Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-30
Narrow Escape of Mr.. E. q. Cor
don and Wife.
A MAN IN HIS ROOM
Prevalence Of Thieves Who Are
Prepared to Resist.
LIVELY NIGHT CHA.S E

to understand why he Is alive today. In
deed, he has had one of the closest shaves
from meeting a violent death that can he
Imagined without actually coming to any
harm. His story, in connection with the
facts brought out by the shooting of The
burglar Bell on @ street Saturday morn
ing, shows that there is an unusual amount
of housebreaking going in the District
just at this time.
Mr.. Gordon and his wife occupy a Sleep
ing apartment on the first floor Of the E
street building to the east of their dining
ioom, which is Immediately behind the
store. Last Wednesday night Mr.. Gordon
attended an auction sale of grocery goods,
and retired very much fatigued. About
half-past in the morning his wife. who
slept more lightly than he. was awakened
by the noise of her thimble falling into the
wash basin in the room. This unusual
sound caused her to nudge her husband
and ask him to get up and investigate. He
sleepily refused, and was about to return
to his slumbers when another slight noise
convinced his wife that there was some
body else in the room, and she urged him
again to get up Accordingly, he sprang
hastily from the bed, with an exclamation
of assent, and almost Immediately there
vas a sound of a person stepping hastily
toward the bed, and a gruff voice was
heard, saying:
Lay down there! 1 have got a pistol,
and I'll blow a hole through you if you
don't keep still.''
At the same moment the intruder struck
match, and there was revealed the form of a
n1iddle-sized negro with smooth face,
standing close by the bed on Mrs. Gordon's
side. pointing brightly plated revolver
straight in front OF him. The match, which
was held in his left hand, close to the ne
gro's face that it apparently blinded him
for the moment and prevented his seeing Mr.
Gordon on the other side of the bed. The
lctt ,Iioiy,r h do Al In N
weapon at hand, seized chair and raised it
aloft and eXclaiming: You have, have you,"
alluding to his reference to a pistol, IN
brain you If you move STEP.
A Lively Chase.
For some unaccountable reason the negro
did not fire and made no other attempt to
intimidate the occupants of the room, but,
quickly eXtinGushing the match, he turned
and fled in the darkness. He ran through
the dining room into the store and escaped
by means of the front door. which he had
unlocked Immediately after his first entry.
He was seen by the Waterman at the Fenci-
bles club rooms, who started at first to pur-
sue him empty handed, but, seeing the pistol
in the burglars hand, he ran back into the
building and secured his own weapon. He
then returned to the street and chased the
fleeing negro, who wore rubber shoes to
deaden his footballs, up to 9th street. thence
up to F, where the burglar made quick
turn over to the east and cut around into Sth
street and headed for e street. A post office
Waterman, who had noticed the excitement
on the street. tried to stop the negro, but the
latter drew his pistol and threatened to
shoot. The Waterman let him go by, and the
man ran into an alley and disappeared
An Accomplish.
Mr.. Gordon says that when the man who
was in the house turned to run he heard
scralnbling noise on the back porch, and he
concluded that the burglar had a partner,
WHO was watching in the rear. and who
scuttled over the back fences rs soon as
the commOtion in the building showed him
that the occupants of the house had been
aroused. This man ran through the alley
and was lost to sight in a moment The
people who live upstairs heard the commo-
ton and rushed out, aid for time there
was quite excitement on the street.
1t was evident that the negro entered the
store through the transom over the front
door, which was open on account of the
heat. A small rope held it partly up from
falling entirely over the top of the door,
and this was cut by the negro. AS he let
himself dow n on the inside of the door his
Il et tore a show bill from it's place on the
glazed panels. He evidently then unlocked
the door to provide for his escape, and 60
ing behind the counter took the till from its
place and carried it to the window where
1t was afterward found. There was about
this he pocketed, including a coin that may
lead to his discovery. 1t a ten-cent
piece that had been left with Mr.. Gordon as
security for a small amount. 1t was a
souvenir, having been smoothed on both
sides. On one side was a monogram, and
on the other a Eame engraved in Italics.
The burglar also took from the till new
revolver fully loaded, owned by Mr.. Cor
don, and it was probably this weapon that
he pointed at its owner in the bed room.
From a table in the dining room he took a
small box containing three earrings, one
complete pair and an odd one, the mate of
WHICH
don.
Killed 81 Bird
He had then probably gone into the bed
room, and the first thing he did, 1t would
seem, was to kill a canary bird that Mr..
Gordon had bought few days before
The bird was kept in small wooden cage,
preparatory to Its being transferred to a
larger metal cage, and the man had evil
IDENTIFY put his great finger through a
broken bar and crushed the bird, for it was
found dead in the morning with it's feath-
ers ruffled. In doing SO he must have ac-
cidentaliy krocked the thimble from its
placed on the bureau into the wash bowl
which stood alongside, and this gave the
W arning that was heard by Mrs. Gordon
Had "a Good Look.
Mr.. Gordon says that he can identify the
man, as he obtained good view of his
face during the few moments of illunina-
pursued him up the street says he was
rather thick-set and bowlegged. He wore
a SLOUGH hat, and this corresponds with
Mrs. &C rdon's recollection of a man who
entered the store Wednesday afternoon and
made a triflns purchase. He had looked
about the room with such Il curious air
that she noticed him especially and she
and her husband are convinced that the
customer was none other than the burglar
the premises.
Two arrests have been made by the po-
lice at the first precinct, but neither of
the men has yet been identified by Mr..
Gordon as the one who entered his house
morning. One of them has been
and the other has been held for
completely in another affair. Mr.. Gordon
viewed the body of Bell, the @
street burglar, thinking that he might be
tho one who entered his house; but this
was not the case. Mr.. Gordon said to
Star reporter this morning that he cannot
understand why the negro did not shoot at
him at least once, unless the intruder was
blinded by the fash of the match or i'm
agined that there was another pistol on
the premises. The groceryman has out re-
Gently moved into the present place, and is
not yet settled else he would probably
have kept his pistol under his pillow. If
he had had it there Thursday morning he
said, there would have been another case
for the coroner as he would surely have
shot the burglar.