The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1898-01-04
Uae Nerali1 aua Y|elrs
NO USE FOR LADDERS.
THE RETIRED BURGLAR TELLS OF
TWO UNFORTUNATE EXPERIENCES.


teotivo Got q Clcw and Worked It--Es-
capped Once with q Broken Arm.
"Ladders, when you find them ham
ay," said tho retired burglar, "may
seem like very convenient way of got
ting into open second story windows,
but after two experiences that 1 had
with them gavo them up and stuck to
the old fashioned way of doors and eel
lar windows.
''ln n suburban town that visited
once found 'cm painting n Queen Anno
house III tho rainbow style that they
used to paint houses in, and that l sup
pose, they paint 'cm in still to some ex-
tent. The men had ladders up, no stage.
and noticed tilat at tho close OF the
day ono of them was painting near a
window, and | wondered if ho'd leave
his ladder there when he stopped work
at night. | sauntCrCd around that way
after dark, and there it was, and it was
summer, and the window was wide
CTCn. Nest folks in tho country, when
their houses arc icing painted, are apt
to be little SkittiSh about the ladders,
and II Cno should he left like this one
they'd be city sure to clGso tho win
dow near it and lock ii, but these folks
didnt appear to lie disturbed, and as far
rs my getting into the house was con-
ccrnCd 1t was Just about as easy for me
TO walk up that ladder and step off
through tho window rs it world have
been to walk IN at tho front door with
it unlocked.
"Latcr, about 2 o'clock tho next
morning, | went up that ladder and in
at the windoW without the slightest
trouble, ard there was nobody sleeping
i'll that room. 1t was all lust as easy as
1t CCuIh lc. IoliCd around The house
and gathered np what stuff there WIS
worth carrying off ond went hack to
that room and tho crcn window and
down the ladder and CG
~ MCnih after tEat, as | was walk
ing across the platform of IL station on
the samo road that the other town was
on TO take Il train, there WAS !; man
laid his hand on MY arm aud says
Nov, CONF mako fuss about it, and
it'll Lo gncd deal easier all around.
And L rccoguizcd in him the detective
OF tho rO"d, II man that | knew meant
business, and | went along with him.
'Eclng man of brains, nc had ponc
rs socn as he had heard Of il, which
was DO day after. There ho had put
himself in the burglars place and fol-
lowed in his foot. teps as near as he
could. Ho had had tho ladder placed in
Just tho same position, and ho had COMO
up that und stepped oil into the win
dow and followed over his track inside
tho house us close ns he could guess at
nd h.,, k.i, Il l,>.1 l. II
dow and got out on 10 the ladder, and SO
down to tho ground.
''Tho ladder went up on tho right
hand side OF this window, and whilo it
WAS easy enough to reach it, still it
wilS quite IL little step from tho sill to
the ladder, and ho noticed that when
he had got his foot on tho ladder ho
swung back littlo toward the house,
go that Is elbow just touched it in tho
angle between tho window framo and
the clapboards. llo gavo littlo push
on that elbow naturally and threw HIM
self out again Oh to tho ladder. Then
he stopped and looked at tho spot whcro
his elbow had touched. paint was
dry and there was no mark, but he call
cd up tho painters and learned that OH
the morning bCfOrc--that was tho morn
ing after tho house had been robbed
the paint at that place, on tho cupboard
by tho window frame, and OH tho frame
itself had been smudScd II littlo, and
they'd touched it over. Thut was all
tho detective wanted to know. From
that timo Oh no had been looking for Il
man with two PAINT spots OF different
colors on tho loft elbow of his coat, and
! was tho man.
'lt may seem amazing to you TINT
hadn't rubbed tho paint Off l had rub
bed some Of it off, md | was going to
rub tho rest OFF the next day, and then
L kept scttih.. hat next day ahead, us
we are apt to do, and l finally wound
up by letting it go altogether, tho rest
OF it. There wasn't ono chance in a
thousand of its leading to anything, and
even as it was l might have talked my
self out Of the paint, but | had a watch
that I'd got in the house in my pocket
and that settled il.
"Ihat was one ladder. This was tho
other:
''Looking around tho outside of Il
house i'll tie country enc night, found
ladder lying Oh the ground against
the rear cf the house. They had somo
fruit trees III the garden, and suppose
they'd been working over them, or OH
the grape ii ~ maybe, and were going
on with the work next day and had loft
the ladder out instead Of taking it down
cellar for tho night. 1t was summer,
and Oh the side of the house there wero
two windows open in ono room. l
thought I'd set the ladder up then and
go i'll one of those windows. l set tho
ladder up and found it little short, but
by reaching up and getting hold Of
tho window sill and stopping up Gil tho
ends of tho side pieces of the ladder I
was able to get i'll tolerable easy. Iwcnt
through the hcuSo and gathered up
what there was to got and was turning
to go from tho last room when knocked
picture over Oh n bureau and woke up
the man that was sleeping in tho room
went back to tho room I'd como in at
and barl:pl ont tho window, op1 b,,,,