The St. Johns herald., 1893-11-30
A FELINE PROTECTOR.
He Puts Q Brace Of Bold Burglars
 to Headlong Flight.
They Were Having Things All Their Own Way Until Tommy Reused the Fam fly with a Hair-Raising
 Racket.


 A little coterie of professional bur glars walked quietly through the silent streets of Bloomfield, N. J., late the other night, says the New York Journal. The Bloomfield police force of one was asleep on the steps of the police headquarters and the merry burglars had the entire town to tEem- selves. They walked down Linden av- enue, with their pockets bristling with jimmies and rattling with sl1ele- ton keys, till they came to the fine house and handsome grounds of MT. N. B. Adams, one of the society leaders of the town.
 One burglar was stationed near the front gate to keep sharp lookout for the Bloomfield police force. The two other burglars stole through the grounds to inaudible, slow music, like burglars in melodrama. When they reached the front porch the cautious one flashed dark lantern around the corners of the house and in the little poultry yard, the woodshed and the carriage-house.
 ''I feel relieved" said he, in a fine whisper; there is no dog kennel"
 ''This house is just pie," said the other burglar, in a delicate whisper.
 ''Pie!" whispered the first burglar. ''It is an oyster pie, mince pie and a George Washington pie, all in one"
 Then the jocund burglars made an end of persi1age and went to work with professional adroitness and a right good will. The shutter of one of the parlor windows was pried open, the window was raised and the cautious burglar, lifting his eyes to the level of the sill, explored the room with his dark lantern.
 The bold burglar climbed through the window. Then the cautious bur glar climbed through as softly as a cat. They paused a moment to criticise the pictures and tapestries by the light of their darl. lantern and cursorily exam ined the silver ice pitcher to see if it was standard metal.
 But their business was more i'm portant than the mere dilettante pur- suit of art and they tip-toed through the house, guided by the mellow, gold en light of their dark lantern, collect ing now some rare specimen of the sll- versmiths art and now an exquisite vase; finding here fashionable coat and there a costly shawl, and condo scending at times to pick up pocket book which had been left lying on the bureau as if of no use to anybody.
 The burglars made of their varied collection two or three neat bundles, which looked as if they might have come from dry goods store.
 The Adams family were sleeping tranquilly, but the lynx-eyed family cat was awake!
 'When we sell this" said the Eold burglar, pointing to the bundles, well go to the worlds fair and start hotel"
 ''I think Chicago would agree with my temperament" whispered the eau tious burglar.
 What quiet night this has" .i
 He didn't finish the sentence, for at this moment a wild, weird, blood curdling and appalling yell was heard. The burglars hair stood on end. It was followed by an unearthly and grewsone shriek. The burglars faces blanched. Then there was a sound of scrambling and of echoing steps as if half dozen people were running downstairs. It seemed to the fright ened burglars as if half the indignant citizens of Bloomfield were in the house and were about to rush into the room bent on vengeance.
 The burglars dropped their bundles, dived head-frst through the window and ran panic-stricken for the woods.
 The wild din was made by the family cat-a tom cat-who bounded down stairs and upstairs with his fur on end, shrieling and splitting and uttering the most frightful yells He aroused the entire family. MT. Adams got up under the impression that there must be a dog in the house-he could account for the frantic actions of the eat on no other hypothesis. He went downstairs and found two hundred dollars worth of household articles neatly tied up in bundles, just as the burglars had left them.
 One of the burglars took ninety cents from a purse and carried it away with him. It is believed that the three burglars had to walk back to New York, as ninety cents would be in- sufficient to pay their carfare.
 As the geese saved Rome, so the tom eat saved the Adams mansion.
 Nationalities in Austria.
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