The San Francisco call., 1897-01-28
It WAS TOLD ON A
GOOSEBERRY BARREL
Story of a Burglary in
Hueppeden & Mueller's
Grocery.
French Maids and Other Ser.
wants Gather Around in
Heartfelt Sympathy.
Two Clever Thieves Succeed in R fling
the Cashbox OF an Unsus.
pscting German.

1t was O cosmopolitan aggregation that
came and went all of yesterday to and
from Hueppeden & Mueller's grocery
store
Something dreadful had happened, it
was quite evident, for the news of it had
spread for blocks around in an extraor-
dinarily short space of time.
Burglars had visited the place; they
had stolen money and things, and dear
Mr.. Mueller, who was always so kind and
prompt in his attentions, might have
been murdered, perhaps, had he been
there when the thing occurred-but he
was not.
That did not lessen the sensation, how
Lott street, where the popular grocery
store is located. 1t is a neighborhood of
private houses and of people comfortable
enough in their situation in life to have
French maids with dainty caps, Japanese
boys with clean aprons or smoothly
shaYen Chinese servants.
They were all aware OF the calamity
that had befallen the grocers, and the
rain cut little figure with them in their
decision to call and hear all about it from
the victims themselves.
Hueppeden, the younger man OF the
firm, was alone in the store when a CALL
reporter dropped in, his partner (Mueller)
having gone to the police office to tell his
troubles. To state it more correctly, only
one of the firm was in the store, but he
was not alone. Around him. as he sat on
a goose berry barrel, the head of which
threatened any moment to shift and let
him fall through, were three inQuiring
friends, each with his share of sympathy
and desire to hear the details of the al
fair in all its minuteness.
"Cest terrible y exclaimed the pert little
French maid from the 1900 block, who
hugged under her gossamer the baby boy
she had no right to have taken out in the
rain, as she heard the sorrowful grocery
man tale of woe.
"Yes, it was, echoed Hueppeden. catch
ing the DRIFT of her remark. "You see,"
he continued, while ad iusting the barrel
head that had become more insecure as he
wiggled about so as to address his re-
marks in turn 10 an Irish woman of huge
proportions, who insisted upon having
her inquiries answered even if her sleeves
were rolled up and she wore no French
cap.
"It was all the money in the house to
pay our bills this month. Just think, 291
dollars and 80 cents"
Hueppeden is a rather good-looking
man on the sunny side of thirty-five He
imparting his feelings as he addresses
person, even if 1t is with the strong dia-
Iect of a German who comprehends better
than he speaks the English language,
His polite attentions to the French maid.
offering her a cracker box on which to sit,
and his pulling out a 100-pound sack full
of potatoes, on which he proposed to have
the Hibernian visitor rest herself while
they listened to his story, showed he
understood the delicate little attentions
pleasing 10 the other sex, and the de-
meanor of both women indicated their
appreciation of his gallantry.
'Merci bien, monsieur" warbled the
maid.
"Mercy, too, says l." uttered the ma
tron; "peddlers are bad enough around
our place, without such things as buglars."
After serving a Japanese lad with some
| small order, Hueppeden returned to his
barrel head, and his late customer ioined
the quiet little girl-servant who had been
standing all the while listening, wide of
mouth, to the horrible details of the
burglary.
AS he sat there on a throne as insecure
as many others less pretentious, the grocer
strung out his yarn in an interminable
fashion. The froth had melted off the
growler an urchin had had filled in a
hurry half hour previous for his thirsty
father, and the clock ticked wearily as
the audience drank in repeated doses of
the same story, forgetting in their interest
their duties to their employers.
There was q little fellow, just SO
small" " said Hueppeden, illustrating the
height by putting his hand to the chin OF
the lady seated on the potato sack, she
reddening as in pleasure she had been Sc.
lected and therefore became part of the
thrilling story.
He came here about o'clock yester-
day morning and bought ten cents worth
OF wine. Then he went out by the back
way and called me to ask whether DR..
Ginsy lived down the street. He talked
with me for five minutes, and some other
fellow came in from the front and ran
away with the cashbox under the
counter"
This tale of woe was repeated hundreds
of times yesterday and the gang of burg
lars who have infested that portion of this
City near the panhandle OF the park Will
have to carry strong ''iimmies" hereafter If
they hope to crack any houses in that
neighborhood, for there will be no more
doors careiesslv left open.