The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-05-24
A NEW FAGIN,
A Reporter Visits a School of Burglary and
Takes q Lesson in HOusebreaking.

A Reporter Visits School of Burglary and
Takes a Lesson in Housebreaking.
st. Louis Post Dispatch.
Now do you know the best time to do a
job in?''
The reporter acknowledged that he didn't,
| and made the acknowledgment in a manner
that showed Mr.. Ryan he was quite ashamed
of his ignorance.
"WelI, I'll tell you" said the Professor
Between three and four o clock in the morn
ing, particularly if the night is black, Peo-
pie sleep souudest in the hour Just before
daylight You can go through big house
easy in an hour and scoop everything, from
the jewelry in the secret safe above the man
tel to the siX-shooter and gold super (watch)
under the boss's pillow. And this brings us
to our first lesson, which will show you how
to get into a house There are three ordinary
ways of doing this; by the doors, by the
lower windows and by the windows on the
upper floors. If the upper windows are to
be worked all you have to do is to climb the
porch, push up your window and crawl in.
Never try to do anything without partner.
Leave your shoes with him on the lookout
below, You will want light and you may
use either matches. candle end or bulls
eye lantern. The bit of candle is the best to
use. Its light will not wake a sleeper. Then
prosecute your work as Judgment dictates,
being sure to search the open places first and
the drawers next. I'm telling you all this in
an off-hand way, but you must remember 1t,
as you would lesson in catechism or first
class minstrel gag"
"If you want to make it by way of the
front door you can use the skeleton, if there
is no key inside, and if there is, take the out
siders. Come, Pll show you. Here, Mar
tina, lock this door," and leading the way
into the back yard after his wife had locked
the door and he himself had closed the shut
tiers on the window, he gave practical Illus
tration of the value of the implements used
by burglars
The outsider" is pair of steel pincers,
delicately but strongly constructed, and de-
signed to take hold of the end of the key
and turn it in the lock. The pincers are
cylindricsl-shaped, and just large enough to
fit in key-hole. The insides are threaded
and cross-threaded, so as to produce a file
like surface, and when the end OF a key is
caught between the two jaws and a strong
grip is kept on it, the strongest lock in the
world can be tumbled back. Giving the re-
porter the outsiders he had purchased,
Ryan babe him catch the key in the pincers
and turn it. 1t was only the work of mo-
ment. The key fitted into the hollow cylin-
der as nicely as a section of whorteberry pie
fits into a small boys mouth, and in a jiffy
the door was unlocked
There, now" said Ryan in mock triumph,
81 knew you would do something of that
kind. You made noise enough to awaken
forty people on a second story. There,
Martha, lock this door again. There, that'll
do. Now, I'll show you how to go quietly
to work at it."
The Professor took the outsiders and
although he seemed to work with ten times
the rapidity of the reporter, he tumbled the
lock without making even as much noise as
the dropping of pin would occasion.