Milford chronicle., 1889-08-30
LOCKS DON'T BOTHER HIM.
A Thief to Whom Levers and COmbIna-
lions Are No More Than Latchstrings.

tons Are NO More Than Latchstrtnga.
One night last October John P. Campbell,
editor Of The Clay Center Kan.) Dispatch,
was awakened by hearing some one stumble
In his room. He sprang to his feet, revolver
in hand, and confronted the intruder, in
quiring his business The man very coolly
said;
II was Just passing the house, and, being
out Of money, thought would come in and
see If could find some As I was going
away with this little bundle which I had
gathered tripped on this rug and awakened
you I am very sorry indeed that disturb
ed your rest"
swell, you are a cool onef" calculated
Campbell. 81 guess you had better stand
where you are for a few minutes, until
dress and viii take you down to the sher-
it,"
"You are very kind, indeed, to 60 to so
much trouble for a stranger. win be very
glad to make the sheriff's acquaintance" po-
htely responded the burglar.
Campbell escorted his prisoner to the Jail,
where he turned him over to Sheriff James
Sterling, telling him that the man was prob
ably insane He was placed in a cell, and
next morning he was taken before Justice J.
W. Miller, where he gave the name Of Henry
Carton. He waived examination and was
returned to jail, in default Of $1,000 bail, to
await the action Of the grand jury at the
January term Of the circuit court.
The Jail at Clay Center is a two story brick
and stone building, with latest improvements
in steel cells and grating, and is considered
the strongest in the state. About noon on
the day Of the commitment, Carton sent for
Attorney f. P. Hardness to come to the Jail
to talk about the case and define the line Of
defense When Hardness went to the cell
Carton had not word to say about the case,
but confined his conversation to scientific and
literary subjects. He appeared to be an ex
ceedingly well read man, and surprised Harlz-
ness by his erudition. After consuming an
hour in this talk Mr. Hardness became i'm
patient and asked Carton to speak Of his case
You play billiards. don't YOUR was the
surprising reply.
YES; why.
| "Well, l viii meet you at that billiard hall
across the way at o'clock this evening, and
while we play we can talk about my case"
but the sheriff won't let you go out to
| play billiards. You must remember you are
in Jail"
"rhat's all right You meet me there at 8
O'Clock this evening, answered Carton.
Hardness was convinced that his client was
insane, but his manner was so earnest and
cool that when evening came on he could not
resist the temptation to 60 to the billiard
hall. Promptly at o'clock the door opened
and in walked Carton, whose entrance created
no surprise to any one except Hardness, for
there were only a few In town that were
aware Of a new prisoner being in jail, and
none had seen him. He went directly up to
Hardness, and the two men began a game Of
billiards. While the game was in progress
Sheriff Sterling entered the place, He did
not recognize his prisoner, but Hardness, who
was now completely nonplused, called to
him and said; Look here Sterling, is it your
usual custom to allow your prisoners to be
out playing billiards at this hour Of the
nightF
what do you meant" asked the sheriff.
"Why, | mean that this man Carton was
committed to Jail this morning to await the |
action of the grand jury, and now he is here
playing billiards in the evening"
Sterling turned pale from the shock and |
fear that there had been Jail break
Don't get excited, old fellow" said Car |
ton. II only wanted to get little fresh air, |
but if you object l will go back now.H
The sheriff, the lawyer and the burglar |
crossed the street to the Jail, where every !
door was found closed and locked, even the /
cell door being fast To all inquiries as to |
how be got out Carton made no reply. He
was replaced in the cell, and bidding his COM
panions good night prepared for bed.
Three or four days afterward Carton asked
the sheriff if he could not take a walk around
the town to get a little fresh air. Sterling
laughed and told him that it was against the
rules Carton did not appear to lie disap-
pointed, but next morning when Sterling
came from his apartments to the Jail entrance
he was astounded TO see Carton quietly sitting
on the steps smoking a cigar. On seeing the
sheriff he arose and saluted him, telling him
that he needed fresh air so badly that he con-
cluded to take walk before breakfast He
was locked up again by the sheriff, who was
thoroughly alarmed at the fact that this man
could at will pass through the walls, apparent
", Of the strongest Jail in the state Carton
told him to give himself no uneasiness, as he
liked his quarters too well to leave them until
winter was over
1t now became thing Of frequent occur
renee for the sheriff to find his prisoner sit
ting on the Jail steps, and though he placed
watch on the man he could never find how
the escape was made.
During the latter part Of November the
lock on the vault Of the Farmers and Mer-
chants bank became deranged, and the
officials were compelled to Undergo tenn
porary suspension until they could get some
one to open the lock. All the locksmiths In
the town and the bank lock experts Of Kan
sas City tried their skill on the refractory
door in vain, and the bankers were going to
send to New York for an expert, when Car
ton told the sheriff to offer bis services, as he
thought he could open the vault. He had
given Sterling such good reason TO believe In
his power that the sheriff had no hesitsncy
in telling the bankers that be had man who
could open their safe for them. Carton was
escorted to the bank, and In the presence Of
the sheriff and bank officials went to work
In half an hour he swung the door open, and
then examined the lock and adjusted the
part which had given the trouble After re- s
ceiving the thanks Of the bankers he was /
taken back TO his cell
When the district court convened the
judge found very large docket, and the re-
suit was that Cartons case had to be post
poned until the August term All spring
and summer Carton took his regular nightly
excursions, and the matter became so COM
mon that the sheriff began TO lose his fear Of
an escape. Last Thursday, however, Car
tons cell door was open, and the prisoner
was not sitting on the Jail steps On stand
IN the cell was note to Sterling, thanking
him for his kindness and stating that pressing
business further west necessitated his hasty
departure.
This was startling, but when Mr.. John A.
Moss, cashier Of the Farmers and Merchants
bank, opened his desk that morning he found ,
a note from Carton stating that he had taken
$500 from the safe in the vault to pay his
expenses, and that he considered
this as a fair payment for his services In fix
ing the vault. for which be had never re-
neived pay.
NO. ,.,,st,.d - che ,,o,,ft ,ra u ~. 80.
on pile Of money found receipt for 500,
ligned Henry Carton An examination
showed that this was all that was taken
from the thousands Of dollars that were at
iand. Not a clew has been found that would
cad to the discovery Of the man, and Sheriff