The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-06-19
YOUTHFUL BURGLARS.
The Experience of Three Young Thieves
In an Annapolis Professors House..


"WhenI was cadet at Annapolis. :"
said a naval officer in conversation
with reporter, II once got suspended
for year in the following manner:
| was member of the lowest class, a
.Plebe, and only fifteen years old at
the time. There were three of us in
the class who were sworn friends.
One of the boys Struggled a lot of dime
novels into the academy, and we read
them until we began to feel that we
must fight Indians or commit a bur-
glary at once, if we ever expected to
amount to any thing. We held con-
sultation and discussed the matter.
Indian fighting was what we most
yearned for, but, unfortunately, there
were no Indians handy, and Journey
to the wild West in search of them was
decided to be impracticable. Burglary
was the only thing left us and to this
we turned with avidity. The next
question was what to steal. The
burglars in the dime novels had ALWAYS
stolen money or silverware, but
somehow, much as we reverenced and
admired our heroes, none of us quite
liked the idea of doing that. But, hap
pv thought the examinations were
coming, Why not burglarize the house
OF the professor of mathematics and
steal an examination paper? We knew
he had the papers all made out. Tbs
thing was at once decided on. We
tthen began to provide ourselves with
what considered a complete burglars
kit. We made false keys that were so
false that they would not lock or I'M
lock any thing, made rope ladder,
and bought an alarm clock and dark
lantern out in town. A night was
fixed on for the daring deed, and at one
o'clock our alarm clock woke us up to
glory Armed with our burglar tools
we sailed forth, and after eluding the
sentries and Waterman arrived at the
house of the professor of mathematics
and effected an entrance through the
coal-hOle.
"The professor had an Office back of
the dining-room, and for an hour we
searched this Office with our dark
lantern, looking in vain for the eXami-
nation papers. Not daring to stay
longer we decided to give it up for that
night, but come again the following
night. Our ignominious entrance
through the coal-hole grated on our
feelings. None of our new burglars
had ever done such thing, and so be-
fore leaving the house we drew beck
the fastenings of one of the parlor
windows in order that we might enter
in more orthodox fashion the next
time we came. Then we made our
perilous way back to our rooms in the
barracks. That day we learned that
the professor had another office back
of his bedroom on the second floor and
we decided that there was where he
kept his examination papers. When
our alarm clock had again called us tc
act the part of heroes at one O'Clock,
we stole to the professor house and
went in through the parlor window.
Softly we crept upstairs in our stock
ing feet. The door of the professors
bedroom was open and he was snoring
frightfully. We found the little office
back of the bedroom and once being
in there locked the door from the in
side and opening the window let down
our rope-ladder so that we would have
means of escape if we should be
discovered. We carefully searched
everywhere, but found no eXamina-
ton papers. There was little safe in
the room, with a combination lock.
The burglars we had read about had
always been able to open safe with a
combination lock, but somehow we
couldn't though we spent half an hour
trying. just as we were about to give
it up and retire, we discovered paper
which had fallen down back of the
safe. 1t proved to be the examination
paper of the third class in comic Sec
tons. One of our gang" had friend
in the third class who was pretty sure
to be found deficient in the eXamina-
ton and he wanted to take the paper
and give it to him. The rest of us con-
scented on the condition that it should
go to no one else. We got safely back
to barracks and in the morning the ex-
animation paper was given to the
shaky cadet. Another third class man
caught him studying it and the result
was that all of the third class had the
paper at their disposal if they wanted
it. A few days later the examination OF
the third class in comic sections
took place. 1t was particularly hard
examination and the professor of math-
ematics took his seat with smile that
morning, confident that it would weed
out the poor scholars in the class.
Judge of his Amusement when every
member of the class passed an abso-
lutely perfect examination. Cadets
who never before had been able clearly
to demonstrate the simplest problems
now tackled the most difficult and COM
plicated proportions and elucidated
them with an ease and clearness that
ought to have charmed the professor.
But it didn't. He smelt a rat of the
largest size There was an investiga-
| ton and the whole thing came out.
We three burglars were imprisoned for
awhile on the Santee and then sus-
pended for year. The admiral wanted
| to dismiss us from the service, but the
the Secretary, good old soul, would no t
| consent to tn. Y Tribune.
Il