Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1892-11-25
A BURGLAL TRAP.
nY II. j. CHAMBERS.

AS q member OF the especial STAFF
to whom is entrusted the duty of
dealing with telegraph business at
race meetings and other events of ir-
regular and itinerary occurrence, /
have visited most towns of any I'M.
portancc in England, and have been
a spectator of. and i'm some cases q
participator IN. some curious Incl
dents, one of which propose to re-
late here.
Many of the most successful meet
ings, from Il racing mans point of
view. are those held at places other
wise of very little size or Importance.
AS an example, it will be sufficient
to mention Epson. 1t was a town in
the Midlands ordinarily containing
about 6, 900 inhabitants. that I, with
five colleagues, including supervi-
sor, was ordered in the autumn of
1877
The event was a two-day race meet
ing. The first day was fine, with oc-
caslonal showers; the racing was
good; and as u large company was
present, we had enough to do not
only at the grand stand, but also
later in the evening at the town
office, whence we despatched large
quantity of press-work by means of
"Wheatstonc," which had been sent
for the purpose. 1t was II o'clock be-
fore we finished. and we then had a
good half-hour's walk to our lodgings
The second day was awful. Rain
fell in torrents the whole afternoon.
OF course the program was carried
out; but, beyond official results and
s'reccived" messages. we had very
little to dc. 1t is the only day I can
remember during which our boss did
not stir out of the office. He gencr-
orally contrivcd to have some business
to transact outside about the time
fixed for each race.
This day, however, the persistent
dOwnp0ur was too much for him. AZ
ter the third race, he sent me to one
of the reporters on some business 1
found my man in the weighing room,
small temporary wooden shed at
the back of 1attersall's ring.
When entered, the jockeys were
being weighed in, and there was APP
parently some difficulty or dispute, as
the process was an unusually pro-
tracted one. / waited. leaning against
the back wall of the shed, and as I
did SO. became conscious of voices
whispering outside.
caught the words, IA bloke with
a pig red nose and one ear" and my
attention was arrested at once, for
this was the description of our coun-
ter-clerk. / listened attcntively and
with increasing astonishment.
The voices were those of two men:
and the gist of their conversation
was, that a plot lad been formed to
rob our Office of the casll-box on the
previous day had failed, owing to the
fact that Harper, our counter-clerk,
had taken the Lox into town early
In the afternoon, instead of, as was
the practlce, at the conclusion of the
racing.
He had, however, been closely
watched, and was seen to place the
box in the local postmaster's safe
at the town Office. The safe was
in the room in which we worked in
the evening, and was an old fashioned,
almost obsolete contrivance.
All our movements must have been
very diligently followed, as the men
knew not only the exact position of
the safe with respect to the doors and
windows, but also at what hour we
closed the office, and the whereabouts
of our lodgings. They had also as
certaincd that no one remained dur.
ing the night i'm or near the room
where the safe was.
The upshot of the conversation.
which occupied less time than it has
taken me to relate it, was, that the
town Office was to be entered that
night as soon after we had gone as
would be considered safe. Entrance
was to be effected from the backyard,
through the window of small room
adjoining the larger one in which We
worked.
Further details I failed to ovcrhear.
as the dispute at the weighing-chair,
which had been gradually growing
warmer, now waxed loud and furious.
Taking advantage of the noise, /
slipped out and hurried to the office.
Taking the boss on the side, told
him all. He was for informing the
police at once, and having the place
guarded and the thieves scared off;
but after lot of persuasion, talked
him over, convincing him how much
more to his credit it would rebound
II he himself captured the robbers
red-handed and unaided by the police.
1expounded to him q plan, the
main idea of which had struck me at
the t1rst moment, towhich he listened
attentively, and occasionally smiled
sppr0vingly. When l ended, he said:
's1t would do very we'll but for one
thing. It involves three Of US re-
naming concealed In the ofice?"
Iassented. !.
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