Birmingham age-herald., 1895-02-07
A BURGLAR ALARM.

western Connecticut, entering by cellar window as I usually did when Twas late, so as not to disturb the folks. I looked around the cellar and located the stairs and started up. About three-quarters of the way up they made a sharp turn to the left. I 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 comfortably enough when, just as 1 was stepping up at tho turn, rope stretched across caught mo 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 tho other, so there was nothing to grab to, and just tumbled down. As bumped along something scattered along down the steps over me and under me and around me, chasing me all the way down, and when I finally got to the cellar bottom that thing was lying across my chest. It was the coal shovel, which had evidently been stood up against the rope, and which had jared loose.
 "But the worst thing of all was that my lamp was broke. lost my jimmy on tho way down, but I hung on to my lamp, but now tho light was out, and the glass was broke, and the slide was jammed around in front, and I could not turn it. felt around till found my jimmy and then waited to see if I'd woke anybody up didn't hear anybody, and so start ed again, and this time felt my way up the stairs carefully to the door. found it unlocked, and had got it open about an inch, should think, when heard a little bit of scraping on the other side, and the next instant the dreadfulest racket that anybody ever heard, the falling of dish pan that must have been hanging on the other side of the doorknob or the key, and at the same time what 1 imagine must have been the potato masher-I don't know, because didn't look for it-drop- ped 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 learned by feeling, door to the left, to the kitchen, I suppose, and one to the right, guessed, into the front hall. l waited again, but no sound from up stairs, so I 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 felt along and found row of chairs standing close together from that door clean to the front door. l sat down in 
 waited Still no sound, and 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 wonder without falling over any thing, and I began to feel encouraged. But in the dining room there was nothing but plated spoons and forks, which, of course, could tell by the touch just as well as though I had an electric light. If they had any silver, they had carried it up stairs, as some people do at night.
 "I 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 stepped high and stepped into pan of water on the bottom step. That made me mad, but it didn't make any noise, and I stepped out of it and started on up. At about the third step my leg struck string that was strung across these stairs and set a bell a-ringing that was hanging on 1t, 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 had got my leg tangled up in some way in the string across the stairs, and as struggled to get free the bell kept on ringing and the pie plates rat ting, and presently fell over wash boil CT that had been set on the stairs step or two up and brought that down on mo.
 ''As I was floundering round in this tinware and strings and bells and things I heard ohildren's voices up stairs, and Q minute later I heard steps in the hall above, and could see in the blackness up there tho white of nightgown at tho head of the stairs. Then something camo slamming against the banisters, hitting me as it rattled down, 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 1t was about timo for me to go too. I had freed myself from the bellcord by this time, and got down the stairs and into the hall again, and thero this time stepped on baseball bat-that was what had come banging down at me from above that rolled out from under mo and up- set mo once more among those chairs.
 II got up and opened the front door-it wasn't locked-and got out on the piazza. Before I 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 revolver and a big bell ringing. There was late moon just rising and little light now, and as went away I looked back and saw three children all in white all leaning out of one window on the second story. On one side thero was boy of about IA, as should guess by that light firing pistol. He was the boy, no doubt, that had thrown the baseball bat. On the other side was his younger brother, with good pair of lungs, blowing fish horn about as long as bean pole, and in the middle was their little sister, swinging big bell with both hands, and take 'em altogether, they were making great deal of noise.
 II didn't wait to inquire about it, but it was just as simple as rolling off a log. Tho children's parents had had to go away somewhere oyernight-sickness or something-and had left tho children alone. The young folks had forgotten to lock the doors, but there really wasn't any necessity of locking 'cm, with such bur