Omaha daily bee., 1883-05-08
PLUCKY MRS. N

Catching a Midnight Robber in a Bod
ket While Her husband Sleeps.
Philadelphia Times.
A funny story Of = womsn's pluck
was told In Judge Allison's court ) %.
terdsy In connection with the prosecu.
tion of John Smith, who pleaded
guilty to having entered the dwell lg
of George Francis In the night tire,
with intent to steal. Smith was about
six feet tall, robust, and of apparently
great muscular development. TEST.
mony was taken to enable the court
to determine what degree Of punisa.
ment should be Imposed.
The chief witness was Francis wife,
q buxom, middle sged Irish woman.
Francis Is German.
'In the middle of the night" she
said, "when l was In q dhrsme, /
seemed to hear q great noise. But l
didn't mind 1t, COR I thought it was
my husband movin' his feet. A little
while sfther that one of my FIVE little
childer started up In bed and l awak-
ened. 'Phwst's ths,l' says I. Moth.
in, mommie,' says she, but she was
trimblin' loike q leaf and seemed afraid
to talk. SO I knew somethin' was up,
and it was pleasant, I assure you.
looked over at my husband. He wss
sound asleep His feet were perfectly
stUl, and l knew that they had no,
made the noise. My little gurril wal
still sitting up and tremblin', anC
stsrin' hard at somethin' In the dark
I followed the coorse of her eyes, ane
heaven bethune US an evil, what d
you think l saw2'
"What2' asked Assistant Dlstric
Attorney Kinsey, with evident inter
eat.
"That big man in the dock, JUS
creeping under my bed. Did
boiler? Oh, no. 1 quietly took holt
O the blanket, never sayin' a word
and my husband still snorin', and .
waited, scarcely brathin', till the maj
got near enough to me, when
whipped the blanket over his head ant
held him there as noice as you place
All ha! my by, says /, Ihave you no,
In a net. Wild that he set up such
tquirmin' and struggiin' I thought h
would escape me. He's a good Ell
feet, ss yeu can see, apdbroad accord
In, and he was lo'ke q whale In
herring net. But I held him In tn
blanket with his head to the fure IL
my husband, Weakened by the nola
and tho sohramin' of my childei
jumped out of bed to help me. I CAV
my husband the blanket thin, an
snatchin' up my youngest baby, eigh
months old, l ran to the windy al
cried for help. The man and my hui
band had it together. The man maj
aged to get his head cut of the blar
ket. and bolted for the dure and m
husband afsher him. The this
slipped on the second or third ste
and tulnbled all the way to the bot
tom. I cav sn cticer on the street
l called out to him, and he came l
and arrested lhe thief, A lot os M
buttons AID ppooIs o thread AMI othe
little thirgs were fonnd in the man
pockets, and o pair O my husband
pantslocrs were found at his feet
That's all, but I don't want to do an
more robber ca:chia' while I live,
assure you"
Mrs. Francis story was corrobor
ated by her husband ard q polio
officer.
Smith, who had all the while main
tsined q stony ,ssre, declared that h
could not speak English. Although h
had entered O plea Of guilty, he sai
through IA interpreter that he wS"in
"marl,(e" and had got into Mr. Fir'
cts's house by mistake aud had lai
down 10 81, ep. He rad entered, h
said, "thrcuph a window" He hs
pulled Mr.. Ffshc's's trousers dow
!. with him from q nail in the wall, h
declared, when hs tumbled dow
stairs. He could not account for tn
. buttons and other things in his pocke'
. except upon the theory that they ha
= got there by 50 mistake" When tn
.. Judge told him that his explanatio
was too lame to be accepted he brok
into English that was perhaps bette
than the interpreters. he was ser
to the Eastern Penitentiary for tw
! years.