"Firearms, of all sorts were leveled at him and he trembled vigorously...."

PRODUCED HIS CARD

REAL ESTATE MAN SELECTS MINER
FIRE ESCAPE FOR WATCH
TOWER

TAKEN FOR A BURGLAR

How a Peeping Tom Was Surprised
While Attempting to Gaze Into
One of the Apartments of the
Buckingham--Evidently a Severe
Case of Misplaced Confidence--All
Kinds of Firearms Leveled at Him

   The tenants of the Miner, the large apartment building on Summit avenue, were treated to a burglar scare last Friday evening that developed all sorts of hysterics and bloodthirstiness on the part of the tenants, and came near ending seriously for the supposed burglar. It all came about through a case of misplaced affection, in which the green-eyed monster played a star part.

   It had Just grown dusk when one of the ladies in the building heard a scraping noise outside her window, and looked out to see a form disappearing down the fire escape. A moment later a piercing scream rang out and echoed through tho corridor. It was the frightened woman's first burglar and she availed herself of her opportunity to her utmost capacity. For range and register she showed herself to have the most pronounced voice in the building, although several other ladies who took up the chorus scored good seconds.

   "It's a burglar," exclaimed one man, peering from his window and looking down the fire escape.

   The news spread like wild fire. Old rusty revolvers that had never seen service were rumaged out, and one man put in an appearance armed with a big shotgun. A group of determined men gathered in the dusk at the foot of the fire escape and waited grimly for the maurader, whose downward progress could be traced as he passed each floor by the new elements in the chorus of shrieks.

   At last the man reached the ground. He was immediately surrounded and requested to wait while some one went for a policeman. Firearms, of all sorts were leveled at him and he trembled vigorously.

   "Hold on, gentlemen, it is all a mistake.' I am not a burglar," he said, while his teeth chattered.

   Then the intruder produced a card, showing him to be a prominent real estate man, and as such he was recognized by a railroad man in the posse. His explanation was that he had simply found a coign of vantage up on the fire escape from which to watch a certain apartment in the Buckingham in which he was interested. On this showing he was allowed to go, partly because every one had been so interested in waiting for the expected tragedy that no one had thought to send in the alarm.

   Behind the occurrence there proved to be a most interesting motive that the pseudo burglar afterwards imparted in confidence to a friend. It appears that he had been very much interested in a young widow occupying apartments at the Buckingham, but of late his admiration has been tinged with jealousy. He was suspicious that his inamorata had found other objects of affection besides himself and he wanted to find out who they were.

   With the object in view of ascertaining whether his Dulcinea was in the habit of receiving other callers he had looked the situation over and selected the Miner fire escape as a watch tower. Last Thursday evening he made his first vigil and was unsuccessful. The watch was repeated on Friday night, with the disastrous results above stated.

   It is whispered that he is willing now to take the young lady on trust.

[The Saint Paul Globe, Sunday Morning, August 27, 1899. Vol. XXII.--No. 239. Pg. 7]