Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1895-01-25
EFF EFF EGTIVE + ALARMS.


EFFECTIVE l ALARMS.
,-a1eill 5a5 n;lgti------l-l IL ! :! 4
THE REFINED BURGLAR TELLS OF
'Ai'7AA AN ANNOYING EXPERIENCE. 70
% q, = :
He Encountered Most Remarkable sys-
tenn of Burglar Alarms In . House With
Unlocked sDoors- Bells, Tin Pans and N
q EBaseb.li Bat me E1planation.s e iii
I Zone bit htslate," said the retired
burglar, 81 went into house in vii
lage in; wertern Connecticut, entering
by.a cellar tqdow, ,as II usually did
when I was late. SO as not to disturb
= the folks + looked around the cellar
and located the stairs and started up.
About three-quarters of the way up q
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 andSno
rail ON the other, so there was nothing
to grab to- and I just tumbled down.
AS Pumped along something scattered
along down with me, whang- banging
down the steps over me and under me
] and sfopnl me, chasing n1esau sfheeMay
down, and when 7 finally got. to the Gel
lar bottom THAT thing was lying across
my chest. 1t was the. coal shovel, which
had evidently been stood up against the
rope and which had Jared loose
on ttaBut the worst thing of all was that
my lamp was broke. -I lost my 9jjiinifiy1
. on the way. down, but 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 I could
not tnru it, Ifelt around TILL found
my jimmy, and then waited to see if
I'd woke anybody up. didn't hear
Is anybody. and SO I started again, and
this time I felt my way up the stairs
carefully ITO the door. I found it unlock
ed, and had got it open about an inch,
should think when heard a little bit
/, of a. scraping on the other side, and the
next instant the dreadfulest racket that
anybody ever heard, the. falling Of a
dishpans that must have been hanging
'on sthe OTHER side on the doorknob. or
- the key. and at the same time what I
imagine must have been the potato
masher-I don't know, because Ididt't
look for it-dropped from the top af.the
door upon my head.
"This door to the cellar opened from
a1ittle square hall. or entry way that
had, Us I learned by feeling, a door to
the left, I'd thezkitehen, suppose, and
one to the right, guessed, into the
front hall. WAITED again, but no sound
from up stairs, SO turned to the right
and opened that door Sand stumbled the
first thing over. a chair close by iii the
hall and almost broke my shins u felt.
along and found row of chairs stand
ing close together from that door clean
to the front door. sat down in one of
Them and nnnursed my shin and waited. -,
Still no Sound, and 7 tried again, and
pot along alfright this time, and turned
Off to the left and into the parfor,, u and
back from that into the dining room,
for wonder Without falling over any
thing, and began to feel encouraged.
But in the dining room there was, Moth.
ing butplated spoons and forks, which,
ofscourse could tell BY the touch Just
assWell sas though I'd had anselectfiea
light. If they had any silver, they had
carried it up stairs, as some people do
fat, night 10 loItno2 9TislfI9Ia 9Vlf 9W
ia ''I turned back into the hall ana
Jgropedumy way through that row Of
chairs to thefoot of thestairs. To make
sure of the first step III the dark Itstepa
q ped high and stepped into aipan of >Ma-7
ter on theibottom step.9 That made ME
mad, but didn't make any noise, and
stepped out of it and started OH up
At about the third step my legtstrick /
string that was strung across these stairs
and set hsbellI asfinging that was hang-
ing Oh it, and kicking that string start
ealdom on me front above a shower of
pie plates, and presently fell over a
wash boiler that had been. set on the
stairs step or two up and brought that
down on mel 49, .S29it L js7"V'i '}i = /
no GAS was oundering around in this
b tinwarei and string and bells and things
heard children's voices up stairs, and
a minute later I heard steps in the hall j.
above, and could see in the blacknessSl
up there the white of a nightgown at
the head Of the stairs. Then something
suanaes ~slanfming against the banisters,
shitting me- asst ratified down and final
" landing with a great bang on the
floor among the chairs in, the hall : The !
minute he threw it;4whoever he was,
'kheI ran, and 4 began to think it was
about time 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 there this time step
ped On "a 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.
IT got up and opened the front door
it wasn't lockedz-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 Eof the
house. and ali Instant later a Shot from
revolver and 2 big bell ringing. There
was late moon just rising end little
light now, and as Invent away T|lo6ked
back and saw three children al hls|
white, all leaning ont Of one window
On the second story On ppe side there
was 5 boy of about Il, as 4 ahouldgness
by chat light, firing pistol. Hezwas
the boy, no doubt, that had thrown the
baseball bat On the other side was his
YeHqgeE hsgthss Eith g geS, p e 'aes
as . bean pole, and in the middle was
their little sister swinging big bell
with both hands, and Ttake 'emg alto
getherI they were making a1great deal
of noise.
II didn't wait to inquire about it, but
it was just as simple as rolling off "a ]
lag. The chi1dreh's parents had had to
60 away somewhere oyernight, sickness
prlsomething, and had left the children
/ alone The young5 folks had forgot ID
lock the doors, but there really wasn't
any. necessity eff lacking lem. with such
ashnrglM alarm system as that. 's-New
York sun.
Essese.s Canal Electric Lights. ID sSE;
The value of electric light as saver