The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1900-01-17
TIE 0RDERlF HANDS HANDS II.
Done From EXpediencv ana
Not From CoWardIce.
A VERY TRYING MOMENT
Phenomen That Causes Each Man IN
Roomful to Believe That a Re-
voIver Is Pointed Straight at Hin
Why Bad Men Are Passive.

IF YOU will take my words for lit
tie experience I had recently perhaps
can make clear to you how it is pos
sible for three bad men to hold up a
room full of fairly brave men and set
away safely with their money, said 2
merchant from the State Of Washing
ton who was guest at the Lotos Club
one night last week, TO a New York
Sun reporter. II was in such q hold
up not long ago, and have ceased
jeeriNg at fellows who have been
through similar experiences. was one
os seventy men who were held up in
q big gambling hail. and as I am not
regular patron OF such places j kept
quiet about it at home. The gambling
house is one Of the best known in the
West, and on the night of the noldup
it was filled with q representative
crowd. y search would have disclosed
the fact undoubtedly that many Of the
men present were armed. No trouble in
recent years has occurred in this place
and there is no reason to anticipate
any It was nearly midnight when the
| door opened and three men, masked.
and each holding two revolvers entered
| the room.
Hands up quick shouted the fore
most man.
I was sitting at faro table when
| heard this command, and as l looked
up found a revolver pointing straight
at my head. When compared notes
with the other seventy odd men later,
I found that each one had the same
experience There We're only six re-
volvers, and yet each in the room Was
| willing to swear that one OF them was
pointed straight at his head al the
time. The crowd was simply paralyzed
with fright. For two or three seconds
not a man moved. Then over in one
corner Leadville sport brought his
| hand around to reach his hip pocket.
Stop that or I'll shoot said one
of the masked men. covering him with
his revolver. Hands up, now, quick!
We mean business
every man IN that room did hold
| his hands up. There was no hesitation
then. 1t was my first experience in that
| kind Of game, but It was not until
was able to take my hands down that
T realized how tiresome the operation
was. There We stood, each man with
his hands stretched high above his
head, held UP in a room on busy
street when an outcry would bring
help at once. It was pretty sure thing
| however. that no one would make the
outcry. The three masked men had eyes
| for every move, and their reVoiVers
pointed all ways at once. 1t is easy for
a man who has not been through such
an experience to suggest that II sew
eral men had only made break these
| fellows would have run. can honestly
say that the barrel Of the revolver into
which I looked seemed to me to be
as large as sewer pipe. even thought
that I could see the end Of the bullet,
and I was awfully afraid that the man
who held the revolver might get ner-
vous and shoot me by accident. tried
to look pleasant TO appease him. All
this had taken perhaps minute and a
half when the spokesman shouted to
| US:
Line up against the wall with your
backs to ne and the man who takes
his hands down will get shot. Quick.
now gentlemen, If you please. Obey Or
ders and you won't set hurt
I'VE lined up as directed like lot
Of school boys.
Now then, my friend here Will re-
l:eve- you Of your valuables without
Your assistances,' said the spokesman.
Don't move, because there are two
dead shots behind you. Keep quiet anc
II will soon be over.
1T was a very good piece OF work
I can assure you. One Of the three
went right straight down the row, tax
| ing each mans watch and money. He
didn't get as much as he expected ana
as near as we could estimate later
the total haul was under $1,000. There
was over 100000 in the safe which the
! robbers overlooked. When we had been
entirely cleaned out, the spokesman
said:
Now, gentlemen, we are sorry to
inconvenience you further, but we snail
have to request you to stand just as
lou are for FIVE minutes more. Don't
cut the time short or you Will get hurt.
THE side door opened at this instant
and we heard the order Hands Ut.
| Clink, or you are q dead man 1t was
one Of our Chinese servants who was
returning with a tray filed with drinks.
He promptly dropped histray smashing
all the glasses and threw up his hanoT.
! We heard no other sound for tive MIN
| utes. Each man counted the SECONDS
to make sure that he shouldn't take
| down his hands ahead Of time. The
| proprietor was the first man to move.
| AS soon as he felt it was safe he tur2e':
ana found the robbers gone. lie picked
up heavy chair and threw It Though
the window. It carried the sash with
I. and the crash that followed attract
I'd general attention in the street be-
ioy. The proprietor stuck his head out
Of the window and profanely shouted
such details of the hold-up as !nighe
put the people in the street on the
trsck Of the robbers. 1t was useless.
however. The fellows walked out quiet
~. took of their masks ana 2isap-
| lcared without leaving any clue. W.
| ~! piled out Of the plac" t. al TIE
search. When We founI out t:a2t
chase was hopeless. most. Us came
| hack to the gambling room TO ak i
over When we entered ,he r.22@ ~
found the Chink stan&!nS il lie ruins
| OF his glasses with his HANDS I'll! above
his head. The proprietor told him 10
| take his hands down. The Ch!n!i would
not do it and two men who pulled his
! arms to his side had ell ti!eT ccaid DO
| 20 hold him He had !0o3.ai in 5he biz
| barrel Of ona OF thosa. s!ia- r""o,v"rs
| AM: he hadn't forgotten it.
"Now this WAS an aoJua, experience
| a,.l some Of your NcT YORK papers