The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-11-09
A TROPHY OF BURGLARY.

Drummer Carries a Gold Watch as a
Souvenir of His Deed.
From the New Orleans Times Demo-
GRAFT
This watch was part of the spells of
burglary in which | participated in
1881 said guest in the st. Charles
lobby to reporter drawing out
spiral pattern engraved in heavy relief
on the lid. 1T was my first affair of
the kind. and I regret to say / bungled
it and got caught almost Immediately.
What is the joke, did you ask? There
is no Joke; it is perfectly true; It hap
when l was quite young and green,
got job travelling for Chicago house,
and one of the first places ] visited was
a small town in northern Ohio. ar
rived at about II at night and went out
to take stroll and smoke cigar be-
side street l noticed a light in the little
jewelry store, and also that the door
was ajar. That reminded me l had re-
Gently broken the handspring of my
watch, and l entered in to leave it for
repairs AS / 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 I
explained the purpose of my VISIT and
told me he had closed some hours be-
fore, but happened to remember some
things that had been left out of the
safe, and returned to put them back
When I handed him my watch l asked
him to lend me another to wear in the
meantime. and he gave me one at
random from tray on the counter.
This is it 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.
Il pulled it out mechanically. and was
at once place under arrest on the
charge of robbing the jewelry store. 1t
seemed that 1t had been burglarized
during the night and somebody in the
hotel had noticed my .peculiar-looking
watch and reported it to the police. 1t
was promptly identified as part of the
stolen goods, and, needless to say,
laughed to scorn. I was obliged to adj
NIT that 1T seemed a. little gauzy my
self, and l can't say 1 blame the au-
thorities for refusing to give it cred
ence. AT any rate, ! found, myself in
the deuce of a fix. My old watch had
been carried off by the thief and there
was absolutely nothing to confirm my
statement except the bare fact that
none of the other goods were found in
my possession. That. however, went
for very little, for it was argued that l
had abundant time to conceal my
plumber. In my agitation and excit-
ment / must have presented a perfect
picture of guilt, and the townseople
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 I live to be hun
dred. Meanwhile the sure-e enough
burglar had been bagged in an adjoin-
ing town with all the loot, including my
timepiece, in his valise, and when I was
finally released he was bundled into
my cell. If he hadn't been caught I
don't know what might have happened
l don't like to think about it, The au-
thorities made groveling apologies and
the jeweler was especially abject. To
placate me he offered to let me keep
the new watch in exchange for my old
one, and I accepted the proposition. /
carry it as a sort of tragic-comic souv-
enir"