The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-10-20
A SCARED MARAUDER
CAUGHT IN THE ACT OF RIFLING
PIANO POPO's TILL.
ESCAPED, BUT LEFT HIS HAT.
SECOND ATTEMPT To PILFER RE-
SUITED IN A WATER HAUL.

Piano Awakened From Early Morn
ing SIumbers by the Clash of the
Failing Cash Drawer-warned by
Experience He Had Removed the
Money and the Thief Found a Sim
gle Cent-DropDed the Drawer I'm
His DIspIeased Surprise Wild
Chase Over Peanut Machines, With
Piano Badly Handicapped, Result
ed in the Escape of the Thief.
Piano Meditates Vengeance.
The second chapter in the history of
attempts upon the strong box of Piano
Pope, the Congress and Barnard street
fruit dealer, was written early yester-
day morning. Unlike the first chapter,
however, this resulted in a water haul
and only by a very narrow margin
and with the loss of his hat in the
escape of the willy Taper of the till.
1t was not so, it will be remembered,
on that occasion three weeks ago, when
Piano awoke from peaceful slumber, to
which the soothing whistle of the pea
nut machine had lulled him. to find he
had been touched for hundred and a
half. The deep blue that then tinged
the atmosphere, born of Pano's Grecian
and aesthetic profanity, remains one
Of the neighborhood traditions.
Time, place and circumstance of yes
terday mornings chapter followed in
exactest detail, with one single excep-
ton, those of the first attempt. There
was, however, a decided difference in
the afterclap.
Piano came on duty at midnight, re-
lieving his understudy, and for two or
three hours occupied himself dispensing
small quantities of apples to the be-
lated wanderers of the small hours.
They dropped off after a time and
Piano, nodding drowsily, at last dropped
off to sleep. The mystic hour, that at
which the former visitant had made
his appearance, $3.50 o'clock in the
morning, rolled round in due season
and Pano still slumbered peacefully on.
The CIashing of the Till.
Suddenly he heard rafting clash on
the floor of the little cubby hole in
the back of which the cash drawer is
inserted. Sleep vanished from his eye
lids and he looked UP to discern the
form of negro, peering with wonder
ing eyes at the cash drawer that lay
at his feet. He must have been sur
prised, for Piano, made wise by the
bitter teaching of experience, had
transferred his money from the drawer
to his pocket. Tn cash drawer con-
tanned just one red cent!
But there was no time for thinking
then. The thief recognized that Piano
was awake almost instantly, and
though the fruit stand proprietor made
wild rush for his unwelcome visitor,
the latter eluded his grasp. The pea
nut machine was knocked over, a shape
ly pile of rosy apples vanished in dis
order and two or three punches of ba-
nanas, swinging from their ropes, col
lided with Pano's angry countenance
as the thief fled from the Grecian
wrath to come.
Thiefs Successful Flight.
With these handicaps in his favor
and obstacles in Panos path, the ne
gro managed to get across the street
to Congress lane and vanish in it's dark
shadows. He left his hat behind and
this has been turned over the police.
With the faint clue it offers, Detective
Wall is trying to run down the thief.
Piano sat last night upon the his
toric box where he has done his former
slumbering and unused audibly upon
his wrongs; two or three midnight
providers hung around and listened.
II catchum YETI said Piano. II geta
de gun and l sit on de box an'-wat-
you-call, l max oud dat 1 sleep. But
! no sleep-I MAX oud dat l sleep.
Wen he come, l shoot. No on da
boday-on da brain, on da head. Den
he stop. Ah-h-h!"
Piano grited his teeth, while the
prowlers grinned in sympathy with
this worthy aspiration and saw visions
of Leonidas and Spartacus and other
Grecian heroes. Meanwhile the pea
nut machine continued to whistle it's
musical and uninterrupted obligato.