The San Francisco call., 1909-09-13
WOMAN FOILS
BURGLARS PLOT
TO TAKE BABES
Miss Gertrude Kenney Over
Hears Robbers Plan to Kid
nap Children for Ransom
Heroic Girl Beaten by Thief
While Rushing to Warn
Sleeping Women

The heroism of Miss Gertrude Ken
nev. a charming young girl Of 1922
Waller street, in making a bold dash
through A narrow hallway past two
burglars. who had broken into the
dwelling. was the means of frustrat-
ing a desperate plot to kidnap two
small children of the household late
Saturday night.
Frightened almost out Of her wits as
she lay for 10 minutes or more in bed.
shamming sleep. while the burglars
carried on a whispered conversation
still had the courage to leap from her
bed into an unknown danger when she
realized the terrible peril threatening
her two baby cousins. AS she sprang
between the two men. who had stepped
into the hallway, one of them struck
her a vicious blow on the back of the
head. supposedly with a set of brass
knuckles, and she fell half swooning
into another bedroom, arousing other
members Of the family with her cries,
while the burglars fed.
HEAD BRUISED BY BLOW
Miss Kenney's escape was narrow
one. for had the range of the blow
been shorter and more direct it might
have resulted fatally. AS it was, she
bore the marks of her experience yes
terday in a row Of swollen bruises
under the bsndage wound about her
yT-l.-
The effects of the blow and nervous
strain she had been through. after Civ
ing the alarm. her injury was but a
minor one. and yesterday she was able
10 tell the story of the occurrence in
a straightforward manner. though her
references to her own part in the cpl
sode were of the most modest kind
Miss Kenney lives with her cousins
Mr.. and Mrs. c. d. O'Connor, and their
four small children, the youngest of
whom are Clarence. aged 3 years. and
Eileen, aged months. O'Connor was
out of the city Saturday night, and the
only man in the house was an uncle of
Mrs O'Connor. named Kilgarill, who
was sleeping in a room on the base
ment floor
BURGLARS IN GIRLS ROOM
Mrs. O'Connor and her four children
were all in a bedroom off the front
parlor. while in another bedroom to
the rear Of that were Mrs. George Hale
Of Napa, Mrs. O'Connor's sister. and
her three small children. Miss Kenney
was sleeping in a room still farther TO
the rear.
1t must have been about 20 minutes
after II O'Clock when the burglars
broke into the house." said Miss Ken
ney yesterday They got in through
the kitchen door. evidently with
skeleton key. because we found the
door open and the regular key on the
kitchen floor after they had escaped.
Two of them came into the house and
there was another outside whom they
called Harry. The two came into the
room where I was sleeping and opened
glass closet. They took lot of
china and silver ware out of the closet
and some ornaments off the mantel
and then took a blanket off my bed TO
wrap them up in.
AFRAID TO DISTURB THIEVES
That was what woke me up, but
didn't dare open my eyes or let on
that ] was awake. because I was afraid.
They must have remained in the room
at least 10 minutes. / heard one of
them say. Go out and tell Harry that
we won't need the valise. Wen have
TO use something else to carry this
stuff away in They talked in whis-
pers and one of them had an electric
light in his hand. They didn't need
that. though. for the gas in my room
and in the other bedrooms was turned
on low.
Finally one of the men went TO
the front of the house and came back
in minute or two. He said, I've found
something better than this stuff. 1t
will be worth more than all of this
There's a baby and a little boy about
three years old in the other room
Wen take them Tell Harry to have
a hack at the corner. We've got to
make the u O'Clock boat
STRUCK on BACK OF HEAD
The men talked a minute or
two longer and then stepped out of
my room into the hall / made up my
mind TO run risk myself TO save the
children. SO as soon as they got out
Of the door 7 jumped up and rushed
into the hall toward Mrs Hale's room
y ran right between the men. and
as ! went by one of them struck me
on the back of the head. / fell into
Mrs Haie's room and screamed That
woke her up. She was awake in time
TO hear the men running out the back
way. They thought / tainted then.
but I didn't until afterward, when /
tainted twice. Ny chief fear was for
little Clarence and Eileen rather than
for myself"
Miss Kenney's story was corrobor-
ated by Mrs. Hale and Mrs. O'Connor
The park police station was notified
about midnight and an investigation
was made by the police without trace
OF the burglars being found.