Nightgowned Citizen Puts Burglar to Flight
A local homeowner interrupted a late-night intruder, forcing him to flee empty-handed—save for a stolen kimono.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A gum-shoe artist who apparently takes great delight in running dire risk of getting his hide shot full of holes was put to rout from the home of Frank M. Osborne, 1908 South Q, last evening, and given a scare which he will not soon forget. Mr. Osborne had gone to bed early, leaving the front door unlatched for his wife and daughter, who had gone to church. Before he had quite fallen to sleep, Mr. Osborne heard the bedroom door softly open, and saw the dim outline of a man standing in the doorway. The next instant a tiny ray of light shot from a flash lantern held in the intruder's hand. With a yell, the nightgowned man-of-the-house sprang from his bed, and dashed at the burglar, but swiftly and noiselessly the other sped down the hall and through the half-open front door. The gum-shoe operator managed to seize a silk kimono of Mrs. Osborne's from a chair in the bedroom before making his dash for freedom. Neighbors on either side of the Osborne residence told the police today that someone had evidently tried to pry open their windows during the night, as there were several scratches at the base of the window sashes.
“With a yell, the nightgowned man-of-the-house sprang from his bed, and dashed at the burglar.”
This home invasion story highlights the vulnerability of Victorian-era residential security. It captures a common local fear of the period—the 'night prowler'—and the visceral, individual response to protecting one's home.
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