The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1908-06-11
A BURGLARS CHRISTMAS
~ VENTURE. ~
[Original.]
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1--WE tried it several times and some
thing turned up to beat me every
time. Our craft thinks that at the
Christmas season there's lot of pres
ents laying around loose to git hold Of.
And SO there is. But, great Scott, most
of It's rubbish. 'Tain't nothin' to COM
pare with weddin's. Weddin's is the
apple of my eye. There's where you
can pick up solid silver, and to me sill
ver's as good as coined dollars. But
Christmas l amt got no use for
Last Christmas l had my eye on a
house where there was boxes and bun
dies enough goin' in to fill the hold Of
ship. l saw small boy playing out
on the sidewalk before the house, and
l thought O. kidnapin' him, though it
vast no more than thought, for I'm
not in that line O business There
amt nothing into it. Steal mans
silver, and he don't make no fuss, but
steal his child, and not only he and his
wife, but the rest of tie world, git on a
mighty big hustle that's sure to beat
you out O your profit. The kid I'm
speakin' Of had a good lookin' nurse
he called Martha, and she called him
Jimmie.
"She couldn't do nothin' with him.
He wasn't afraid O her nor anybody
else. He was the cutest little Teller
you ever saw; regular boy; there
wasn't enough girl in him to hang a
pair O. earrings on to. He came out
on the stoop one afternoon when
was survey1n' the house with doll
reckon somebody had just given it
to him, for l hadn't seen him with it
before. was surprised, cause didn't
think he'd have no use for a doll. 1t
had a beautiful chiny head and lots O
tow hair. What did the little shaver
do but take the thing by the heels and
| bring the head down on the stone step!
That chinny head few all over the
sidewalk. The nurse nearly had a fit,
! but Jimmie, he forgot his doll in a
jiffy.
"Well, l asked the nurse q lot O.
questions, lettin' on I was a-huntin' for
and I thought might live in the house
she came out of. Before I got through
with her l had my beartn's all right.
People thinks servants is pals with us
crib crackers, but they hain't-least-
ways, not always. It's their stupidity
as does the business. The nurse GIN
me the hull makeup O. the house with
out KNOWN what she was dom.
christmas night people ginerally
leaves things loose, putin 'em in their
proper places the next day. l chose
that time and instead O. breakin' in
durin' the night, KNOWN from the
nurse of the staircases and the habits
O. the family stole in about 6 o'clock,
!, when they was at dinner. The nurse
had let out that she slept in bed in
Jimmie's room and he slept in his
crib. There want nobody upstairs
and I had the free run O. the house up
there Servants sleep sounder than
people as don't have nothin' to do, and
1 concluded that if l could git into the
nurses room I'd stand the best chance
While I was a-rootin' round 1 saw a
crib through an open door. l went
in, found bed there and got under
it. 1t was one o. the low kind, and
had hard job to squeeze in.
when the kid come up to go to bed
almost give myself away larfn' al
him He logged a lot O. things into
the room, most of 'em five cent toys
, sayin' he wasn't goin' to leave 'en
, downstairs for burglars, and some OF
'em he took to bed with him Wher
he got on his nightie his nurse asked
him to say his prayers. He told bel
T he'd said 'em to his mother. The nurse
said he hadn't done no such thing
) Yes, l have, said Jimmie. If yor
, don't believe me, ask God
! IT stuffed py fist in my mouth t.
! keep from shoutin', and it wasn't lons
: before Jimmie and the nurse were boil
asleep. l waited till 1 heard a clocl
Q strike /, then l crawled out. The doc
! had been left open, and there was ;
+ light in the hall. I had to go pas
8 Jimmie's crib to git out O. the room
His pet kitten was sleepin' on a pile
!, beside the crib, and what did I do bu
;. step on the pesky little thing. Tht
a woke Jimmie, and he could see me IL
Y the dim light standin' beside his crib.
9 what dye suppose the little mon
y key did? he sat up, pulled tin hor,
i from under his piIler and began t
blow as hard as his little lungs wa
able He stopped minute to boiler
p Burglar! Don't let him take my card
what I worked at the kindergarten
q Then he started in again to blow.
q Fl didn't wait to hear any more, bu
g started down the stairs four steps q
e time Before 1 reached the bottnI
'e the electrics was switched on, but tn
nurse had posted me on the ways {
~ gitin' out, and tn jfffy was in th
street. could see the house in blaz
ia O. light. A winder was raised and
D. woman's voice Yelled Burglars, pt
g. licev and above the chatter could hea
9. Jimmies horn a-blowin' and a-bfowil
n g If he was Gabriel tryin' to raise th
n dead.
- IT lodged cop comm, lit into a
=. alley, vaulted over fence and hid VI
, der a coal shed. The cop ratified b
~ club on the curb and in no time theI