The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-29
ROBBERS WHO HYPNorIzaD.
The Strange Adventures of Jewelry
Drummer.
From the Dry Goods Economist.

Drummer.
From the Dry Goods Economist
The peculiar adventure which befell Mr..
Cooper would never had been related, and
therefore would never have been printed
had it not been for little action of mine,
innocent in itself. but which powerfully
affected my friend.
We have been friends for a good many
years. Mr.. Cooper and myself, and when
ever he visits my city Chicago invaria-
bly, call upon him.
Learning recently of his arrival, l went
directly to the Palmer house, walked to his
room and knocked at the door somewhat
gently, for did not wish to waken him if
he had gone to bed. Receiving no answer
| turned the knob and the door opened The
gas was turned low, and Cooper sat doubled
up in large easy chair fast asleep. His
sample trunks, packed and marked, stood
near the door. ready for the porter in the
morning. Here" thought l, "is a nice
situation. What il one of the many hotel
sneak thieves had been in my place {!
l am afraid my dear fellow, that you would
be minus something in the morning. will
give you a scare as lesson" So l closed
the door softly, and standing with my back
to it, stamped my foot sharply and said,
quite loud enough to awake him, Hands
upp
l shall never forget the sudden awaken.
ing and the look of agony which accompa-
MED it. His hands had gone up at my first
cry. Never word did he utter He only
looked at me with those great eyes, in
which nothing but horror had place.
Evidently he did not recognize me, for |
stood in a shadow, and so astouished was [
that did not for moment or two open my
mouth or move from my position after the
first cry.
Cooper old mani" finally exclain cd,
"whaU has come over you"
He smiled family.
'Put down your hands" I said, as 7
walked to the gas jet and turned it W
full.
els that you Will 2" he asked. Didn't ]
hear you say Hands upP"
'Yes, / said Hands up but is that suffi-
Gent reason for you to get as white as snow
and to act as you did | know that you
are no coward, and therefore you must
| have some powerful reason for your &C
| tions-"
II have sufficient cause to be alarmed al
that cry" he said after he had become
| more calm.
| 1t was only natural that l should be curl.
Gus to know the cause of my friends alarm
| and after considerable urging he related the
following strange experience:
| Twelve years ago, shortly before made
your acquaintance, | represented in thu
west one of the largest jewelry houses il
the east. made my headquarters while il
San Francisco at the -, and my Gus
toners would visit me and inspect my lint
in my own rooms. One day had been il
the city and made an engagement with on,
OF the most liberal buyers on the slope
My clerk and arranged the samples so tina
they could be readily examined, and thel
| went downstairs TO meet the buyer whel
he should arrive. | did not have long tt
wait, for Mr.. b. came along, and, seeing
me, said: 4 am going down the street, anC
will be back in half an hour. Go :upstair
and don't wait for me, for
went to my room and sat smoking, impa
tiently waiting for the half hour to pass
Suddenly knock was given on the door
and l, expecting my buyer, cried out in
hearty manner, Come in The door wa
instantly opened and instantly shut, and my
clerk and | found ourselves each LOOKING
down the barrel of a revolver. There wer,
two men. and one Of them stood just as yol
stood, with his back to the door, and crieC
always the safest way to put up your hands
under such conditions, and wait until you
see chance to put them down again.
1.-The two visitors were not bad-looking
but they were determined looking men.
Mr.. Cooper said one of them, we arr
sorry to disturb you; believe me, we are
and | have taken the precaution to protect
you from the annoyance of any buyer thi:
evening, so do not let tn buoy your hope,
up. have sent the gentleman away, and
we will spend the pleasant evening entirely
by ourselves.
ut is clear that we cannot take every
thing with us, SO if you will he so good, Mr.
Cooper, as to indicate which are the most
valuable stones aud articles. it will facilitate
matters. and you will be released all the
more quickly
II emphatically refused to have anything
to do with selecting the valuables
" 1 wish you would, for il will save vol
a great deal of trouble. In fact, | will max,
you do it whether you will or not. / shall
say to you, Make a selection, my good sir
auditake only the best, " and | am sure that
you will do it,
Saying this he stepped close to my clerk.
face, and, looking steadily in his eyes, said
We will need to give our entire att ntior
to the lewelry, so you must go to sleep.
Then the significance of the robber'.
words about INV aiding him to the most
valuable jewels flashed across my mind.
was to be put in a mesmeric state-you cal
| 1t hypnotlsm nowadays. In those DAYS we
knew little Of its secret power, much less
than we do to-day. knew in a general
way that the most prominent physicians,
with but fe" exceptions, had denounced its
alleged power as fraudulent. aud I, like SO
many others, let them judge for me, but
something told me with absolute conviction
that there was some mysterious power which
| was yet to learn of The robber kept his
eyes hrnly fixed and said something to the
clerk. could see that great struggle was
going on for the mastery. | noted the con.
vulsive twitching of the muscles of the face
and neck, but at last, to my relief, it came
to an end. The robber took the clerk by
the arm, led him TO q corner of the room,
and told him to lie down and have a pleas.
ant time
] 1t would have been much better and