Evening star., 1902-08-02
OLDEST OF SOUVENIRS

"A few weeks ago." said a Washington
ian just BACK from his summer vacation.
L went from New York to Fail River on
my way toHBoston, on one of the sound
steamers. pnevef was much of hand for
bunking in with other folks when 1 could
get section onta train OF cabin on a
steamboat AL to myself. but on this occa-
sion l found it Impossible to charter
whole state room for my own use on the
sound boat The traffic on the line was
pretty heavy, and 1 was told by the agent
that the best could do would be to en-
gage berth in & state room, sharing the
room with an occupant of the other berth.
1 was the first to reach the state room
before the sailing time of the boat, ana l
was rather curious to see what sort OF a
chap my room mate for the nlgni Is rue
was going to be. When he made MS ap-
pearance in a big hurry about two minutes
before the boat was due to pull out, his
appearance wasn't very reassurlns. he was
a somewhat rough-looklng customer. Ie NJ
wore pretty good SUIT of clothes, but the
effect of the suit was spoiled by the red
and orange sweater which he wore IN place
OF the conventional masculine snlrt. HIS
tousled hair was crowned by peaked cioth
cap that looked to be several sizes too
small for him. He had decidedly Hlber-
nian face, though l afterward found tnat
ne wasn't Irish at all, and his countenance
was dDOuL IOuf Gays ONeiuuS oIi SAC 9iior
question. He regarded me civiily enough
out of his little pair of greenish eyes When
he entered the state room and threw MS
suit case onto the lower bunk had al
ready annexed the top one. But l can
say that 1 regarded him as particularly
high-grade-l looking customer as a felloW
traveller. We didn't have much to say to
each other, and he left the state room I'M
mediately the boat pulled out.
turned In along toward IL O'Clock at
night. My room mate hadn't yet gone to
his bunk. ! didn't have any million doliar
bills or anything Of that sort along with
me, put l had a couple Of hundred ooiiars
vacation money and bit of jewelry, and.
as l didn't exactly admire the looks or my
bunkie, tucked the stuff beneath my pill
low.
II was glad that had done this few
minutes after he came in, which was bit
after midnight. was in sort Of half
doze when he entered the stateroom and
turned ON the electric lamp. | was lying
IN such a position that l could watch his
moves through half-closed lids You can
gamble that became very wide-awake in
deed when l watched move that he made
Immediately he entered the stateroom and
locked the door. He studied me for a min
ute as If to make sure that I was asleep.
and then he took his suit case from the
lower bunk. sat down on the floor and
opened 1t carefully. ~. .,a4+ =.
THAT suit case contained as neat-looking
an assortment of burglar s tools as ever
saw, and I've seen a lot of burglars tools
exhibited as curios at various police head
quarters throughout the country. The
whole outfit was there, with straps and
sockets cleverly arranged the inside of
the suit case for holding each and every
implement. My room mate picked the
tools out, one by one, and looked them
over carefully and with admiring glances
1t took him about fifteen minutes to go
over them, and. then he put them all back
In their places in the suit case, closed it,
and thrust it under his bunk
He's on his way to pull off some big
Job, and he's giving his tools final in
spection, said I to myself
You can fancy how much sleep I took
that night. The fellow turned in almost
Immediately after looking over that kit of
his, but l wasn't going to take any chances
on his concluding to tap me for whatever
valuable l might have about me- and
fought slumber with all my might
wanted to go to sleep the worst way, but 1
when, along toward daylight, 1 concluded
that the chap must have made up his mind
that l was too small game-for he hadn't
moved In his bunk from the moment he
turned in-I couldn't bring myself to the
point OF taking SO much as a restful cat
nap. =
"A little after daylight my roommate be-
gan to stir. AS he climbed out of his bunk
and started to dress himself | gave a cough
to indicate TO him that I was awake, and
when he turned and looked at me I fixed
his eye with a stern gaze and said to him.
with as much rsofemnity I could throw
into my tone: il n.
:" Look here nay burglarious friend, are
you aware of the fact that l COULD very
easily hand you over to the dock police
when you step over the side of this boat?'
He studied me with a mystefied express
sion on his face for a minute
What for? he inquired
For having, said l, about as swell and
| complete a kit of burglars tools in your
| possession as was ever carried by cracks
| man
He managed to hold himself in long
| enough to say, L didn't know you were
| awake and then he rolled around the
| floor of the state room in an uncomfortable
| fit of laughter. / thought he had suddenly
| gone loony. Every time he'd look at me
| and see me regarding him over the edge of
| my bunk with what was probably a min
| gled expression of alarm and sternness he'd
| go off again in a shrek. 1t was fully five
| minutes before he was able to pull himself
| together. Then. his sides still shaking, he
| pulled the suit case out from beneath his
| bunk, opened it up and displayed the tools
| again.
| "'Beauts, aren't they? he asked me, with
a humorous twinkle in his small green eyes
| Il only shook my head gloomily, still i'm
agining that the man was off his head or
| under the influence of some loco drug
| Then he took a big wallet from his in
| side coat pocket and pulling out of 1t a
| couple of papers handed them to me. They
were ito whom it may concern letters
| from
| Of police, giving him permission to pack
around with him all the burglars tools he
| wanted to carry.
"I just carry those letters he explained
| to me- so that in case any rubbering cop
| should happen to get hold the kits that
| carry around I'd escape being "pinched,"
and he laughed some more. 2SF A
| Then he told me about 1t. He was a
| ell-known New York newspaper artist in
! the comic line-as l recognized as soon as
| he gave me his card-and he made spe-
| cialty of collecting burglars tools for his
! den He had big collection of the i'm
Elements of criminals, he told me. The kit
that had seen he was taking to Boston to
| present it to a club of Boston newspaper
| and magazine artists for their club room at
a dinner they were to give and which he
was to attend that night. The kit had be-
longed to a famous burglar who had re.
| Gently been arrested in New York and :s
the artist had four or five kits just like it.
he had decided to present it to the Boston
| outfit He invited me to drop in on him at
his New York den on my return from
Boston, and did He spent a couple OF
hours in showing. to me and relating the
| history Of hundreds of criminals tools
| which he had stuck all over his elaborate
studio, but he didn't forget to tell the
crowd of Indians that thronged his den
| how near had been to handing him owe,
| q no