West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1886-02-19

"'"i' - NhNlN ~ NulN a Single lock TO
contend with. the work is soon done
'he 'oaI-Ncy, with It's appropriate bit.
opens the door readily from the out
side. and no further arrangements are
necessary for that room Where thcre
Is bolt ON the inside of the door "A
hole is bored through the door immc-
diatclN over the knob for the ntr0duc-
ton OF the sectional stem. and then
this hole Is carefully putticd mp and the
small slot in the door Is colorcd with "A
quick drying material Of the same coll
or. Provided they are not Interrupted,
all the vacant rooms on the floor are
thus fixed, and the thieves await the
influx OF guests I'M the evening. Where
the doors are fastened with double
locks the mode of fixing is different.
and requires moro time and labor In
the llrst place, entrance is obtained bv
the use of the invaluable 'bar-kev. and
then. locking himself i'm. the thief
begins work ON the inside lock. the
key of which Is always i'm 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 bc large enough TO permit the
introduction of a fine pair of nippcrs
Tor turning the key. There is another
way of fixing the inside lock which is
frequently rcSortcd TO. but which is not
so generally successful as the one |
have just told YOU about, and that is To
bore small hole through the lock plate
and the door and then to tle "a slot in
the end of the key, like that i'm the head
of a screw. BY this means large put
tied hole ON the outside of the door is
avoided, and sma! sharp -cdced
brad awl inserted into the hole will
catcl, IN the slot and turn the key
From half a dozen To a score of
rooms having been put i'm condition to be
entered, the thieves watch the registers
to learn which Of the rooms they have
liked are To be occupied, and study the
individuals who have been assigned 10
them. with the view of selecting those
from whom the richest harvest may bc
rcapcd. The next preliminary, and this
Is OF the greatest Importance. is TO care
fully study the habits of the detectives
or watchmcn who perform their duties
during the night For this purpose the
thieves are often compelled to delay
their operations for two or three nights.
The key and bits which these
ciacksmcn use are OF peculiar construc-
ton. They consist of straight steel
key bar. with bits which cam bc insert
ed at viii. and they can be- used either
upon any ordinary stem lock on tumbler
lock with perfect ease. The files.
drills avis. etc. are of the usual pat
tern, hut arc made OF fine steel and
highly tempered The sectional stem
Is made OF lnc steel or iron. and is
used for slipping bolts The 'barkcy'
consists of the bar and handle of an or
dinarN key. with slot i'm the end, into
which may bee inserted The bits. which
are especially designed for the locks of
the general hotel doors and screw
which secures these bits In their places.
I and l. bits are made in such variety
that they viii open any door not fur
nished with tumblcr locks and when
tumblcr locks are used the necessary
bits to open these doors can be readily
procured or manufactured bv the thief
himself The wildly is small piece
of bent wire with string attached.
forming a sort of bow With this sim
pie instrument running through a key
hole if the bolt is below the lock or "a
gimblct hole made tor the purpose if
above the lock, a burglar can throw
back amy mOrtisc, spring or sliding
bolt now in use, no matter i'm what po-
sitiOn Do d, on how the knob may be
placed I'm addition TO This the WILDLY
VIII operate the finest night latch i'm
existence. and for avaricty OF purposes
II 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. II the corridors are de-
serted their labors are easy and their
entrance into the chamber. of the
,lecpers j. easily effected, without risk
and in short space OF time If there
is watchman ON duty, his gOings and
cOming- must be carefully noted. and
the work done during his goings Five
minutes. generally, is all the time an
expert thief occupies in working
single room If the sleeper 10 be
operated upon has left the key i'm the
outer lock, the nippers are used, and
i'm twinkling that part Of the difficulty
rs over, and Che key is turned so quietly
and uoisclcssly that no one would be
aware Of what was going ON. If. how
ever, there is an inner or double lock,
and g bolt on the door. the putty from
the drilled hole is quickly removed.
and the nippers are inserted and thc
sectional stem, the wildly or the
bent wire is used upon the bolt
All impodimcnts being removed, the
lhlei hOlsele-slY enters the room. The
first thing 10 be done is to replace tho
plug, in the holes in the door This rs
done i'm an instant and then the thief.
maintaining q STOPPING posture, springs
for the clothing Of the occupant The
reason for adopting This stopping posi-
ton Is Chat every person iu bed on be
ing awakened suddenly will naturally
look up and not down Tho thiefs
movements are rapid and as noiseless
as the Indian ON the trail n ho is
successful in finding good roll Of
money or q wallet he goes in further
than the clothing. but If only loose
change is found the next point of attack
is the bed A few def movements and
thc thief has secured the property.
whether the same Is placed under mat
tress or pillow HIS exit is then made
as stcalthily as his entrance. and Boo
many cascs he IS sufficiently consider.
ate 20 lock the door behind him
The victims OF hotel thieves are very
delicately called patients. and the
usual patient manner iu which they
submit 10 the operations of the skillful
robbers amply iusti6ee tho application
Of Che term II n thief is disturbed or
discovered he does not make any fur
ther attempt that night. bat quietly cs-
unrre a.. If. r.rgr. NF....IF d..