Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-05-19
HE PLAYED BURGLAR
But HE DID IT lNNoCENTLY AND
DID IT ARTlSTiCALLY AS WELL.

~
The Plausible Scheme by Which a
Safe Expert Was Fooled and Used
by . Trio Of Notorious Cracksmen
to Get at Their Plumber. 81
To the mar whose shingle bears the
inscription "'Safe Expert and whose
little shop, not far from the great dry
goods district, contains a full assert
ment of implements for the forcible
opening Of safes, the writer said,
would you be we'll qualified to play
the burglar?" &-
YES" said the little keen eyed man.
running his fingers through his sscant
hair refectively. II once did play
burglar. In fact, l played the star role
in a safe cracking enterprise. l was
the innocent means by which a whole
sale house was robbed of several thou
sand dollars which had been taken in
too late in the day to be banked.
II was in business then in another
city. I was sitting smoking at my
shop door about 8 o'clock one evening
when a messenger boy came with a
1ote On the letter paper Of a well
known house asking me to come at
once with my tools to the Office of the
firm. D
1.-THE Office was lighted up, and a
portly, prosperous looking man sat at
a roll top desk, while two clerks,
perched on stools, were working at
some books. -
"'I am Mr.. - said the portly one,
giving the name of the head Of the
firm. Something has gone wrong with
the safe, and I want you to open it
The combination is 6-27-45, but some
thing must have broken inside, for it
won't open, and we have got to get
some books out of the safe tonight
"As I tried the combination which the
man had given me he explained that he
had locked the safe when he went out
to dinner and was unable to open it
when he came back.
1T was one Of those alum filled
safes, and I suspected rust had done it's
work inside.
"tNothing to do but drill it OPEN
said l.
"'Go ahead said the portly one, and
don't keep me here any longer than you
can help
with that he turned to his desk, and
I worked away unsuspectingly. There
was dead silence except when the man
| Of tho 1oc1y crNLo 10 0ro nv +h1 N%1or
Of the clerks about some account, and
the tread Of the policeman on that beat
could be heard as he passed the Office.
IT did not realize until afterward that
I was working out Of view of the pass
ing policeman, for the safe was behind
the b~ookkeeper's desk, but the shades
were up and the man at the roll top
desk and the bookkeepers could be
plainly seen from the street.
81 got out my bits, adjusted the
brace, and soon steel was biting steel,
but the sound Of the ratchet was drown
cd by the click Of the typewriter, for
the portly party began debating to one
Of the clerks as soon as / began drilling
the safe. When I thought it all over
afterward, it occurred to me that this
was to cover the sound Of my opera
tons. AZ
Elm half an hour I had a hole in the
front Of the safe, and a little manipu-
lation got the tumblers into place, and
the door swung open. ~ =.
"'Here you are, SIR said I, and the
portly man came around to the safe.
every neatly DONE he said. sYou'd
make a good burglar
"tBut the sound Of the ratchet would
bring the ''cops,"' saidI. :
""True,' remarked the man. and,
drawing out a roll of bills, he handed
me 500.
sis that righty he asked.
"'Quite right I replied. Shall I come
in the morning to fix the safe?
"'No,' said he, I will have the max
ers of the safe attend to it,
"As l gathered up my tools the port.
ly man directed one of the clerks to
get out the books that were needed.
and he went back to the desk.
Il trundled back to my shop, meet
ing the policeman at the corner, and
while 1 was standing chatting with:
him the trio came out Of the Office.
"'You can come down an hour later
than usual in the morning. said the
portly man as he climbed into a ham
som that had rolled up to the office,
and, shouting the name of Q well
known club. to the driver, he pulled
the doors to and was driven away.
Before noon the next day the po-
liceman whom / had talked with and
a detective came into my shop. "
"'That was a neat job you did last
night said the policeman.
"'What?' I asked, the nature Of the
work l had done not yet dawning on
me.
1.-THE looting Of IS SAFE, said the
policeman. Come along
"The portly person who employed
me to open the safe was a well known
burglar who had made up to imper-
senate the head Of the firm. and the
two clerks were confederates, one Of
whom had got a place with the firm