The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-10-02
THE RETIRED BURGLAR.
WHEN HE TACKLED An TMPRo-
USED TOBOGGAN SLIDE
Didn't Exactly Have All the Improve
msnts. But Answered His Purposes
Pretty Well 70 Getting OUT

II never actually slid down a toboggan
slide" said the retired burglar. but l
| can form "A pretty fair idea OF what Its
Ike from an experience mat ] ha' nc =
/ was poking around In a house fht-
| was in and had Just come out OF a room
on the second floor where there was a
man asleep mat struck me somehow as
being pretty restless, and | adn more
than got through the door into the hall
when heard this man holler:
Here he ". JIM and saw him jump
out of bed and come bIlin' after me, and
at the same minute 7 saw a man con- g
rippin' and rampin' out Of a door down
By the other end OF the hall.
Now. the thing that I'd Ia done under
ordinary circumstances, OF course. would
have been TO run downstairs, pa the door
that Jim was coming out OF was right by
the head OF the stairs. and " wasn't pos
slble. But right back Of me there was
an attic stairs. | knew. because ld open
ed the door when | nrst came r. and the
only way ont for me was that way. II
wasn't a way I'd ha' picked out. but II
was a narrow stairs, boarded on the sides,
ard J knew that If | could once get into
II and faced TO tile front, / could stand
of both men easy enough. till | bad time
To think, anyway, unless they had a gun
with my Jimmy. So | opened that door
and Jumped up stairs about four steps
and slowed aroun 10 face en-.
HE JUMPED.
II was carving my bag by n strap over
my shoulder. and ] had my lamp IN my
leit hand. turned my lamp up for just
A fraction Of a second when / went I'm. to
see what was above. and I saw almost
overhead the scuttlc I'm the roof and the
ladder leading 20 IL from the garnet noot
right at the head OF these attic stairs.
Scuttle held only by a hook hooking into
a staple. ] could see that easy. A man
can see a heap under some circumstances
Hl a.Hl. "a ia .E frtHn ~ tho hnNG
with the Jimmy and stood EN- on easy
at first. because Il sounded very soggy
when slugged into the side Of the stairs,
hut | knew they'd rush In pretty quick
and 1 give EN- JUST one more vicious pass
with the iron and then / turned n bolt
q the scuttle with them after me. I'd
dropped lamp and jimmy In my bag. and
used both hands on the scuttle ladder.
Dorker'n Egypt now, but knew where
that hook was just as well as though
cred been n electric light alongside Or
II.
+ threw back the hook and threw the
scuttle M bang over onto the roof and
caught the frame and raised myself up.
u was an o~ld-fashiOned house; you've
seen EN-. two stories high In front and
one in the back, with a long. sloping
root running down from the rdgepole.
with a sort Of bend or valley in Il about
two-thirds the way down. where the one
story part hogan.
las ] looked out on II the roof looked
TO be about a mile long. and steep as the
side Of a mountain. There was a Tag end
Of a moon just rising. | could see 10 from
where / was through the tops Of the trees
and Il made a little light. but II would
have been all the same II there hadn't
been any. / stepped out and set down
on the ROOF and started. all I'm one mo-
ton. The foremost Of the two men
reached for me out through the scuttle.
and missed me by about a hair, but that
was as good as a mile. because / was
going then a mile a minute. Where 10,
/ didn't know, but / knew | wouldn't
have long TO wait.
DOWN THE CHUTE.
coop n away / went down the roof
and OF the edge into the air. That lower
part Of the roof. YOU remember, was nat
ter than the upper part. and that threw
me of into the air kind o horizontal, and
smashed fat n the roof had been steep
and straight. And right back OF the
house there was a terrace across the
yard. maybe three feet high. with thick
grass On It that hadn't been cut for a
month al least. M ! was shot of so
far that / dropped finally just below the
crest OF that terrace and slid down the
face Of it on the thick grass and come to
a stop on the level ground below and
never started a rivit.
THE two men were standing looking
out the s%cuttle. and never saying boo.
but when they saw me get up and walk
on they laughed till you could hear 'em
all over the country; u / laughed a lit
tie myself then. I'D had worse things
happen 10 mc.'-Ncw York Sun.