Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-27
A TROPHY OF BURGLARY.
Drummer Carries u Gold Watch az u
Souvenir of His Deed.

From the New Orleans Times Democrat
This watch was part of the spells of
burglary in which L participated In 1881"
said a guest in the St. Charles lobby to
reporter, drawing out a handsome gold
timepeCe with curious spiral pattern en-
graved in heavy relief on the lid. at was
my first affair of the kind, and regret to
say I bungled it and got caught almost i'm
mediately. What is the joke did you ask?
There is no joke; 1t is perfectly true. 1t
happened like this: In the fall of 81, when
I was quite young and green, 1 got a Job
travelling for a Chicago grocery house, and
one of the first places l visited was a small
town in northern Ohio. ! arrived about IL
at night, and went out to take stroll and
smoke a cigar before going to bed. Pass
ing through a side street | noticed a light
in the little jewelry store. and also that the
door was ajar. That reminded me I had
recently broken the handspring Of my
watch, and I sauntered in to leave ii for
repairs. AS l entered a young man arose
from the further end of the counter He
seemed startled, which was not unnatural
at such late call, but he regained his
composure while l explained the purpose
of my visit, and told me ne had closed some
hours before, but happened to remember
some things that had been left out of the
safe. and returned to put them back. When
l handed him my watch l asked him to lend
me another to wear in the meantime and
he gave me one at random from a tray on
the counter. This Is 1t on my chain now.
Next morning. continued the story
teller, Il was lounging In the hotel office,
when the town marshal tapped me on the
shoulder
LET me see your watch he said.
II pulled 1t out mechanically. and was at
once placed under arrest on the charge of
robbing the jewelry store. 1t seemed that
it had been burglartzed during the night,
and somebody in the hotel had noticed my
peculiar looking watch and reported 1t to
the police. 1t was promptly identified as
part of the stolen goods, and, needless to
say, my story as to its acquisition was
laughed to scorn 1 was obliged to admit
that it seemed g. Aittlei gauzy myself, and 1
can't say 1 blame the authorities for de-
Ginning to give 1T credence. At any rate, l
found myself in the deuce of a fix. Ny old
watch had been carried off by the thief,
and there was absolutely nothing to con-
firm my statement except the bare fact
that none of the Iother goods was found in
my possession. That, however, went for
very little, for It was argued that had
abundant time to conceal my plumber In
my agitation and excitement ] must have
presented perfect picture of guilt, and
the townspeople came near mobbing me on
the way to jail They kept me there for
exactly three hours, the agony of which
will dwell with me If live to be hundred
Meanwhile the sure-enough burglar had
been bagged in an adjoining town with all
the loot, including my timepiece, in his
valise, and when l was finally released he
was bundled into my cell. If he hadn't
been caught don't know what might have
happened l don't like to think about It,
The authorities made groveling apologies
and the jeweler was especially abject. To
placate me he offered to let me keen the
I accepted the proposition. l carry 1t as q
sort of tragi-comic souvenir