The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1895-05-23
THE RETIRED BURGLAR.
His Story of Night of Tribulation and
Unexpected Reception.


Unexpected Reception.
lone night late," said the retired
burglar, 81 went into house IN vii
lage in western Connecticut, entering
by cellar window, as l usually did
when | was late, so as not to disturb
the folks. l looked around the cellar
and located the stairs, and started up.
About three-quarters of the way up
they made sharp turn to the left.
l had my jimmy in my right hand
and my lamp in my left, so as to be all
ready, expecting to set my lamp down
on the top step and gently pry the door
open; and was going along comfort
ably enough, when, just as l was step
ping up at the turn, a rope stretched
across caught me under the chin and
toppled me over down stairs. There
was only the stone wall of the cellar on
one side and no rail on the other, SO
there was nothing to grab to, and l just
tumbled down the stairs. AS l bumped
along, something scattered along down
the steps, over me and under me and
around me, chasing me all the way
down; and when l finally got to the
cellar bottom, that thing was lying
across my chest. 1t was the coal
shovel, which had evidently been stood
up against the rope, and which l had
Jared loose.
"But the worst thing of all was that
my lamp was broke. l lost my jimmy
+l,o h11t |
lamp; but now the light was out and
the glass was broke and the slide was
TANNED around in front, and l could
not turn it. | felt around till | found
my jimmy, and then waited to see If
| had woke any body up. didn't hear
anybody so l started again, and this
time felt my way carefully up the
stairs to the door. l found it unlocked
and had got it open about an inch, L
should think, when heard little bit
of scraping on the other side, and the
next instant the dreadfullest racket that
anybody ever heard-the falling of a
dishpan, that must have been hanging
on the other side of the door knob or
the key and at the same time what l
imagine must have been the potato
masher-I don't know, because l didn't
look for it-dropped from the top OF
the door upon my head.
"This door to the cellar opened from
little square hall or entry-way that
had, as l learned by feeling, a door to
the left, to the kitchen, and one to the
right, guessed, into the front hall.
[ waited again, but no sound from
the upstairs, so l turned to the right
and opened that door, and stumbled,
the first thing, against chair close by,
in the hall and almost broke my Sims.
l felt along and found row of chairs
standing close together from that door
clean to the front door. sat down in
one of them and nursed my shin and
waited Still no sound, and I tried
again, and got along all right this time
and turned off to the left and into the
parlor, without falling over anything,
and l began to feel encouraged. But
in the dining room there was nothing
but plated spoons and forks, which | OF
course could tell just as well as though
| l. u lttl du ClCCUIlC IL eIIOy 1Adu
any silver they had carried it upstairs,
as some people do at night. l turned
back into the hall and CROPPED my way
through that row of chairs to the foot
of the stairs. To make sure of the first
step in the dark | stepped high and
stepped into pan of water on the bot
| tom step. That made me mad but l
didn't make any noise, and l stepped
out of it and started on up. At about
the third step my leg struck a string
that was strung across these stairs, and
set bell ringing that was hanging on
it; and kicking that string started
down ON me from above, loOsened
suppose by another string tied to the
one [ had kicked, a shower of tin pie
plates; and l had got my leg tangled up
in some way in the string across the
stairs, and as l struggled to get free the
bell kept on ringing and the pie-plates
rattling, and presently l fell over a
wash boiler that had been set on the
stairs step or two up, and brought
that down on me.
GAS was foundering around in this
tinware and strings and bells and
things, heard children's voices up
stairs, and minute later | heard steps
in the hall above, and could see in the
blackness up there the white of a night
gown at the head of the stairs. Then
something came slamming against the
balusters, hitting me as it ratified down,
| Ian h0r rr
ON the floor among the chairs in the
hall. The minute he threw it, who
ever it was, he ran, and [ began to
think it was about time for me to go
too. had freed myself from the bell
cord by this time, and [ got on the
stairs into the hall again, and there
this time, | stepped on baseball bat
that was what had come banging down
at me from above-that rolled out from
under me and upset me once more
among those chairs.
81 got up and opened the front door
1t wasn't locked-and got out on the
piazza. Before 1 had got to the top
front step heard horn blowing from
an upstairs window ON the side of the
house, and an instant later shot from
a revolver and big bell ringing
There was late moon just rising
and little light just now, and as 1
went away l looked and saw three chill
dren all in white, all leaning out of
one window on the second story. On
one side there was boy of about four
teen, as should guess by that light,
firing pistol. He was the boy, no
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