A daring attempt at burglary of the Norwood pharmacy in the Hawkins block is believed to have been frustrated by the prompt action of three men living in a house across the street, last Thursday morning.
At 3 o’clock that morning Haliburton Dobbins, who lives in the upstairs tenement of the house directly opposite the block, was awakened by a commotion of some sort across the street coupled with the sound of breaking glass. He gave the alarm to the occupants of the tenement downstairs and Archibald Kady and William Pudsey hustled out of the house to see what was going on. Pudsey took the precaution to slip on his pantaloons while Kady was clad only in his nightshirt. Both men were barefooted. They were accompanied by Mr.Kady’s Boston terrier dog, a very intelligent animal, who is believed to have played no small part in the events which followed.
The burglars had entered the drug store by climbing over the transom and had helped themselves to a couple of boxes of cigars, when, hearing noises across the street, they knew they were discovered and getting out of the store in the same way in which they had entered, they ran, scattering the cigars behind them in their flight. Kady and Pudsey collared one man near the block, whom they believed to be one of the burglars. The other man had made his escape.
The man whom they caught, silpped away from them and they captured him again after a hard chase and a desperate struggle. He scratched Mr. Kady’s cheek badly and stepped heavily on Pudsey’s bare feet. The dog added his efforts to those of the men and the supposed burglar was held in leash on the sidewalk near the Norwood Press, while Mr. Dobbins started uptown to get Officer Creed.
The arrested man proved to be Wm. Hartnett of Dedham. He stoutly denied his guilt and said he had merely been hanging about the block drunk and not well knowing what he was doing. Hartnett was taken before the District Court at Dedham and held for the Grand Jury in the sum of $500. The Dedham police are looking for his companion. Hartnett is said to have a bad record.
(All articles originally published in the Norwood Messenger)