The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-11-19

L
II have veRtured TO call, sir" remarked
the man in the suit OF faded black. sitting
down in a chair and carefully depositing
a once imposing silk hat on the floor be-
! side him, TO endeavor TO enlist your in
! terest in an important matter which
Please cut il short, interrupted the
merchant, turning around in his chair
.Ihis IS my busy day"
Yes" said the caller, pleasantly.
| Well, all days look alike to me. They're
all busy days. Ny purpose is in few
words
Thanks"
Don't mention it. Ny purpose is. in as
few words as possible. TO call your at
tention 70 a device of my own, at once
labor-saving and reformatory, in its char
acter and calculated TO work revolution
IN society if generally adopted Doubt
less you have observed-nay, experienced
the truth OF the statement. insisted up
on by all housewives. that whenever a
man comes into a dark hallway. whether
his own or another's, he invariably STUN
bles over something. No matter whether
or not there is anything 10 stumble over,
/ he finds something and bangs into it with
noise enough to wake the dead The
wife Of every man in the country viii
( cheerfuily cOrroborate this assertion
The man, allow me TO repeat. infalibly
stumbles over something, whether Il IS
there or not Very well. Now, mark
But what is the purpose of all this2
In one moment. The man, as L have
said, comes in, stumbles over some OBJ
struction, emits a subdued execration or
other utterance expressive or his sentl-
ments. and the incident is closed, with
the exception that when he goes up
stairs 10 bed he hears further concerning
the matter. Now. briefly
Thanks
Don't mention il. Briefly, my device
aims to take advantage OF this universal
weakness Of manor, perhaps, it would
be more accurate to say it utilizes this
weakness in the evolution and perfec-
ton Of burglar alarm and deSctor.
If that's all you are wasting your
time. Ny house is equipped with the
latest and best burglar alarm
Pardon me- but none of the existing
devices of that kind are constructed on
scientific principles. The one to which
I have given the best years OF my life in
evolving and bringing to perfection oper-
ates in this wise: Before retiring to
rest. you fasten all your rear doors and
al your windows with this little arrange
ment"
Here he exhibited a small and rusty
metallic arrangement with a hinge and
saw teeth.
This makes It impossible to enter the
back doors or any Of the windows.
ter the house. fearing TO break the win
dow panes on account of the noise he
would inevitably make in the process, is
compelled. perfoFce, to go around TO the
front door. Mechanically he tries the
knob. 1t yields at once
Would you mind illustrating how the
knob works by taking the knob of this
door in your hand and"
II viii not pretend to misunderstood
you, sir, but l am accustomed TO re-
Bluffs. They never deter me in the per-
Torrance of what / conceive to be my
duty to my fellow-men. The knob, as ]
have said, yields at once and the bulglar
steps inside, the front door having been
left unlocked for that purpose He i'm
mediately stumbles over a pile of chairs
which you have placed there for his ben
eft. The result is a noise that arouses
the household, and the doomed wretch,
turning, endeavors in vain to grope his
way out. The door having sprung shut.
he is helpless. Under these circum-
stances it is an easy matter to sum-
mon"
But what is the matter with putting
one of your little fasteners on the front
door, too, thus rendering the whole house
burglar-prOof?'
A wild light suddenly famed in the
strangers eyes.
Like all the rest of them" he groaned. |
1OpeieSSlE insane on lndI one point
You can't see my poor man, that my
scheme involves not only the protection
of the house, but the capture of the bur
gIar. Nobody can see it, The whole world !
is insane on that subject. What's to him
der me. right now, from" !
The door Of the merchants private Of
flee opened and another man slipped in.
Come. Sliddery,' he said, persuasively- /
1T is time we were back at our work. !
The moon will fall TO the earth. you
know. if you're absent longer than half |
an hour
That's a fact" said the man in the |
suit of faded black, rising. Il forgot. /
We viii go back at once"
Hes harmless, but we have to watch |
him., whispered the last conner, as he /
turned for a moment to the merchant. !
I've had a hard job finding him this /
time. He escaped from us last night I
Chicago Tribune.