Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-03-15
EFFECTIVE ALARMS.
THE RETIRED BURGLAR TELLS OF
AN ANNOYING EXPERIENCE.
He Encountered "a Most Kemarka.
bic system of Burglar Alarms In
House with Unlocked Doors
Bells, Tin Pans and a Baseball
Isai-The Explanation.
New York Sun

burglar, - went into house in a
village in Western Connecticut, en-
tering hy cellar window. as | usually
did when | was late, so as not to dis
turb the folks. | looked around the
cellar and located the stairs and
started up. About three quarters OF
the way up rope that was 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
Just tumbled down. AS | bumped
along something scattered along down
with me. whang-banging 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 MAS 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. lost my jimmy
on the way down, but l hung on to
my lamp, but now the light was out
and the glass was broke, and the slide
was jammed around in front, and
could not turn it. / felt around till
found my jimmy, and then l waited to
see if I'd woke anybody up. l didn't
hear anybody, and so / started again,
and this time | felt my way up the
stairs carefully to the door. / found
it unlocked, and l had got it open
about an inch, should think, when /
heard little bit of a scraping on the
other side, and the next instant the
dreadfulest racket that anybody ever
heard, the falling of a dishpan that
must have been hanging on the other
side on the doorknob or the key, and
at the same time what imagine must
have been the potato masher-I don't
know, because / didn't look for it
dropped from the top of the door upon
my head.
"This door to the cellar opened
from a little square hall or entry way
that had, as l learned by feeling,
door to the left, to the kitchen, l sup
pose, and one to the right, I guessed,
into the front hall. waited again,
but no sound from up stairs, so turned
to the right and opened that door and
stumbled the first thing over chair
close by in the hall and almost broke
my shins. 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 l tried again, and got along all
right this time, and turned off to the
left and into the parlor, and back from
that into the dining room, for won
der 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 l could tell by the touch just
as we'll as though I'd had an electric
light. If they had any silver, they
had carried it up stairs, as some people
do at night.
al turned back into the hall and
groped my way through that row of
chairs to the foot OF the stairs. To
make sure OF the first step in the dark
l stepped high and stepped into pan
of water on the bottom step. That
made me mad, but didn't make any
noise, and l stepped out of it and
started on up. At about the thiid |
step my leg struck string that was
strung across these stairs and set a
bell a-ringing that WAS hanging On it,
and kicking that string started down
on me from above q shower OF pie |
plates, and presently fell over wash
boiler that had been set on the stairs
a step or two up and brought that
down on me.
Gas / was foundering around in
this tinware and string and bells and
things l 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
nightgown at the head OF the stairs.
Then something came slamming
against the banisters, hitting me as it
ratified and finally landing with
great bang on the floor among the
chairs in the hall. The minute he
threw it, whoever he was, he ran, and
| began to think it was about time
for me to 60 too. l had freed myself
from the bellcord by this time, and got
down the stairs and into the hall
again, and there this time stepped
on q 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.
al got up and opened the front door
it wasn't locked-and got out on
the piazza. Before had got to the
top front step heard horn blowing
from an up stairs window on the side
of the house, and an instant later a
shot from a revolver and big bell
ringing. There was a late moon just
rising and little light now, and IS
went away l looked back and saw
three children all in white, all leaning
out Of one window on the second
story. On one side there was boy