New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1895-04-17
Ti4E RETIRED BURGLAR.


One of the Most Remarkable Incidenfs In
His Ysriega tod Carser.
:. fer had gathered 81 what I
.could find in the dining room, 3 said tho
retired burglar, telling q shisaxperiences
in house lin western Massachu
81 started for the parlor. This parIors
was just III 'front.' Of the dining room.
and there were heavy curtains between.
u pushed these curl ains one side and
went in CAREFUL so as not to mar the
furniture by kicking II, feeling along
for the table which ] knew must be in.
the center. came to it presently and
found 1t very solid feeling, with sort
Of molding OF carving along the edge
i had struck it on 8 side apparently,
and SO / felt toward the dining room
until came to a corner OF the table,,
and then / felt along the end for the
next corner to get the dimensions Of it..
] struck the other corner SO quick that it
made my hair raise right up u knew
there was only one thing they build Of
such shape, and that's 9 coffin.
.'I turned my light on il, and it was
q big oak casket, one of the kind they
make now days, square and solid, and
it had three silver handle on each side
Il didn't dare look in, but I felt as
though I ought to have them handles.
The head was toward the front Of the
house and the foot toward the dining
room. I set my lamp down and got my
rscrewdriver out Of my bag and began
on one Of the handles nearest the foot.
suppose must have felt a little easier
after I'd got that one off and into the
bag. know went around the end and
then up the other side pretty prompt,
getting 'em off smooth as could be, and
around the head and started down the
other side where I'd begun. got the
handle off by the head on that side, and
then went at the last handle, the one
in the middle. In turning the last
screw out of the handle dropped my
screwdriver. 4 .zs 3
''It seemed to me as though it made
more noise than an iron telegraph pole
dropping inside of an empty iron oil
tank. I just lay down and waited. I
didn't dare run. I expected million
people would come pouring down the
stairs and from all around, and just
waited, lying on the floor, but there
didn't any body come. You know, the
fact was that dropping that screwdriver
hadn't made noise enough to wake up a
mouse, but it seemed to me like the
greatest racket you ever heard, and it
scared nee most to death. But when no.
body came picked up the screwdriver
and set it in the notch of the screw again,
and I'd just got that handle off when I
heard somebody say: II.
Don't you think you re crowdin US
here little. my friend, carrying away
them handles?' It was the dead man
sitting up and looking down at me. I
suppose he'd been in an epileptic trance
or something of that sort, and dropping
that screwdriver had made just shock
enough to start him into life again.
"I was SO scared Idropped the han
die, but grabbed my bag-I suppose
instinct made me do that-and started
out through the dining room again and
down cellar and out blythe window I
came in by. I didn t wait to see if any
body was coming this time.
II got SLIT for those five handles. It
seemed a pity to lose the other one, but
it was always great satisfaction to me
to think that I'd woke the man up. -
New York Sun. ..~>