Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1889-04-25

SAVED BY A BELL BurTos.-.Sons
years ago. said A. Howard, my life
and so 900 belonging to my partner
Jim Bigney and myself. were saved.
and gang of robbers broken up bv
means Of an electric bell. Jim and /
had been telegraph operators. but
had abandoned the business for min
ing. We had lack in prospecting,
and after a few years had cold our
claims for s27 800. Of which we tork
$500 10 promissory notes aad s,arf.
east with the baIancA. chiefly in bank
notes. II appears that three ouilaw.
learned thss rssl saus sf our al
trunks and contents. i had left Jim
at the clerks desk Of new tangled
motel IN a western town aud followed
the porters as they carried the bap.
gage % the front end Of our room ON
the fourth Hoor. After dismiss;no
them had shut the door, neslectine
to lock it. however, and had turned
to the washstand behind, when heard
the door swing slowly open behind
me.
Thinking it was Jim. rinsed the
iather nom my eye and turned. only
20 find man holding a six.shooter in
my face another locking the door,
and third making o break for the
trunk. | wanted at frs. to argue the
matter from standpoint of morality
and 50 inquired what right they had
to disturb me in dressing. But the
man with the gun remarked axionat-
ically. Might makes all things right
stranger. and this is might. tapping
his weapon with the disengagea hand.
l felt that the silent instrument in
his hand was a deeper, a more potent
argument than any I could advance
under existing circumstances.
Back him up to the wall and keep
him covered until we get the stuff,
and then we'll slit his throat and
iope, resumed the leader.
Though the program did not just
suit me. acquiesced as TAR az the
wall. Put your hands behind you,'
eenmaa~-a---y7j 7j--as~.v-sf 4 %ss-s,
a happy thought struck me. Ny right
hand had come in contact with a
knob, which / recognized as the elec.
trio bell which communicated with
the clerk. This was feature Of civ
ilization the robbers were not posted
about. Unobserved by them, / began
by sendiug the following message:
"Jim-Three robbers have the door
locked and are just waiting to get
our dust to murder me. Get a man
and q step ladder and don't make @
sign OF noise, put gun through the
transom and shoot. Be quick and
careful
My only hope was that Jim might
still be lounging where / left him in
which clse his ear would quickly
catch on. There was a chance in q
hundred. and began to sweat very
freely. But / started repeating the
message, and was nearly through,
when bang, bang two shots were fred
from over the door, and the man who
had not been hit. turned just enough
to let me hit him back Of the ear with
my right hand-the force of despair
and the knowledge Of being on the
right side at last. 1t would be paint
ing it shade light to say we had
sprung a surprise party on tine yisi-
tors. had gun in a moment, and
kept the thieves at bay until the two
men outside got in and tied them up.
except the leader, who was aa
dead as man ever gets TO be. The
other wounded one died in a hospital
three months sfterward. and my jail
or was killed in an attempt to escape
Jail about the same time.
AS I had expected. when the bell
began ringing the message in the Of
fee, Jim was there and commenced
taking it. The clerk gazed in such
establishment that he forgot TO start
boy mp to answer it for q minute,
when Jim pulled his gun and remark
ed: The first man that leaves tkis
room gets all I've got here in the neck.
When he had got the 'ringogram, az
he afterward termed it, be rapidly ex-
planned. cautioned everybody else not
to follow, took drummer he had met
on the train, snatched ladder, and
as soon IS he could climb around tie