Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-01-28

lOOAuSs tHCv uldhC q
ton of the locks on their own doors, as
it is reasonably certain that every other
door on the same floor will be similarly
secured. Having acquired this knowl-
edge, one of the men sees that the
| coast is clear. while the other quickly
effects an entrance into one of the emp
ty rooms. His tools are taken in with
him. If there is only single lock to
contend with, the work is soon done
the 'bar-key,' with its appropriate bit,
opens the door readily from the out
side. and no further arrangements are
necessary for that room. Where there
is a bolt on the inside of the door 4
hole is bored through the door imme-
diately over the knob for the introduce
ton of the sectional stem. and then
this hole is carefully puttied up and the
small slot in the door is cOlored with a
quick drying material of the same col
or. Provided they are not interrupted,
all the vacant rooms on the floor are
thus fixed. and the thieves await the
influx Of guests in the evening. Where
the doors are fastened with double
locks the mode of fixing is different,
and requires more time and labor. In
the first place, entrance is obtained by
the use of the invaluable 'bar-key,' and
then, locking himself in, the thief
begins work on the inside lock, the
key of which is always in its place.
This key is taken out Of the lock, and
hole is drilled directly through the
back plate of the lock and the door;
this must be large enough to permit tire
Introduction Of a fine pair of nippers
for turning the key There is another
way of fixing the inside lock which is
frequently resorted to, but which is not
SO generally successful as the one
have just told You about, and that is to
bore Il small hole through the lock plate
and the door, and then to file slot in
the end of the key, like that in the head
of screw. BY this means large put
tied hole on the outside of the door is
avoided, and a small. sharp-edged
brad anvil inserted into the hole will
catch in the slot and turn the key.
:. From half dozen to score of
rooms having been put in condition to be
entered, the thieves watch the registers
to learn which of the rooms they have
fixed are to be occupied, and study the
individuals who have been assigned to
them, with the view of selecting those
from whom the richest harvest may be
reaped- The next preliminary, and this
is of the greatest Importance, is to care
fully study the habits OF the detectives
or watchmen who perform their duties
during the night. For this purpose the
thieves are often compelled to delay
1.-The key and bits which these
cracksmen use are Of peculiar construc-
ton. They consist of a straight steel
key bar. with bits which can be insert
ed ut will, and they can be used either
upon any ordinary stem lock or tuMbler
lock with perfect ease. The files,
drills, avis, etc, are of the usual pat
tern, but are made of fine steel and
highly tempered. The sectional stem
is made of fine steel or iron, and is
used for slipping bolts. The 'barkey'
consists of the bar and handle of an or
binary key, with slot in the end into
which may be inserted the bits. which
are especially designed for the locks of
the general hotel doors, and 4 screw
which secures these bits in their places.
L and l. bits are made in such variety
that they will open any door not fur
nished with tumbler locks, and when
tumbler locks are used the necessary
bits to open these doors can be readily
procured or manufactured by the thief
himself. The WILDLY is q small piece
of bent wire with Il string attached.
forming a sort of bow. With this SIM
pie instrument running through key
hole if the bolt is below the lock. or a
gimblet hole made for the purpose if
above the lock, burglar can throw
back any mortise, spring or sliding
bolt now in use, no matter in what po-
Sition it is or how the knob may be
placed. In addition to this the WILDLY
will operate the finest night latch in
existence, and for avariety of purposes
it is one of the most useful of articles.
when everything is ready for the
operation, and the guests are sleeping
sOundly in their beds, the thieves begin
their work If the corridors are de-
serted their labOrS are easy, and their
entrance into the chambers of the
sleepers is easily effected, without risk
and in short space of time. If there
is a Waterman on duty. his goings and
comings must be carefully noted, and
the work done during his goings. Five
minutes. generally. is all the time an
expert thief occupies in working a
single room. If the sleeper to be
operated upon has lief, the key in the
outer lock, the nippers are used. and
in twinkling that part of the difficulty
is over, and the key is turned so quietly
and noiselessly that no one would be
aware of what was going on. If, how
ever. there is an inner or double lock.
and bolt on the door. the putty from
the drilled hole is quickly removed.
and the nippers are inserted. and the
sectional STEM the WILDLY or the
bent wire is used upon the bolt.
All impediments being removed, the
thief noiselessly enters the room. The
first thing to be done is to replace the
plugs in the holes in the door. This is
done in an instant, and then the thief.
maintaininga STOPPING posture. springs
for the clothing of the occupant. The
reason for adopting this STOPPING posi-