The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1899-09-29
THE RETIRED BURGLAR.
He Does Man Little Service
ana Is Treated Like n Man
In Return,

"rhe thing that fixed my eye in this
roon," said the retired burglar "was a
travelling bag; not an empty travelling
bag, just lying around, but fun bag,
evidently just packed and all ready to
pickup and carry Off; and when swept
my lamp along little further on the
floor it struck chair with a mans hat
on it. and sweeping the lamp round just
n little bit further still | struck bed
with n man stretched out on it, com
pletely dressed. He was all ready to
go, and just waiting for the hour, and
he'd laid down there just to rest him
self or to take n nap till his time came
to start.
How he expected to know about that
was easy enough to see from an alarm
clock that stood on the sill of n window
near the head of the bed. picked THAI
up and looked at il and saw that it war
sect to go off at two o'clock. 1t was
then about quarter past two. Whether
the alarm had gone off and failed to
wake him up, or whether II was likely
toring at any minute while l was stand.
ing there, or whether It was busted up
and wouldn't go Off at all was some
thing that of course l couldn't tell, but
that interested me very much. l stood
there thinking about it and at the sama
time sort of swinging my lamp round
to finish surveying the room when the
light fell on a yellow paper that was
lying with one end of it kind o. bent I'D
On top of the bureau, and when / came
to lool, at this | saw it was a telegraph
blank 1t was n message that this man
had received and put down there on the
bureau. 1t said something like this:
eff you want to see Mary alive you
want to come by the first train.
"Wcll, now, imagine he must have
got that dispatch somewhere along
about midnight, and he'd packed his
bag and got all ready to start and had
an hour or two TO spare, and so he'd
set his alarm clock and laid down to
wait. You know | don't think he
should have laid down and taken any
chance on that at all, but of course I'd
got to wake him up; the only question
was how.
81 might have kicked over a chair or
two in his room, or gone outside ana
thrown n rock against the window
blinds, but this might not have woke
him up, and there wasn't any time to
spare. You see, l knew the train.
had been in this town on business be-
fore, and had taken it myself. 1t left
at PAS, and it was now 2:2O and some,
thing more than a mile to the station
So just leans over and shakes him Oh
the shoulder, and when he turns his
head blinds him for minute with tha
light, and says to him:
"'Old man, it's about time for you to-
be getting up
"'What time is II? he says, covering
his eyes from the light, but getting up
at the same time, andlI tells him that
it's about 22O, and up he jumps very
sudden.
What he'd do TO me- or try TO do, of
course l couldn't tell, but I'd made up,
my mind what was going to do when
was shaking his shoulder and when he.
finds his feet and begins to get up /
says to him:
I'm going to take that train my
self
anu Mdlhtu uONu 10 tne StatlOn
with him, neither of us saying boo.
"He got into the smoking car when
the train came along, and got in some
where else. didn't see him get off or
where he was going; l didn't look for
him; but l knew well enough there
wasn't any danger of his going to sleep
again.
Years after that walking down
Broadway, here in this town, saw that
man coming. ! would have sort of cas-
ually walked by, myself, and not seen
him; but he saw me and stopped and
shook hands.
"'Old, man. he says, she's living vet.
thank God! but nevcr'd have forgive
myself if I'd missed that train
And then he shakes hands with me
again and passes on; he never offered to
stake me nor nothing; and likes that
best of all,"-N. Y. Sun.
WHEN EACTTMG re EArAT