The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1896-03-05
IN THE HEATER PIPE.
THE RETIRED suRoLAR RELATES HIS
MOST SINGULAR EXPERIENCES.

He Had - ElseanS Lay 0ut of Wsddfne
Presents ~ His Mercy when He lGsds
- Unsortunass sesp-In ths mad He
lEsde Centribution 20 the CollsstieA.
''In q house that was looking over
in . town up the state one night, said
the retired burglar, II came ACROSS
something that I never struck but that
once in all my experience, strange ~ II
may seem, and that was lot Of we'd
ding presents, all Just az they were ar
ranged for display. When turned my
lamp into the room, wished I had
brought horse and wagon; there was
q good deal Of II that wouldn't have
been Of any earthly use to me, but 1t
seemed pity to leave any Of It behind.
But II couldn't carry It all of. could
have the fun Of picking, and I started
to look the things over. They were ar
ranged ON tables and chairs and on the
floor around on three sides Of the room;
ON the side opposite to the side that I
had come in a., and ON the sides to the
right and left; running around those
three sides in sort Of irregular order.
On the side where was there were
few chairs. I thought I'd start in ON
the left and work around to the right,
and ! started from the door and had
gone about three steps when ! went
down through the floor, as it seemed to
me, but what had really done was to
step down through an open register.
suppose somebody must have dropped
something down through it and have
taken it out to get it and forgot to put
it back.
''There was wire screen under the
register over the pipe opening to keep
things from dropping down the pipe,
but it was very fine light wire. and it
didn't stop me at all; just slid down
into the pipe, pushing that along under
my feet. When dropped into the pipe,
! had been facing to the left; in some
way as I went down got skewed around
so that when got down as far as did
go I was facing to the front; that is,
toward the center Of the room. The
pipe didn't go straight down, but with
a curve. had thrown up my hands as
went down, and I suppose I might
have gone plumb to the furnace if I
hadn t clutched at the edge of the regis
ter opening and hung on. A minute be-
fore I was going to take my pick Of
roomful; now where was II
II had started across the room carry
ing my toolbag in one hand and my
lamp in the other. The shock when I
went down had shaken the bag out of
my hand, but had held on to my lamp,
though it was lying on its side now
with my fingers olutching through the
handle. The falling Of the toolbag and
the striking Of the lamp on the floor
and the scraping Of the wire gauze
down through the tin pipe must have
made all together a good deal Of noise,
and ! expected every minute to hear
somebody moving about up stairs and
coming down to haul me out, but no.
body did come, and set my lamp up
straight, and after I'd waited a minute
or two more started to see il I could
haul myself out
GAS I lay in the pipe my head was
below the level of the floor; by great
effort I could raise myself SO that the
upper half Of my head was above the
opening, but no higher; there was no
room for play; when got that high, I
found myself with my elbows close to
my body and fairly wedged into the
! pipe; couldn't get any higher.
II let myself down again, and after
awhile pulled myself up again, and
! held on by one hand and held up the
lamp and swung it round on the things.
Then let myself down again, and won
dered what was going to do. 1t WASH t
only uncomfortable there in the posi-
tion I was in, it was mighty hot and
/, unpleasant every way. If let go.
didn't know but that I'd slide down
against the furnace, and, Of course, ]
couldn't stand it for an indefinite length
of time, and when I'd been in the pipe
should imagine about two hours,
made up my mind that I wouldn't try
to stand it any longer; I'd got to come
out some time, and might just as well
come out then; in fact. better, for while
the chances Of my getting away at all
were mighty small, they would be bet
ter at night than they would be in the
daytime.
$50 made up my mind to kick on
the pipe and wake up the house and
have the thing settled. So kicked
once, twice, and then I kicked again
and by snakes kicked the pipe open
at my feet. There was joint there, and
I'd kicked it apart, and the sections
was in sagged down with my weight,
and slid out ON the cellar floor. The
sagging down of that part Of the pipe
detached it from the part above and il
fell on the cellar floor alongside Of me.
That made noise enough to wake every
body up; there couldn't be any doubt
about that.
II went ont by the same cellar win
dow that came in by. 1t was the first
and only such lot Of stuff that evei
struck, and ! never got thing ont oi
it; in fact, added something to it my
seh-a set Of tools and dark lantern. .
New York Sun.