News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-02-07
A CRACKSMAN'S CHAT,
WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT HIS PRO-
FESSION.
How a Burglar gets into House at Night
And G. Gets Out Again.
"What is the prime quality in your

"What is the prime quality in your
business ?"
"Nerve-nothing else.'
| s'What is the best method? ?"
''Boldness. Many job have l done
right before the eyes of people; done it
Just as though it was the regular thing
and I was just where I ought to be. L
have had my pal taking things out of a
house when a couple of cops were walk
ing by, and stood with pencil in my
hand, keeping tally of the things. They
thought it was alright, as looked right
at them. I tell you fellow wants to
keep perfectly cool and know what he
is doing, and what he is going to do
every time.
"The right kind of men are somehow
lacking. They are either too timid or
too rough. 1t wants a fine man, a real
Damascus blade, to do neat JOB. There
are plenty of opportunities, if there were
only the men to fill them. But was
speaking about chances. The people
are asleep; you are awake. They are
timid; you are perfectly cool. You know
just what they will do if they wake
up. They don't know how many are in
the house, nor where you are. Most
people are towards in the night. With
out any odds you could get the best of
them, but in the night with the bug
bear and the reality of burglar in the
house-and they have spent all the years
of their lives in working up a dreadful
fellow in their imagination-in such
a plight mans house is like a foreign
land to him, and he is perfect stranger
to the situation in his own home"
Chow do you feel when you are alone
in house at the dead of night and
running such terrible risks?"
''There, now, you have got as much
nonsense into that question as they
usually do. In the first place, midnight
is not the usual hour when a house is
worked. Things are not so quiet
generally as they are two hours later.
And then, if it were midnight, what of
it? Midnight except to towards is no
different from any other hour, only as it
is a great deal safer for those like us.
Alone in house? 1t is little shaky
at times, but generally safe enough; but
that isn't the way house is generally
worked. There should be two, and
three are better. Terrible risks? we
don't think of it in that light. There is
something fascinating about the riskl
and it isn't considered Objectionable.
What do we think? How do we feel
Now, look here, there isn't much time
nor occasion for thinking and feeling
outside of the job to be done. Your
sentimental chaps don't want to be
prowing about nights on any of these
delicate 'rackets.' The man who is 60
ing to stop in bedroom of a strange
house at two o'clock at night to consult
his feelings had better keep out OF the
bedroom. The man who proposes to
enter this profession will want to run
very slow on the thinking and feeling
line, particularly when he is Oh duty" I"
Chow does an operator feel when he
is confronted by some inmate %
''In the first place he feels that some
thing must be done pretty quick. Dodge
'em if you can, but no fooling anyhow.
Do anything short of killing, if neces-
sary. The women are the hardest to
handle, except man who wakes up cool
with his weapons handy. The funniest
experience ever had was when I went
into a bedroom one night where there
was one man asleep. L was at the
bureau drawers, and looking into the
glass I saw him sit bolt upright and look
at me. turned pretty quick. you may
believe, but he never stirred nor spoke.
I didn't move after turning round, but
looked at him and he at me. | very
soon saw that he was not awake.
gathered up the swag and walked rount
the bed to the door, but his eyes were
on me all the while. L got out of the
room safely, and he never spoke or after
ward made any disturbance. 1 didn'
stay much longer in that house,
Boston Herald