The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1895-09-13
A SLICK JOB AT BURGLARY
At S. w. Richardson's HOuse--After Town
Agency MOney-TwO Other Attempts In
One Night-HOw Shrewd scheme Of
the Officials Was Spoiled by BOyish
Antics.


One Night-HOw II Shrewd scheme OF
the Officials Was spoiled by BOyish
Antics.
S. w. Richardson's house at the
Oak Williston St. corner was visited
Sunday morning between 2 and )
O'Clock. The burglars made a lengthy
stay and careful search, evidently with
the expectation of getting some town
agency money. AS it was they only
secured about $50, and when they
found they must make tracks they left
81. 70 in Mr.. Richardson's pantaloons
which they had brought from his
room into the hall. 1t was another
case where they were heard and mar
rowly missed being caught.
| They effected an entrance through a
kitchen window on the second fioor
about ~ feet from the ground on the
rear Of the house. 1t was the only
window that happened to be left uu-
locked and as there were no signs OF
ladder having been used, it is figured
| that there must have been two OF them,
so that one ascended from the others $
shoulder: Mrs. Richardson was sleeping
up stairswith her grand daughter Mild
red Scott, from New York, who is yisl-
! ting her. She heard some one walking
about the house and at first supposed
| it was Mr. Richardson. but later hear
/ ing more of it and thinking the
noises were not quite right, she
turned on the light and heard the door
| between the kitchen and dining room
squeak as if rapidly opened Then she
went to the head ef the stairs and spoke
TO Mr. Richardson who occupied.a room
on the lower floor. Getting no answer,
she spoke Il second time and awakening
him, asked il he had been in the
! kitchen and when he said no, said
some one has. " Silas guessed not
! but got up and looked round and the
! instant he reached the dining room,
he was convinced that his wife was
right Everything was topsy turvey.
\ the drawers pulled out and hauled
over, the kitchen and other doors open
and evidence abundant on every side
Of thorough ransacking. He hunt
ed the house over and went out into
the yard and street. but saw no signs
of ANYBODY anywhere. Evidently the
robbers had taken alarm when Mrs.
1 Richardson turned on the light which
shone down into the hall where the
pantaonns were found, and skipped,
! Mr.. Richardson was awakened.
4 return to the house and an inyen-
| tory there. showed some SIS which
I Mrs. Richardson had in sewing ma
chine drawer to have been taken and
! the purse on the floor and also
| sl.5O from a pitcher in the china
4 closet The thieves were probably in
/ the house for full hour. for Miss
] II 4, l,f ,I, l,,rlt
/ in the kitchen at 2:2O and ii was
>. IS before Mrs Richardson stirred.
/ But the town agency money was not
/ found for Silas had secure hiding
place. There were four 81 five
/ burned matches near the head of
/ Mr.. Richardson's bed showing that
! they had been there in their search.
| MIR. Richardson then made Il hunt
! for his dog. splendid watch animal,
which he had believed il impossible
for any burglar to get by. About D
| O'Clock in the morning the dog came
home acting peculiarly and evidently
| having undergone some experience
| that he didn't like. Hitherto he has
always presisted in lying out on the
piazza but when Sunday night came
/ he wouldn't do il and whined so that
/ they took him in. 1t is believed that
/ an attempt was made on the house the
| Wednesday night previous, for the dog
/ then made a noise that awakened the
whole neighborhood between II and
/ ! O'Clock and kept il up long time
The probabilities are that in some
way they managed to overcome the
+ dog. water spaniel. with chloroform.
fG. X. Parker's family AT the next
house where the windows were open
and the wind was right. declared the
next morning that they smelled chic
roform strongly.
1t was quarter of before Chief
Mcclure was notified and got there.
/ He made careful examination and
pronounccs ii the slickest job that has
! been done here for many years. more
! like professional work than anything
since the Herrick and Leonard block
burglaries. He found Is different
| Portland and Parlor matches about the
| house. with the tips burned to light
the way of the robbers. This is what
| they have done in every case, evident
| " carving no dark lantern. He was
| satisfied that they entered III the way
stated above. stepping on gasoline
box four feet high to reach up, one GO
| ing in that way and then going
| through and opening the kitchen door
TO let the other in. As soon as light
he hunted for the tracks and found
that they came to the place on the side
between Mrs. Fits and Richardson's.
as he could trace the tracks in the
| dew, but he could not track them away
because of the concrete and the hard
ness of the road. There were many
bottles of liquor and wine in the house
which Mr.. Richardson keeps there for
night and Sunday calls, but none of
them were touched. The robbers did.
however. go to the refrigerator and
carry away a pail of eggs, 2le dozen.
1t is doubtful if there will ever be
better chance to capture the men than
was then allowed to slip. Both the
Misses Fox in the next house and the
daughter of Mr.. Hardie who lives up
stairs heard scraping noise at =
O'Clock evidently made by the burg
lar who was shining up the side of
the house to the window-and both
went to their windows and looked out.
fearing that an attempt was being
made on their house. 1t was ~ min
utes later when the Misses Fox saw
the lights turned on in the kitchen.
They gave little thought TO il at the
time, but if they had only aroused Mr..
Hardie, he could have had a plenty of
time to slip down TO the street and get
the officers.
After 10 o'clock, Engineer o. III.
Hall returning to his home at Is
Green street saw top carriage with
three men standing in front of the
castle They didn't seem to dodge