Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1909-03-19

With pistol in hand he began step.
ping craftily toward the closet, but a
board in the floor creaked and the muf-
fled noise of the saw suddenly ceased.
The lineman held his breath. A misty
kind of darkness filled the room, the
moons radiance being reflected dimly
from the opposite wall of the alley. An
instant later he saw the door of the
closet pushed open and the outline Of
human form rising in the opening.
To the burglar the dim and i'm
movable figure in the middle of the
room must have seemed frightful. Had
Prindle not spoken it is possible the
robber would have fallen on his knees,
thinking he was confronted by spirit,
but when Prindle said quietly, though
with distinguishable tremor of ex-
citement: Throw up your hands, mis-
ter, or I'll fire." sudden fury of en-
ergy moved the man. He came across
the room in one long leap and struck
against Prindle like bolt. The line
man went against the wall with a
thud and the pistol struck the ceiling
and exploded. The burglar whirled
round and disappeared through an in
ner door leading into the passage
way.
Prindle hastily felt about the floor
for the revolver, but the weapon not
meeting his hand at once he rushed
after the burglar. His blood was. on
fire with anger. Listening an instant,
he heard feet flying up the stairs above
him. Apparently the robber had
planned to escape to the roof and
alley at the rear.
Prindle sprang UP through the roof
hatch as the man crossed the almost
flat roof toward the rear, and caught
him as he reached the low parapet
wall at the roofs edge.
The robber was of larger and heav-
Ter mold than the lineman, and was
desperate. AS they grappled he tried
to draw knife from his pocket, but
Prindle clutched those awful fingers
of his into the mans throat and
tripped him backward. They fell to-
gether on the pitch and gravel of the
roof, but the rush and fall threw Prin-
die beyond his antagonist, tearing his
hold loose. In another breath they
were together again, fighting desper
ately.
AS they came striking and strug
Cling into the angle of the parapet
Prindle suddenly found himself lift
ed bodily, and the next instant he was
being pressed over the wall. Feeling
himself going, he set his fingers into
the biceps of the burglars left arm
and pinioned his right hand. In that
awful moment he felt the cords of his
arms and fingers contract until they
burned like hot wires. With cry oi
agony the robber jerked him back tc
the roof, then whirled and ran across
the roof, drawing his knife as he fed
Prindle saw the moonlight CLINT on the
knife blade, and, though infuriated
with the passion of battle, he recoiled
The burglar turned in the angle OF
the wall, striving to regain breath be
fore the next onset.
An electric power wire stretched
, across the roof some eight or nine feet
above the floor. Prindle drew pail
, of rubber-faced gloves from his pocket
pulled them on, and suddenly leapeG
up and caught the wire. AS he de
J scended the wire snapped and fell tc
, the roof. Instantly he caught I'D the
two ends of it and sprang at the rob
I ber, who met him with uplifted knife
5 The cracksman seemed to divine the
terrible nature of the tiny weapons il
| the lineman's hands, for his face
, blanched white. In the moonlight
Prindle looked equally pale. If hs
could touch the robbers flesh with thu
bare ends of the wires he would win;
if not, he would probably die by the
: others knife.
1t was strange duel. They feint
ed several times, then struck togeth
er. The clothing was sheared ava,
from Prindle's arm. but the burglar
fell in a knotted, quivering heap. TIL,
point of one of the live wires hat
gone up his sleeve, the other hat
punctured his neck.
When the burglar recovered hi
senses Prindle had him securely tie,
| with detached pieces of the wire ant
was at the front parapet of the roof
looking up and down the street for al
officer.
The bank people gave Prindle
handsome reward When metallic cir
: cults had been run by the telephon,
; company, on his suggestion, and the,
found the troublesome electrical in
! duction overcome, Manager Towne de
clased the plucky lineman worthy t,
!: be any mans son-in-law, and he was