Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-10-20
THE RETIRED BURGLAR.
Interrupted While at Work by Lively
Party of Masqueraders.

Interrupted While at Work by Lively
Party of Masqueraders.
masquerade balls I never attend
ed, said the retired burglar, "but /
once had a part OF one come to
me. 1t may seem singular, but it
was really as simple as rolling off
log. was looking around in
house one night, or rather one
morning about 2 O'Clock, picking
out what portable articles l could
find that / thought l could make
useful, when l heard carriages up
the street. That was before the
days of rubber tires and asphalt
streets, and at that hour in the
morning, when everything was
quiet, the wheels sounded very
/ sharp and clear. / judged there
must be about three Of 'em, and I
sort of felt it in my bones that they
were coming to my house. could
not have got out then without at
tracing attention from the drivers,
and there was nothing for me to do
but to wait and see. l waited, look
ing out into the street from base
ment window, and, by snakes anc
alligators, they did stop there.
1.-THE first man out of the first car.
rage was man in long black
gown like a great loose coat that
reached down to his feet and he had
on blue mask and a beaver hat. !
:. wanted to laugh a little at that cos
tune, and I did, to myself. He
helped out Of the carriage a lady
who was gorgeously dressed, and
then another man and woman in
fantastic costumes got out of the
same carriage. Then that carriage
:. pulled ahead and let the next one
come up.
"My man in the blue mask and
the beaver hat was evidently the
boss of the ranch. He pranced up
the steps and in minute l heard
him twisting key in the lock.
That was pleasant sound because
it meant that there were no servants
up. They were going to look out for
themselves, and that meant good
for me, for they'd be all together
and it would be easy to avoid EN-.
There was just dozen of EN-, SIX
/ men and six women, all in fancy
, dress. They had been to a ball
somewhere and were coming here
now to have bite with the old man
with the beaver and the blue mask.
2 "They all piled into the house and
threw off their wraps in the hall,
anywhere, and billed into the par
lor, laughing and chattering, and
; five minutes later heard 'em in the
: dining room, on the same floor, and
heard dishes rafting and corks pop.
ping and I knew the snack had been
set out there and was waiting for
'em. 1 hadn't been into that room
yet myself.
!, Jolly lot they were, and when
they got toler BILE we'll settled down
, to eating and drinking | thought
it was about time for me to be look
ing around. l went up the stairs te
the hall on the parlor floor, where
: they'd left the light burning bright
+, and the first thing my eyes fell OF
was the old mans black gown, blue
mask and beaver hat, and I put 'en
/, on right away, without any delay
and made for the door. l had t.
shut the door after me, because the
E doors through to the dining room
from the hall were open and they Z
have felt the draft and come out t.
see what was the matter before II
had time to get away.
: The three carriages were stand
: ing there, the last one in front O.
e the house and the other two JUS
: ahead, the one the old man hat
: come in the head one. I walked
|, !, down to that carriage and stood OF
,, the walk and looked up at thu
. driver. was taking some chances
+ here, but the man that never tool
no chances never won anything. H,
e was strange driver. He didn'
V know the old man, but he knew thu
: black gown and the blue mask an(
!. the brown hat.
"'You know the Goglinton build
: ing, I says, South First and Pine?
= Eyes, sir, he says.
:. How long will it take to drive
down there and backl' says.
"'About 20 minutes, sir, he says
and opens the door. will you ge
there as soon as you cans' I says a
;, I gets in, and he says, Yes, sir.
IT knew the Goglinton building
we'll, a big Office building standing
+ on a gore shaped piece of grount
e between two streets that came to
: gether round the point of the build
J, ing. There was hall through tn
t thick part of the building from on
$ street to the other.
4