Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1895-05-21
THe RETIRED BURGLAR.
One % the Most Remarkable incidents In
His vnriogated Career.


After had gathered in what /
could find In the dining room, " said the
retired burglar, telling Of his experience
in q house in western Massachusetts,
II started for the parlor This parlor
was just in front Of the dining room,
and there were heavy curtains between.
pushed these curtains QUO sidO and
went In carefully, so as not to mar the
furniture by kicking it, feeling along
for the table which knew must be in
the center. came to it presently and
found IL very solid feeling, with a sort
Of molding or carving along tho odge.
! had struck il on side apparently,
and so felt toward the dining room
until came to a corner Of the table,
and then felt along tho end for the
next cornor to got the Dimensions Of it.
! struck the other corner so quick that Il
made my hair raise right uP. / knew
there was only one thing they build Of
such shape, and that's a coffin.
II turned my light ON it, and it was
big oak casket, one of the kind they
make nowadays, square and solid, and
it had three silver handles on each side.
I didn't dare look In. but / felt as
though ought to have them handles.
The head was toward the front Of the
house and the foot toward the dining
room. set my lamp down and got my
screwdriver out Of my bag and began
ON one Of the handles nearest the foot
suppose must have felt little easier
after I'd got that one Off and into tho
hoo buo,., ryo,,k ov-,,,,,1 ti,o c,,1 ,,,d
then up the other side pretty prompt,
getting 'em of smooth as could be, and
around the head and started down the
othor side where I'd begun. ] got the
handle of by the head on that side, and
then went at the last handle, tho one
In the middle. In turning the last
screw ont Of the handle dropped my
sorowdriver.
1T seemed to me as though it made
more noise than an iron telegraph pole
dropping inside Of an empty iron oil
tank just lay down and waited. /
didn't dare run. / expected q million
people would como pouring down the
stairs and from all around. and just
waited, lying on the floor, but there
didn't anybody come Yon know, tho
fact was that dropping that sorewdriver
hadn't made noise enough to wake mp a
mouse, but it seemed to inc like the
greatest racket you ever heard. and it
scared me most to death. But whom mo-
body came picked up the screwdriver
and set il in the notch Of thesor9w again,
and I'D just got that handle or when
heard somebody say:
"'Don't you think you're crowdin us
here little, my friend, carrying away
them handles2' 1t was tho dead nian
sitting up and looking down at mo-
suppose he'd been in an epiloptio trance
or something Of that sort, and dropping
that screwdrivcr had made just shock
enough to start him into life again.
II was so scared dropped tho ham
die, but grabbed my bag-I suppose
instinct made mo do that-and started
out through the dining room again aud
down cellar and out by tho window
came in by. didn't wait to see II any
body was coming this time.
Z got e117 for those five handles. It
seemed q pity to lose the other one. but
IL was always a great satisfaction to me
to think that I'd woke the man up. -
New York Sun.