River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1894-10-11
AN ARTISTIC BURGLARY.
A Church Member Tells How He
Might Have Done It.

short holiday. accompanied by my
friend and parishioner, James OLA
cram. Esq. the eminent IRON ner-
chant of our city. He had been out of
sorts for some time, and this fact,
suppose, caused him to make the rev.
citation To me which have atte mpted
To record hereunder.
When L. had finished his tale came
TO another conclusion.
You may talk as You like" said my
friend. "of the abilities of Campion or
any other detective, and the very much
over-rated intelligence with which
some men are endowed. There is,
however, great deal more of it, I as
sure you, in the novel than in real
life. Now look around YOU" con-
tinued Mr.. Ollacram. ''and consider
how many of our great crimes are
brought to light. Why, not one
tenth Of them. if we were dependent
on this wisdom and sagacity of Police
man M. If the criminal brings in
telligenee to his job the force is ina
mediately at fault"
looked at my friend earnestly. lie
seemed to speak with an air of warmth
and knowledge which alike surprised
and interested me.
Yes" he continued, II am an au-
thority upon the subject have been
a burglar myself"
"YOu?' J exclaimed in horror.
Then. rising from my seat, | almost
started upon run. lie was man
whom / had esteemed and respected,
and one Of the very pillars of my
church. Mr. Ollacram laughed quietly
at my excitement. His GOODNESS was
irresistible. and ] could only excuse
him on the grounds that he had gone
suddenly mad
You may stare" replied Mr. OLA
cram. smiling. but assure you there
IS nothing out of the way in my as
sertiou. Sit down again calmly and
| will tell YOU a short story.
In the early part of my life / was
All artistic burglar. aud 1 made con
siderable sum of money at the pI ofes-
sion. The authorities never caught
me, and | will tell you further that
they never even suspected me of a
crime. The reason i simple. ] thought
out my plans well before put them
into execution. ! invaria bly, laid little
traps for the police who were TO fol-
low on my trail. and Sherlock Holmes,
the prince of modern story detectives.
would as surely have been landed in a
quagmire had he come on one of my
burglaries. as he was in his adventure
over the yellow Face"
reseated myself on the very end of
the form and listened to the following
revelation:
In those days I dismissed the ques-
ton of morality from my mind alto
gether. ! ignored all restraint except
the restraint Of public observation and
public opinion.
My part was studied from the be-
ginning. alternative situations pro-
vided for, and, once planned out, per-
mitted myself to make no deviation.
1t was in this way that carried
out the burglary in the residence of
our mr. -ual friend and neighbOr. Chum-
leigh, in Browns terrace"
''ChumleigL. Yes, | knew Chum-
leigh"
The houses in the terrace were all
alike. and a. / lived in one of them
with my parents | was perfectly fa
miliar with the features of the others
could go through them by night as
well as by day. Mr.. Chumleigh was a
respectable merchant, whose wife had
recently died, leaving him with three
children, the youngest of whom was
an infant of but a few weeks old.
Ills wife during her life had been a
very fashionable woman, and was al
ways very lavish in her display of jew
elry. 1t was this jewelry that 4ttracted
me. concluded that these articles of
value would still be found in the room
on the third floor, lately occupied by
that lady. also came to- the conclusion
that Mr.. Chumleigh now occupied a
different apartment. / therefore de-
termincd to gain access to the room in
which Mrs. Chumleigh had breathed
her last. trusted myself to be able
TO do the rest.
i sent our maid servant on one oc-
casiOn to the housekeeper, requesting
her to let my father try Mr.. Chum-
leigh-s latch key. on the plea that our
latch KEY had been mislaid and we
were consequently unable to open the
door In a few minutes the girl re-
turned, had obtained the impression
in wax. and the latch key. with many
thanks, was back in the custody of MIR.
Chumleigh's housekeeper. To manufac-
ture a similar key was not a work of
great trouble TO me. and ] thus OBJ
tanned the means of quiet access.
As l have said, always arranged
nv bu-glaries with a preconceived
idea. Accordingly ! now picked up
an old pair of boots that had seen their
best DAYS on the feet Of costermon-
ger. doubtless. and cap that would
have been kicked bv workhouse mes
senger. / also obtained surreptitious-
~ the awl, hammer and Irvine. or
'waxed end from a shoemaker who
lived in the country.
Il next supplied myself with a used
envelope, bearing a postmark, and a
portion of a country newspaper. With
these articles in my possession fel.
satisfied, as an artistic burglar. that |
could Outwit the most skillful detec-
tive. l had, of course, also the usual
and necessary instruments which per-
tain 10 the faculty of housebreakers.
including a leather sucker and a
1 .azier's diamond. for the purpose of
removing a pane OF glass noiselessly,
If il should be necessary TO do SO. My
kit also included a small crowbar or
jimmy.
'.Nr. Chumleigh stayed late at his
club on certain nights. and, knowing
this fact. one night / cleared for ac-
ton ] smudged my face. donned my
old clothes and sailed forth by the
back door. which. like all the doors
of Browns terrace, opened out OIL a
back lane.
The house which I intended TO
burgje was now wrapped in darkness
From that fact knew that the nurse
and little ones had retired 70 rest l
walked boldly TO the front door. and.
using my new latch key, let myself
into the house and shut the door be-
hind me as quietly as possible.
1t i not a pleasant feeling. ! assure
you. 10 find yourself burgiariously on
the premises Of another The very
stiffness awes you, and a thousand
ewes behind quite a number of re-
volvers seem To be peering at you from
every turn and corner. The darkness
is frightsome. IL you have an asso-
ciate the work may come much easier.
bat To be alone in a burglary requires
he strongest kind of courage