johnson. Entering the house, he procured the key to the bedroom, unlocked the door, found a key belonging to Johnson’s trunk, opened it, and abstracted between $60 and $70 in cash. He then broke open a box belonging to the little child and appropriated the contents. After taking 75 cents more which he found in a basket, Harris, in company with Smith, decamped. They were later arrested by Sheriff Gregg of Chehalis after being found snugly ensconced in an empty boxcar on a freight train. They were brought before Judge Campbell and formally charged with stealing. Harris, whose name is believed to be an assumed one, admitted to taking $33, but the location of the rest of the money remains a mystery.