Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1896-12-10
THIEVES NEATLY TRAPPED.
Peculiar Construction of Mexican Doors
Put Them In Their Plight.


"Last April l was down in Mexico"
said travelling salesman, ION bust.
ness trip, and one night my partner and
| had to remain over in a small place
about so miles out of Mexico city. 1t
wasn't such bad place either, but .he
landlord of the hotel told us that
thieves were plenty, and if they were
cornered they might stick their knives
into people. Our room in the little tav.
ern was kind of summer house af.
fair, out in the yard, with door OIL
each of two sides, and was only few
feet up from the ground on kind Of
n platform veranda. We had several
hundred dollars which we had collected
and the safest place we could put it was
in our satchels in our room.
For wonder the doors had locks on
them, but the upper part of the doorwas
made in Venetian shutter style, and
man with long arm could, by stretch.
ing, probably reach the lock. We
weren't very much afraid, and merely
locked the doors without noticing the
shutter part at all. Besides, it was dark
when we went to bed, as we didn't want
a light to attract the insects. We slept
without disturbance until the first
gray streaks of dawn, and then we
were awakened by queer noise at the
doors.
"We suspected thieves at once, and,
nc ottiaf nc rnina xyo cl;pDad out ~ bod
and began to reconnoiter. When l got
to my door it kind of gave me the crceps
to see dirtyyellow hand thrust through
the shutter and stretch itself downward
toward the lock, and was tempted to
yell and scare the marauder away.
However, | kept my nerve, and in
second or two 1t was strangely fascinat.
ing to watch the efforts of the hand 10
reach the lock. My partner was having
the same kind Of an experience, and the
thieves were evidently intending to take
us 'a-comin' an a-gwine'
1--WE stood irresolute for q minute
and then my partner made sign to me
to hand him an old lariat hanging on
the wall. This in second he had
looped at each end, and / saw the trick
The next minute we had a hand apiece
looped at each end Of the rope, and
had pulled it tight inside. Everything
had been perfectly still up to this time
and now 1t was stiller than ever. / dc
not know what the thieves thought had
happened to them, but they were
caught and as soon as we got the rope
kDotted we let go, and they discovered
that they were tied together and there
wasn't any way for them to get away
unless one of them pulled the other
through the knot-hole, so to speak.
"Then it became funny, and we SAT
there nearly splitting, but never male
ing sound. In minute or two nor,
we could see another hand coming
through with long, ugly knife in It
trying to cut the rope holding the first
hand, but we had drawn them far
through, and the other hand could moi
reach. OF course we expected now to
hear yell, and have some kicking and
other disturbances, but the stoicism OF
the Indianwas in them, and they never
spoke sound until the landlord him.
self spoke to them when he came Ia
wake us up.
That was two hours or more later
and we had in the meantime gone bach
to bed to finish our morning nap, trust.
ing to luck that they wouldn't get away
The landlord, when he discovered them,
made more noise in a minute than ali
four of us had made since the act began.
and when we got up it was to find oui
garden house surrounded by half the
population of the town, and the tive
thieves sticking to our doors as II they
had been nailed there and nobody able
to get them loose."-Washington Star.