The Bold Counter-Heist
A shopgirl turns the tables on a bandit by outwitting him during a robbery.
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 handsome young man dropped into a shop at the corner of Third and Columbia streets. He looked like a gentleman, but once inside, he pulled a pistol. He told a young lady in the store to fill his pockets with whatever was in the till. The girl, instead of fainting or screaming, opened the drawer and handed him a small sack she was holding in her hand. She then put the change on the counter and suddenly, as if inspired, she told him, 'I don't think you mean to hurt me!' and pointed a finger at his pocket. In the confusion, the girl took all the drawer had, pushed the terrified 'gentleman' toward the door, and as he suddenly picked his feet up and fled, she held $8 in her hand. It seems the young lady had outwitted him, leaving him with an empty bag and a ruined reputation.
“I don't think you mean to hurt me!”
While this reads like a classic pulp dime-store novel, it captures the grit of the 1880s downtown Seattle. It serves as a reminder that the blocks near 3rd and Columbia were a far cry from the glass towers there today.
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