Evening star., 1940-01-07

found that he could crawl Helping one another through the
mud the four pushed through the door and drawn up
After agonized months two Of the divers died. the third
had the bends Courtney had four ruptues and his hair had
turned from black to white But he had fame The public
hailed him "Davy Joness Unocker, and he invited
speak banquets clubs and the radio 1t good for
business but better still for his pet security of
the lock-
The underworld heard of him, Courtney did two
volume book locks But when the police pointed out that
crooks using Courtney burned all but dozen copies
One New Years Eve two evening clothes into
his shop When Courtney turned his back while waiting
the he felt revolver against him. I'VE want you open
safe of the whispered There's five grand in it
for you When he refused they beat him almost nsensible
Another gang, clever called Saturday morning
and asked him and open the office SAFE He found
typewers clicking and oddlookng force hard at work.
Courtney took look at the and said he'd forgotten
important tools Downstairs he called the police but when
they got there the gang was gone.
But when Courtney gets CALL "Locksmith quick!
he has to and He doesn't always know whether
will be something vital exasperatngy trivial until he gets
there. He answered urgent call only to find out that
merely wanted him to let her into her apartment before
roasting burned Another hailed him all the way
to Long Island his precision unastenng jamme
Upper her paamas the pajamas gift from fer--
admrer and not to be handled roughly
If Courtney makes call personally he gets $25 but he
won't go abroad for less than $3OOO One afternoon Loyds
Of London phoned him to take boat leaving New York
hour In London he whisked to the airport Croydon
then flown Moscow The syndicate that had bought the
Russian jewels from the Bolsheviks had found
European ocksh who could open the twenty caskets
tanning the Jewels
Courtneys hardest jobs when he must work with
frantic haste One Sunday fire along the Brooklyn
front headed for shed filled with dynamite Fremen hesi
taed to break the door, and Courtney, working ship
near by called in He did the job in only four minutes
while remen drenched him with water. but it seemed
eternity those who watched But Courtney got the shed
open time for trembling emen to carry out all the dyna
mite before the flames reached the shack
HE time lock is contvance that battles Court
ney Set like alarm clock it drops tripper that will
itself only at the exact hour for which the time lock has
been Only then the lock be worked by combination
When fuier called Courtney Saturday afternoon,
telling him of employee locked in the oodstoage vault
the job seemed hopeless The lock set to Monday
They had heard the yelling but all was quiet Over
the phone Courtney ordered them to break the ammonia
pipe leading into the vault to stop further freezing and then
drove downtown like mad.
At the he shouted through the broken telling the
man to pull the trppe from the inside that he could open
the lock- There answer To drill the lock would take
too long, Courtney desperately worked the combination
His ngerps felt the umbers turn and he opened the
door Police fremen and ambulance pressed forward
Dsmayed they only pile of fus But beneath the pile
lay the half Frozen nearly asphyxiated Too weak to
acknowledge instructions he had nevertheless pulled the
tripper and crawled under the furs
In spite of Courneys feats his consuming interest is not
in opening locks but in making them safer 1T makes sad
to see the homes secure than my mothers jam
closet he says Thousands of homes Offices and stores
locked with btkey lock bit key is that has
bit projecting from the end There's not safe made
And when good lock the front door, but fmsy
the back, groan.
yet people can be safe from burglars they'll just get
good locks and have them properly installed Combination
locks have been tried house DOORS but they too slow
and bohersome night There is lock, though that in