The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-01
ATCH KEYERS;
: A MIDNIGHT STUDY.
Women Cry. While Men Swear, When
Locked out at Night, Says
a Policeman.

Tiny spurts iof light and mufaed ex-
CARNATIONS from the darkness of O vestlbule
In = side street near Washington Square
made the policeman smile knowingly 40 he
clicked the gate and went up the steps.
please don't arrest me, Mr.. Policeman
protested a feminine voice. Appearances
may be against me-, but l am not O female
Rallies. You see, I've forgotten my Latch
key
Then she began cropping wildly about
the tessellated floor.
'You loohin' for somethingi" said tho
policeman.
"You see, I forgot mine,' abe explained;
'and I phoned my roommate at her Office
to leave hers under the mat when she went
In. You see there isn't any mat here, no
how can / look under 1t? I'm afraid to
wake up the lsndlady, she's 90 unpleasant,
and besides ] couldn't wake her, anyway.
Marge lives three flights up. I tried to
throw stones, but it's too far. Besides,
she sleeps like apolar bear
The policeman grinned understand
ingly and took out q matchbox. The
first light showed him q tiny key In the
very middle Of the top step, The girl
pounoed upon IL with q cry Of Joy.
.|. NOW ibHt tEht JuBt hho NneABO' bu0
said. $50 careless of heri Why, any one
might have found 1t there
Then she thanked the policeman sweetly
and disappeared.
.She was q game one he said admir-
ingly as he Joined the curious man on the
sidewalk. "Most Of them women latch
keyers cry, and the men swear.
Latch keyers, I call 'em, and the COM
plant IL as cammon az measles. get
'em on an average Of eight or ten a week.
"Ths men get chesty and try to climb
In q window; but a man isn't allowed
to climb in even his W window, un-
less he knows the cop on his beat. Any
man trying to sneak in a window Ia q second
story man to me, cntil he lie proved to be
q law abider.
sOply last week I had a fellow by the
leg In one Of the houses in this block. Caught
him just as he was getting In. He said
he lived there. but it wasn't up to me to
admit It.
prove IT, said I, and come down until
Just then there was a yelping inside
andth man swore. A dog had him by the
HE don't know my new trousers said
"M your pup thinks you don't live here
says I, It amt for me to contradict him.
while he was arguing and GUESSING. some-
body in curl paper knobs opened the door
and looked at him, stuck in tho window.
s'AEain, John?' she says, sorrowful, and I
left him explaining.
'Then there's the fellow that comes home
from out OF town unexpected, and In got
no key. Expects to find his wife waiting on
the doorstep for him at 2 in the morn
ing. ! found one the other night throwing
stones at the second story window.
"He'dhave tried climbing, but the windows
were locked. l used the niGhtstiok and
banged the bell until half the neighborhood
was awake and advising out Of the front
windows. Finally o woman came down in
one Of them Japanese wrappers, you know,
and John said:
.rI'm back
..Oh, John, how lovely you've came
being assisted by the police force. Some
folks amt got no sense Of b fitness OF
things.
But wonen's the worst whom they come
homo With their young men,s. continued
the policeman .disgustedly. Il hauled a
fellow down from Q wistana vine not long
ago and told him 1t didn't look good to me.
81 think II was just sweet Of him, said the
girl, and then she cried.
sThat's the trouble With women, they
always cry; and then it's up to me to get
en- In or take EN- to q hotel. You see a
woman alone can't get in q hotel &C easy,
and it helps EN- out to have me explain,
though they don't like mostly. ! notice, to
travel with . policeman