The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-12-05


much worse than a good many others
However, that's nothing to do with
my story. Some years ago me and
the gentleman who was at that time
connected with me i'm business-he's !
met with reyerses since then, and at
present isn't able to go out-were look
ing around for job, being at that time
rather hard up, as you might say. We
struck a small country town. amt
a-goin' to give it away by telling where
it is, or what the name of it was. There
was one bank there; the President was
a rich old duffer; owned the mills,
owned the bank, owned most of the
town There wasn't no other officer
but the cashier and they had a boy,
who used to sweep out and run of er-
rands.
The bank was on the main street,
pretty well up one end of it-nice, snug
place, on the corner of a cross street,
with nothing very near 1t. We took
our observations and found there
wasn't no trouble at all about it, There
was an old Waterman who walked up
and down the street nights, when he
didn't fall asleep and forget it. The
vault had two doors; the outside one
was chilled iron, and a three wheel
combination lock; the inner door wasn't
no door at all; you could kick it open.
1t didn't pretend to be nothing but
fireproof and it wasn't even that The
first thing we done, Of course, was to
fit a key to the outside door. AS the
lock on the outside door was an old
fashioned Bacon lock, any gentleman
in my profession who chances to read
this article will know just how easy
that job was, and how we done it. l
may say here that the gentlemen in
my line Of business, having at times 4
good deal Of leisure on their hands,
do considerable reading, and are partic-
ularly fond of a neat bit of writing In
fact in the way of literature, l have
found among 'em-however, this being
depression, drop it, and go on with the
main job again.
This was our plan: After the key
was fitted | was to go into the bank,
and Jim-that wasn't his name, of
course, but let it pass-was to keep
watch on the outside. When any one
passed he was to tip me a whistle, and
then l doused the glim and lay low
after they got by goes on again. Sim.
pie and easy, you see. Well the night
as we selected the President happened
to be out Of town; gone down to the
city, as he often did. l got inside all
right, with a slide lantern breast
drill, a small steel jimmy, a bunch 81
skeleton keys, and a green baize bag
to stow the swag. l fixed my ligh
and rugged my breast drill, and go
to work on the door right over the
lock. 2,,.A T.rss ,e-.
Probably a great many of our read
ers are not so well posted as me abou
bank locks, and 1 may say for then
that a three wheel combination loci
has three wheels in it, and Slot il
each wheel. III order to unlock tn
door you have to get the three slot
opposite to each other at the top Of tn
lock. OF course, if you know the nun
Der the lock is set on you can do this
but if you don't you have to Deepen
on your ingenuity. There is in eac
of these wheels a small hole, throug
which you can put a wire through til
back of the lock when you change til
combination. Now, if you can bore
hole through the door and pick u
those wheels by running a viii
through those holes, why, you can ope
the door. I hope I make myself clea
/ was boring that hole. The doc
was chilled iron; about the neatest stu
enough; only stopped when Jim
which, as 1 said, wasn't his real nan
-whistled outside, and the WATCHING
toddled by By-and-by, when I'd g
pretty near through, I heard jim
to speak-Whistle again. I stoppe
and pretty soon I heard footsteps OIL
side, and I'm bowed, if they dldl
como right up the bank steps and
heard a key in the lock. 1 was so dun
foundered when / heard that that v
could have slipped the bracelets rig
On me. picked UP my lantern, a
III be hanged if 1 didn't let the sli
slip down and throw the light rig
onto the door, and there was the Pre-
dent Instead of calling for help, as
supposed be would, he took step