MY BURGLAR TRAP.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12827, 11 June 1907, Page 9

MY BURGLAR TRAP.

. — In building my house I had an eye to comfort, convenience, economy of apace, and-A-burglars. I built my burglar trap at the same time tliat I bui.t the villa. A covered verandah ran along the west side of the house, the roof only twenty inches below the sec-ond-storey windows. There are two bedrooms on that side, but a burglar would have imagined that, there were three. The third window did not hgSt a bedroom, however, but was tbe entrance to my trap. I coukl not reasonably expect a burglar to climb up the pillar at tno noi'-i end of the veranda-, and creep past the first window to the second. Tho- convenience of a burglar must bo consulted vi planning ana buikung. i had a stout trellis-work made and fastened to the centre pillar exactly undor the mid'dlo window. I told my wife tnat it was for a climbing rose, but I deceived her. It was placed there for the sole and single purpose of assisting a burglar lo "get into the. house. A ourgiar had but to cross a vacant building plot next door, where trees and busaes gave In in shelter, drop over a fence and creep a distance of ten leet, and there he was. In planning the no use I said to too builder: "I have seen a dozen burglar, in court or prison, but I hadi no hand in their capture. Aly strong desire is to capture one ,my___if. I want to tako him in the very act. Aly house must, thcrolore contain a burghvr trap as well as a drawing-room.' The middle window lighted a room twelve feet long by eight wide, which was provided with chests and drawers as a linen room. On each side was a bedroom, and _t the far end a door opened into the hall. Tho burglar alarm connected with all other windows but this. All other sashes had a patent burglar-proof catch, but those had one which a child might open from the outside. Inside the window and sliding up And down the castings, as a drawer pulls out, was an iron shutter, which worked by means of a spring. By pressing a knob in my bedroom at trie riont of the lioueo 1 could drop tais shutter. The walk on either side were of brick, and the inside of the door was covered with heavy trheet iron. It was a floor paved with wooden bricks, and exaotly under the window where the burgiax must stand was a square of, flooring, so arranged that a pressure of five pounds on it rang'am alarm at the head of my bed. From ono of the adjoining rooms was a peephole, and the burglar trap was lighted by electricity, which was turned on and off from the hall. There was ono thing more. A gaspipe was run into the room from tho haU, and the end left open The flow of gas could be regulated by a stop cock outsido the room. As I had been to considerable- pains and expense in fitting this trap for a burglar, I hoped for an early visit; but for some reason or other the profession seemed to have lost its push and ambition. Weeks and months went by, but no burglar came. Other houses were visited and ransacked, and ray nearest neighbour was even shot at by a midnight visitor; but, alas I I was entirely ignored. In this emergencj I resorted to stratagem. No, it was not stratagem, but base deception.

A reporter O-Ued on mc to get particulars of an accident in my neighbourhood, and I told him a falsehood about a burglar effecting an entrance into my house. I spoke about my silver plate and jewellery, and of the large sum of money I usually kept in the noose, and gavo him to understand that I was a nervous, timid man, and bad no weapons to defend my treasures. The reporter worked up a very readable and tednctive article, and, to ease my con_cioi.ee, I sent him a bank note in such a manner that he could not possibly trace its sourco. Yes, I must say that if I had been in the burglar profession that article would have filled mo with enthusiasm. I hadn't road it half through when I felt convinced thnt I should receive an early visit. No burglar worthy of the name would let such an opening as that go to seed. Two days later as I took the train for my three-mile ride home it so happened that there wero but four other passengers in our compartment. Three of them I knew; the fourth was a stranger, and I was bound to givo him more than a passing glance. To bo frank, he annoyed mc. Ho not only had small feet, but the heel of his right boot was badly overtiodden. l'ou may think it was queer that I was voxol about the young man's bootheel, but such was the case. Nothing makes a man look so slouchy as runover Jieols. They spoil his walk and keep his temper unnecessarily sharp. 1 thought of the young man several times during tho evening, and he was in my mind when I went indoors after breakfast to stroll about and smoke my cigar. I had not to look long before I discovered that ho hud also been thinking of mc. In the fresh earth of a newly-made flower bod were the prints of his heels. I could havo identified that heel in China. During tho evening he had looked tho ground over, passing twice around the house. If not a burglar, then he was a burglar s scout. I couldn't say what ho had thought of things, but I rather expected he would take tho trouble to push his investigations a little further before he attempted to enter the house. Therefore before leaving for the city I said to the cook: "Somo time to-day a young man will be hero to a3k about tho burglar alarm. Tell him that it is all right, except on tho linen room window, and that we don't care about." When I came home at night I asked if he had been there. He had. He had come with some tools tied up in a piece of carpet, and the cook even went nut and pointed to the unguarded window. Then I know that' he would visit us that night. As near as I could guess, he would come by tho 11 o'clock train, and in that case thero was only half an hour before ho made his debut.

I may tell you without conceit that exactly thirty-one minutes after eleven o'clock my burglar alarm trap sounded. Five seconds later I had pressed tho knob which let the shutter fall. I had timed my caller to within n minute. My wife was aroused and wanted to know what was going on. While dressing myself I explnmed matters, but not to hor satisfaction. When I left the room she was enveloped in bedclothes and on tho verge of hysterics. I turned the electric light on in tho trap and carefully opened tho peephole.

There stood my young man in tho middlo of tho room, and ho was winking and blinking with surprise. In his hand ho hold a pistol, but. it was of no more use than a stick. While I gazed at him he wont to tho window and examined the shutter, and then stepped over and inspected the door. He was ns secure as in a prison cell. "Well," I < said at length, "you did not disappoint mc." Ho started; than, catching si©ht of my fnco, ho »>aid: "You expected mc, then ?"

"I did. What do you think of the arrangement of things t" "Seems to be a regular trap." "Had it put up on purpose to oateh a burglar. Let mo ask you if you read that newspaper article the other day ?" "That, just what brought mc here. I thought it was a placo which only wanted walking into. It war* a putup job, oh?'' '.'Advertising always pays," 1 answered evasively. "I presume you havo a pal outside. lam <not thoroughly up im. tho burglar business, but as I understand it they generally go in pairs and one is left outside on the watch."

"You needn't worry yourself about the man outside," growled the captive. "Come, now, let mo outb of this." "Why, my dear sir, tho mam who would oapbure a burgi_r and turm him loose within t_a minutes would be an idiot. Put down your revolver, and I'll come in and clap the handcuffs on

you." ■. "You show your head in this roam and I'll fill you with lead. Opcm that door or well wipe out the whole family." . "Will you quietly submiitr" "Never. If you've got mc, I've a_so got If I can't get out, you can't get in." _ "Hut you forgot about the gas. I can fin the room and asphyxiate you'in ten minutes. That's part of the trap, you know." ._,. •_. i j For answer ho raised his pistol and fired three shots at tho .jioepholo, but as it was » wrought-iron' plate pierced with -mall hok. his bullets wore wasted. I turned on the gas, amd within a minute ho begaut to cough and move about. "Will you knock undor P" I asked at tlie peephole. „ , , "Nol" ho shouted, as he lay down on tho floor, with his mouth to the orovico trader tJio door. I descended to tlie pantnr for a bottle of oaveinn. pepper, amid when I had sprin-kd a lot of tho stuff just outeide. the door the burglar had to retire. He was a plucky fe-r.ow, a_d it took two'lvo minutes to bowl him over. I heard him struggling and jgaspmyg and moaning, and aifteir opemimg the hall window I threw open the door to tho trap." . . The increase in my |g*>* «»" * : month proved that I gave bim ik>o feet of gag. Ho was lying like one dead. Wo got water. nnd camphor and brandy and bathed hb head, and poured stuff down hi* throat, but it was forty minutes before he came to. While tho cook tartly informed, mc that she was not paid to assist in reviving burglars, my wife was still more ungracious. , She eaid tho idea of trying to restore a dead burglar to life, and therefore giving him an opportunity to burgle again, just showed what an idiot I was-. I had been downstairs after more brandy. and tlie burglar's eyelids were fluttering, when my wife, who had been bathing hi* chost, looked up and said: "Well, you ought to have a medal for smartness! Your burglar is a woman." Stupid that I was not to connect the small hands and feet, and other points with a woman, but I hadn't done it. She came to and sat up, and etared and blinked at us, and it was a long ten minutes before she rcab_ed the situation.

"Isn't this rather out of tbo line of your sex?" I finally queried, and received no answer. Well, a woman is a woman, no matter what her offence, and when daylight came I turned the "burglares*' loose. More than that, we gave her a breakfast and car fare. I even followed her out to, the gate and returned her nistol. Stupid thing for mc to do, no doubt, but, you see, 1 had a burglar trap all baited and ready, and could probably catch another, without cost or trouble. Everybody lets the firet rat go in honour of the new trap, you know.