The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-01-30
NINE. BARRI0S' BURGLAR
RAN WHEN he HAD walked HER
By PROWLING IN HER ROOM.

Friday MOrninS-She Arouses the
House and Finds All Her Diamonds
and Opals Safe.
From the NetU York Sun.
Nine. Francesca a. de Barrios, the
wealthy widow OF Gen. de Barrios, who
while president Of Guatemala was killed in
battle, lives in the big brown stone house at
$50 Fifth avenue, one door from Sixty
seventh street, with Herman O. Armour
and Wallace c. Andrews for next door
neighbors. She lives there alone with only
a handful Of servants and her maid Ninon
about her. There is q Waterman on the
block, a grizzly. weather-beaten chap,
who walks up and down smoking his pipe
and keeping an eye on the houses so that in
case their walls should fall in he would be
sure to see il.
| On Thursday night last Nine. de Barrios
went 10 the theater with party of friends
/ She returned very late and very tired. The
moment her head touched the pillow she fell
| sound asleep. Her bedroom is the middle
| room on the second floor.
A little after o'clock in the morning,
| while everything was dark as pitch, she
awoke. She thought she had heard slight
noise in her room. She kept her eyes closed
|
Tor repetition of the noise so as to be sure
that she had not been dreaming. 1t came
again, faint rafting sound as il some one
| had touched the handles of the bureau
| drawers and they bad struck the metal that
held them in place. She thought it was her
maid, and still keeping her eyes shut, she
| asked, "Qu'est-ce que c'est NinonW
There was no answer. Then Mime. de
Barrios opened her eyes wide and looked
around the room. There was faint CLEAN
| OF light In one corner, and she gazed at this
for some seconds, until her eyes, becoming
accustomed to the darkness, distinguished
the figure of a man. He was bending over
her bureau, but was standing quiet aud
! motlonless as if waiting for her to fall
asleep again before he moved. In one hand
| he held small bulPs-eye lantern.
Nine. de Barrios raised her voice and
asked
who are you and what do you want I"
The man did not say word. but raised
his right arm and held it IN front of his
| face. Then, holding the lantern low. he
| turned and walked softly out of the room.
He passed close by the bed, but Nine de
Barrios could not see his face. She thought
he looked like young man, but her frame of
mind at the moment was not conducive to
minute observation.
She followed him with her eyes, too as
tonished to move, until he had left the
OOAAAs
gan to run. There was prolonged r-r-r-r-rp
as he slid over the carpet, and then a
bumpety-bump-b bump down the stairs and
bang. The man had opened the hall door
and slammed 1t behind him
A second later every bell in the house
was changing and banging at a terrefic rate
and the servants came rushing into their
mistress's room. All were excited except
Mime. de Barrios.
Bring light quick, she ordered.
The gas was lit, the bureau was hastily
opened, the jewel cases were pulled out and
opened and there lay hundred sparkling,
flashing gems, untouched and none missing
Mime, de Barrios gave long-drawn sigh
and then sat down in chair and famed
herself. Thousands and thousands of dollars
worth of diamonds and pearls, sapphires and
opals had lain within reach of the robber
aid not one was missing. Even the little
gold pins with tiny jewels in them, that
were stuck in the cushion which lay on the
top of the bureau, were all there.
The robber had not taken a thing from
her room. The servants who had been run
ming through the other rooms came back
one by one and reported that nothing was
missing.
The butler went out on the street and
found the Waterman faithfully patrolling
his post.
ibid you see man run out of our houser'
he asked him.
"Yes; two of 'em. Anybody sickr'
"Sick!' the butler cried in disgust. "They
were robbers"
why. though uey were running for
the doctor. They came rushing out Of the
door and closed it behIud them, and then
ran up the street. I'll see if l can find
them.n
He went to the corner and looked around
it, but the burglars were not there Then
he said: Let's inspect the premises"
They returned to the house and examined
the balcony. On the sill of one of the par
lor windows and OF re floor of the balcony
were footprints NOW. 1t looked as
If entrance had b. 10 that way
Nine. de Barrioa ..ot report the matter
to the police. In telling the story to friend
she said:
II wasn't a bit frightened when l first
heard the noise. because had been dream
ing about something aud thought it was
part Of the dream. When l heard it re-
peated thought it was my maid. And
then, when was sure it was man, l felt
so astonished that didn't think of getting
frightened. IL 1t had occurred to me at the
moment that l was in dangerous position
and that l ought to retain my presence Of
mind, am sure | would have screamed
But didn't think at all. l was so sur
prtsed, and you see everything came ont all
right. l can't imagine how he found his
way TO my room. suppose he hunted
quietly through the house until he found
it, and then he went straight to the tn.
reau."
On Friday night Nine. de Barrios went to
the opera, and none who met her had sus-
pected that she had passed through an ex-
perience that was out of the ordinary. The
jewels which the burglar or sneak thief
could easily have carried off form one of the
finest collections Of precious stones in the
country.
When Nine de Barrios came to New
York about six years ago she brought with
her the finest diamonds and opals and
sapphires and pearls that had ever been seen
in Guatemala, country where there are
more precious stones than there are here
She had necklaces. collarettes, stomachers,
rings; in fact, almost every kind of jewels
which could be ornamented with gems. She
wore a marvellous selection of opals and dia-
mords at the New Years ball.
Nine. de Barrios is out 80 years old.
She is a handsome brunette, tall and
slender, with dark, lustrous eyes.