The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-02-23


the rear of one of the houses.
"Why, hOw's thiSp This iSn't-
"See here, mister reporterP whispered
Sam, whipping out long knife and
catching me by the collar. There's no
use fOOling you any longer; you've got
to go in with usE"
~ won't do It'll I'll shout If you don't
let me gol" replied.
You will, will your hissed Dave, also
displaying a knife, and fastening his
fingers on my arm. "If you want to die
right here Just raise one squealP
Twas so weak that l sat down on a
stone dog used as a lawn ornament, and
while Dave held me there Sam pulled
off my boots. He then removed his own,
took off both our hats, and then Dave
continued:
"Sam and You are going into the house
after swag, and I'm going to watch. If
you make one cry, or hang back, I'll put
this knife into you. If you go to raise
an alarm in the house, Sam will kill
you, even if he has to swing for itv'
1t was nearly midnight now. | could
hear no sound from either quarter, and
| knew that a shout, OF half dozen of
them, would not bring help before the
fellows had killed me. L had got to go
in with Sam or be murdered outside,
and replied that l would go in. l had
strong hopes that we could not get in,
or that our operations would raise an
alarm and scare the burglars away. Sam
signified that he was ready, and we all
proceeded to the back steps.
A veranda ran clear across the rear
end of the house, which had basement,
and while Dave stood at the foot of the
stairs, Sam and | mounted them. He
first tried the door. 1t was locked and
he inserted a pair of nippers into the
key-hOle. A low oath escaped his lips,
for the key had been removed, and he
had no false ones.
Softly as cat, he next tried one of
the windows, but that was fast, and
another was tried with the same resnlt.
Then his Jimmy came into play. Pull
ing the iron bar, which had "claw" at
one end, from under his coat, he inserted
the "claw" under the sash and gently
bore down on the lever end. The sash
went up a little, making scarcely any
noise, and in two minutes the nail which
held it down had given way. Had there
been a spring in the sash, he could not
have raised it without alarm.
With his hands he raised the sash to
its full height, slipped something be-
tween it and the casing, to prevent a
fall, and he then turned to me and whis-
pered:
eve are going in now. If you try to
play dirt ON me, I'll murder you, if it's
the last thing l ever dor
There was no escape, and L followed
him in over the sill, hoping every mo-
ment to hear sounds to show that the
people had been alarmed. We had en-
tered a sewing room. A machine stood
in one corner, and several half-inished
garments were lying on chairs. | saw
this only after Sam had opened his dark
lantern. We moved softly to the door
leading out, and l watched him as he
opened it. Although l was close beside
the door, | heard no sound as he turned
the knob. When he knew the bolt was
free from its catch, he lifted up on
the door, so that it should not squeak,
and in moment we were in sitting
room.
Sam held up the light, until he saw
that the room was not occupied, and then
we passed on to door leading into the
hall. This was opened without noise,
and Sam led the way to the foot of the
stairs. He seemed to know that all but
the servants slept above.
Now, do just as you see me dO-mlnd
hOwr' he whispered, as we got ready to
ascend.
He went ahead, holding his lantern 81
that the light shOne down behind him
With his left hand on the railing, he
a
on the extreme edge of each stair that
he touched, so that there should be nc
sQueaking. | followed on, not daring to
disObey him, and directly we were at the
head of the stairs.
Here we found another hall, with
doors leading into parlOr and into bed
rooms. What guided him do not know
but Sam passed two or three doors and
stopped at another and softly touched
the knob. Passing the lantern over to
me, with warning shake of the hand
he grasped the knob and turned it until
he found that the door was locked. Out
came the nippers, and were inserted
| into the key-hOle, without the least
noise. They grasped the key, and Sam
twisted his arm over to unlock the door
l expected to hear a click when the
bolt was withdrawn, but there was nc
sOund. He then grasped the knob
again, whispered to me to blind the
light, and in ten seconds he had swung
the door back.
As it went back, 1 heard the deep
breathing of persons in sleep. Sam took
the lantern, pinched my arm, and we
entered the room. Sinking down to the
floor, he opened the lantern, passed its
light around, and made out that we
were in the bed room of the proprietor,
A dress and other articles of female
wear were lying on lounge, and a
coat and pair of pants were on chair.
We moved up to the chair. crawling like
cats.
Sam handed me the light and he care
fully inspected the clothing. From the
coat he took large wallet, and from the
vest a gold watch. He placed both arti-
cles in his bosom, and refused to meddle
with the pantalOOns. Silver change or
bunch of keys might have ratified
enough to give an alarm.
was in hopes that our adventure was
ended, and that we should now leave
the house. But Sam had other views.
He had Just mOtiOned for me to move
toward dressing-case in the other cor
ner of the room, when the sleeping man
drew long breath and turned over.
The springs of the bed grOaned in a
| fearful way, and / fully believed that
the man was waking up. My heart was
almost in my mouth, and | prayed that
he might not, as 1 knew that Sam would
not hesitate to murder him. Neither
one of us hardly breathed for five min
utes, and then the regular breathing OF
the sleeper notified us that he was fast
asleep again. Sam placed the lantern
on chair, opened it so that its light
| fell directly ON the dressing-case, anG
on that alone, and then he put his mouth
| to my ear and whispered: