The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-19
THE RETIRED BURGLAR.
One of the Most Peculiar of His Many
Varied Experiences.

Varied Experiences.
In the course of my time" said the
retired burglar Il have opened con-
siderable number of iron boxes Of one
sort and another, but never one under
more peculiar circumstances than this
one, in a house in a small town in this
state. This safe stood in the dining
room against the wall on one side: my
light fell on it when | opened the door
of the room to look in. 1t was a big
old-fashioned safe: more likely, here, %
contain documents and mortgages and
one thing and another like that than
money. But a safe is always a, pleas
ant thing to loook at it makes you
think of money, anyway, and SO l was
glad to see this safe and, of course,
hoped I'd find lot of stuff in it. too.
Then l started to swing my lamparound
to take glance at the rest of the room
before walking in, but l hadn't MORN
begun to move it before | brought into
the light pain of shoes with the heels
on the floor and the soles up at an angle
Of about As degrees, toes toward the
safe. There were feet in those shoes
of course, and the legs went up from the
other side at an angle of As degrees, TO
what l didn't need to look to see was
man sitting there in a chair in front of
| the safe asleep.
well, now, you know that was uncx-
| pected; and while a man in my business
| must expect unexpected things and be
| ready for EN-, and not be surprised or
! startled, this was really so very unus-
| ual that | will admit that I was Just a
| little bit startled by it, and my hand
must have shaken a little, and while
| under most circumstances that would t
| have made the slightest difference in
! the world, here it made all the differ
| ence, for the hand that shook was the
| one holding the lamp, which was at
| that moment close to the jam of the
| door. ] Knocked the lamp against it,
| just little bit of a tick, but enough to
wake up the sleeper; l could see his feet
| draw up toward the chair
Then | wanted to get out myself and
/ started along the hall | was in toward
| the cellar door I'd come in at, but
! hadn't taken two steps before | heard
man say:
Hold on there-Wait. Come back
And | went back. It was COM
mand, but it was an invitation, too: and
| was already to meet it, or chance it,
and ! went back to the dining room
and looked in and saw man lighting
the gas; he'd been having for light
before a kerosene lamp that l now saw
standing on the table with the oil
| burned out. The man turned and says
to me:
come IN.
He wasn't quite SO tall as l was hut
he was pretty solid sort OF citizen.
| who could have held his own with me
| in square rough and tumble, easy;
| and he was man who was accustomed
| TO bossing things and having folks DO
| what he said. | couldn't tell for the life
| OF me what he was, but / guess he was
| just simply he richest man in the town
and spent the time looking after his
property. And when I'd come in he
| says:
| What's your business. my friead?'
And said l was a travelling black
| smith"
m he says. You do most of
your work al nights?
| And | said yes, do more or less
| night work.
And l imagine you've got a handy
| kit of tools right in that bag there,
| now he says, pointing to my bag, that
l had set down along side of the chair
l was sitting in.
And l said yes, / had tools there
for any ordinary work.
| You see that safe the man says,