Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-10-06
STORY OF A HAMMER.

both my courage and modesty i was
boarding in retired neighborhood in
New York, and next door to me lived,
in private house, an old lady, with
her granddaughter. Need 1 say that
that young person was unusually at
tractive? / regret to state, however,
that any advances on my part in that
direction were met at first with much
indifference. OF course, an acquaint-
apce with the old lady had to be made,
and very queer old lady was she.
With great many eccentricities, she
had one in particular which overshad-
owed the rest Once her home had
been robbed, forty years before, and
she had never forgotten it. Though
she was as deaf as post, she assured
me that the least no Sc disturbed her
OF nights, rs the dread of robbers was
always on her mind. Whether the
young lady shared her grandmother's
fears or not, did not know l rather
hoped she did.
II, as thought to myself, could only
take advantage of this old woman's fan
c'es, that might give me an introduce
ton to the house. The old lady was
garrulous, and very soon scraped up
an acquaintance with her. had not
been talking with her more than five
minutes, shouting my words into her
ears, before | preached the subject of
robberies. From my pocket l drew
newspaper and read therofrom in loud
tones LONG account of a housebreak-
ing adventure. must confess that in
order to add some point to the story
introduced some quite new facts into
the description. For instance, the
street in which the robbery took place
was in an entirely different part OF the
town from ours, and for it substituted
our own immediate neighborhood. In
the original version. however, il was an
old woman who had actually been ut the
mercy OF the bandits. / howled it all
out, and had the satisfact on of seeing
that IT had an instantaneous effect on the
old lady.
Deary mer' said the old lady. ''Ter-
rible! and we arc so entirely unprotect-
.ed-two lone women,'
"Awful'' / replied: "and when rob-
bers once get in q neighborhood they
never let up until they clean out every
thing. | don't like TO tell you. but have
seen some strange and mysterious look
ing fellows-tramps apparently-loung-
ing around here lately"
BLESS us! and am so deaf, and so
nervous. i am sure l shan't be able to
sleep for weeks. What can do?''
Il have an idea," said 1. "In what
story of your house do you sleep?"
Second story" Then the old lady
described the position of her bed-cham-
, ber-second story back. Her grand
daughter slept in the said room.
had known that before from n care
ful reconnaissance had made. My own
modest chamber in the clearinghouse
was on the same floor, and our rooms
were contiguous, only separated by the
thin party wall.
"Now, my dear madam" said l, III
am going TO propose n plan of action
for YOU, quite simple of its kind, which
ought To relieve you of all anxieties.
might recommend burglar-proof APP
paratus, with telegraph attachments,
but those are very expensive things to
set up. | can manage it all with a
hammer"
"A hammerr' exclaimed the old
lady, opening wide her mouth and eyes.
Yes; n simple hammer"
But should be so terrified that if
n robber were to break in, never could
use it. couldn't knock him down
with 1t. The old lady was terribly
clustered.
- didn't mean hammer to be used
rs weapon. Oh, dear no: quite diff
terent from that. Your room in your
house and mine in my house are ada
cent. and the head of your bed is just
near mine. Now will buy you a small
hammer, and all you have to do is to
take II to bed with you. AT the least
noise. take your hammer and give three
rapS on the wall will at once under
stand that by that Is meant n precau-
tionary signal It's quite as good as
any telegraphic apparatus. l hear the
three raps. good. l wake up at once.
and. springing out of bed, put on my
clothes. am prepared for action, as IL
were. Then. should your fears con-
tinue, you keep on rapping. i under
stand at once that the danger is immi-
nent. Then / seize my revolver, cock
IL, rush down stairs. bound over the
fence, and my presence ut once discon-
certs the robbers They endeavor to
escape; shoot two or three of them,
and you and your charming grand
daughter are saved"
Its very dreadful. but quite kind
and thoughtful of you and so ingeni-
Gus. do believe that IL / knew that
some one was watching for my safety
half of my fears would be disSipated. {"
The old woman really looked quite
grateful. $50 you think you could
hear me?" she asked.
"Uf course / could. / sleep on one
ear" replied. lit is true the idea is
perfectly my own, but as introduced by
me it is quite practicable, for it has been
put on trial; in fact. by means of the
hammer system we might dispense with
the police entirely. Once. when lived
in quite a deserted neighborhood--a
long row of houses in a suburban pOr-
ton of the city-l organized hammer
alarm. l had to do it for self-protec-
ton. There had been robbery after
robbery in tho row, and the police were
afraid 10 interfere Everybody in that
row went regularly to bed with ham,
mer. 1t was very hard on the thieves,
for. as bad luck would have il for those
rascals. they tried to break into one
house. just at the end Of the row. In