The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1894-10-05

didn't disturb Jim, however. He just
took the time out in sleep, and, &C
cording to what he said, would have
been perfectly contented if he had
been able to smoke, which he couldn't
do owing to scarcity of air in the safe.
You see, as long as he kept his mouth
| somewhere near the keyhole he man
| aged to do very well, but it wasn't
what you would call an airy sort of
place.
Jim was careful man and never
neglected any precaution that would
make the valuables in his charge as
safe as possible. This was why he
made it rule to change the combina-
ton of the safe every month. About
the Sd day of August remember the
month because l always suffer from
the liver complaint in August and l
was off duty at the time and reading
in the smoking car, being too sick to
work as brakeman-when we came
near running into wagon that was
crossing the track. When Jim heard
the brakes blown down he crawled
into his safe and shut the door, expect
ing there would be an accident. 1t so
happened that the wagon got clear of
the track just in time, and we went on
our way rejoicing. After awhile we
missed Jim, and knowing that he must
be in his safe, the conductor started to
open it. He found that the combina-
ton wouldn't work, and then remem-
bering that 1t was just after the LIST of
the month, he knew that Jim must
have changed it, and forgotten to give
him the new combination. So the con-
ductor got close to the keyhole and
calls to Jim to give him the combina-
ton, but Jim answers that he had
changed it that very morning, but
couldn't for the life of him remember
what it was.
Here was pretty go. The only
man who knew the combination had
forgot it, and he was shut up in the
safe. We told Jim that we would
leave him quiet for an hour. and that
there wasn't any doubt that he would |
be able to remember in that time the |
combination, but somehow when he
agreed to this his voice didn't sound |
very sanguine. At the end of the hour
he hadn't made any progress All he
could say was that the word had some
thing to do with robbery or politics, |
and that 1t must be a word of five |
letters, that being the way the lock
was made.
well, we set to work to think of ev-
cry word in the language relating to
robbery and containing five letters. 1t
was like working out some of those
puzzles that you see in the Sunday pa
pers, but we couldn't hit on the right
answer. Seeing as robbery" didn't
furnish us with the word we tried
words connected with politics, and if we
had only known it we were on the right
track. but we never got there. The
sent to his house for big
and proposed to begin and
try every word of five letters in the
whole concern, but after a while we
'ound that it would take pretty near
year to get through with them all, and
BY that time Jim wouldn't be wanting
% get out.
We worked at the combination for
good twenty-four hours, taking it
altogether. and then we had to give it
Up. Then we sent for the best safe
burglar in the whole northwest, and
'ffered him one hundred dollars to
pen the safe. giving him leave to try
ny plan he might prefer. The man
sd heard of Jim's patent burglar j
roof safe, and being an ambitious '
hap, who took genuine pride in his q
rofession, he was glad Of the job. But 4
e didn't succeed anv better than we 4