The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-11-10
THIEVES NEATLY TRAPPED.
Peculiar Construction OF Mexican Doors
Put Them In Their Plight.

Peculiar Construction OF Mexican Doors
Put Them In Their Plight.
Last April / was down in Mexico
said travelling salesman. ION a busi
ness trip. and one night my partner ane
l had TO remain over in g small place
about so miles out of Mexico city. I,
wasn't such a bad place either. but he
landlord of the hotel told us thai
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 a summer house af
fair. out in the yard, with door OF
each of two sides, and WAS only a few
feet up from the ground on kind OF
a platform veranda. We had severa
hundred dollars which we had collected
and the safest place we could put il wa;
in our satchels IN our room.
For a wonder the doors had locks or
them, but the upper part of the doorwa
made in Venetian shutter style, and
man with long arm could. by stretch
ing. probably reach the lock- ",
weren't very much afraid, and merely
locked the doors without noticing the
shutter part at all. Besides. il was darl
when we went to bed. as we didn Z want
light to attract the insects. We slept
without disturbance until the frs
gray streaks of dawn, and then we
were awakened by queer noise 1t tia
doors.
eve suspected thieves at snce. and
as quiet as mice, we slipped out Of bee
and began TO reconnoiter. When roi
to my door IL kind OF gave me the crceps
to see adirty yellow hand thrust through
the shutter andstretchitself downward
toward the lock, and ! was tempted "a
yell and scare the marauder away
However, 1 kept my nerve. and In
second or two il was strangely fsscinat
ing 10 watch the efforts of the hand &c
reach the lock. Ny partner was having
the same Kind of an experience, and tn,
thieves were evidently intending TO take
us 'a-comin, an aigwine.'
I've stood .irresolute for minute
and then my partner nadc a sign to me
20 hand him an old lariat hanging OF
the wall. This in second he had
looped at each end, and saw the trick
The next minute we had hand apiecs
topped at each end Of the rope. ane
had pulled il tight inside. Everything
had been perfectly still up to this time
and now it was stillsr than ever / dc
net know what the thieves thought had
happened to them, but they were
caught and as soon Is We got the rope
knotted we let 60. and they discovered
that they were tied together and there
wasn't any way for them 10 get away
unless one Of them pulled the other
through the knot-hole, 30 to speak.
Then ii became funny. and we sat
there nearly splitting. but never max
ing sound. In minute or two more
we could sec another hand coming
through with a long. ugly knife in II,
trying to cut the rope holding the first
hand, but we had drswn them far
through. and the other hand could rot
reach. OF course we expected now to
near yell, and have some kicking and |
other disturbances. but the stoicism Of !
The Indian was in them. and they never |
spoke a sound until the landlord him
'elf spoke to them when he came 70
wake us up.
That was two hours or more later.
md We lad in the meantime gone bacl. |
o bed TO finish Our morning nap. trust
ng to luck that they wQuldn't get away.
The landlord. when he.discoversd them.
made rrore poiseln a. minute than all
our Of US had made Since the act began.
nd when we got up It was to Nd our
'srden house surrounded by bali the
population OF the town, and the two
hieves sticking 70 ohr doors as IL they
sd been nailed there and nobody able
o get them loose. "-Washington Star.