The San Francisco call., 1908-04-14
WOMAN GRAPPLES
ARMED BURGLAR
Undaunted by knife, She Thr0t-
Ties Him as He Crawls
From Under Bed
Alarmed by Tug at Her Ring,
She Clings to Him, Fighting
All Over the House

OAKLAND, April 1S.-Miss Sadie
Twelfth street, battled from room to
room with a burglar armed with a
knife at . O'Clock this morning, after
being awakened by the intruder, who,
from his hiding place under her bed,
tried TO pull gold ring from her
finger. Sac was aided in the first part
OF the fight by Miss Angela Fern
strom. who occupied the same bed
with her; then alone she clung to the
man until he escaped by wrenching
loose from her and vaulting over the
banisters of the rear porch. When
the burglar made his escape Miss
Fernstrom was then running about In
another part OF the house shriekin
for help. Miss Rainey was deter
mined If possible to hold the burglar
for the police, and clung to him as
he struggled around the house. She
was clad only In her night dress.
After leaping over the banister rail
the man hurled himself over fence
and took refuge in a dark doorway
of an empty adjoining flat, where he
waited until the street was clear for
him to leave the neighborhood.
Every movement of the burglar
seemed carefully planned before he en-
tered the house by the pantry window.
He opened the kitchen door with a
key, and left it ajar. Then he is
thought by the women to have entered
iheir apartment and concealed him
self. He opened the door TO the bed
room and drew q curtain before crawl
ing beneath the bed.
IT was awakened" said Miss Rainey,
by the man feeling of my hand. as
though he were trying to find out if
It were a mans. Miss Fernstrom was
already awake and knew what was
going on, but she kept silent. She
had been awakened by the burglar
pulling at her foot, and when I moved
she said she was cold. Then we
changed places in the bed, she taking
the inside.
soon 1 heard the noise of the other
curtain being drawn down. but paid
no attention to it. That left the room
in darkness. 1 peered over the edge
of the bed, and my head came close
to the burglars. He was pulling HIM
self out from under the bed by hold
ing to the. edge and 1 grabbed him
by the neck. / bumped his head and
the fight began. He leaped up and
that threw me from the bed. Hiss
Fernstrom sprang out and for a minute
we all fought. Then Miss Fernstrom
ran out of the front of the house to
get help.
THE man dragged me from the
room, lighting all the time. until we
were in the kitchen. 1 had noticed
that he held something, but it was
not until we were in the kitchen that
1 saw it was a pocket knife. with a
long blade, opened. l had thought of
tripping him and trying to get at mis-
throat, but he f1ourished the knife.
He made his way out of the back
door to the porch. 1 still had hold
of his coat collar and pushed HIM as
we went out of the door. He stepped
down two of the steps, then leaped
over the banister. 1 held to his collar
and he hung by the neck for a sec
ond, then wrenched loose. I ran part
way down the stairs and jumped, but
the burglar was going around the
house. i followed him and lost sight
of him in the dark. He was not
masked. but I could not see his face
other than by glimpses." Miss Rainey
says she heard the clock strike two
while they fought in the bedroom.